Leaders Sport Business Podcast: Recent Episodes
Leaders
Leaders in conversation: the biggest names in the global business of sport sit down (or stand up) with Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett.
MotoGP's Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta and Guenther Steiner, the new CEO and Co-Owner of the Tech3 MotoGP team, join David Cushnan to discuss how the world's leading motorcycling series in entering its new era, following F1 owner Liberty Media's acquisition last year.
Ezpeleta explains how the changes made so far, some more visible than others, are designed to supercharge the championship's popularity and revenues, and how the new US influence on the series is beginning to manifest itself.
Speaking in London before last Sunday's British round of the championship, the 12th of 22 scheduled races this year, he and Steiner also reflect on the painstaking governance work, which resulted in a fresh commercial framework binding the teams - including manufacturers Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, Aprilia and KTM - to the series and world motorcycling governing body the FIM until 2031, and how to build up the profile of the sport's superstars in markets beyond the current heartlands of Spain and Italy.
And Steiner, who led the Haas F1 team from 2016 to 2024 and became the breakout star of Drive to Survive, explains why investors including IKON Capital and David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures paid $50 million to invest in the independent Tech3 MotoGP team, and how his experience of F1 is helping Ezpeleta chart a path forward under new ownership.
The Leaders Week London agenda is here. Visit https://bit.ly/3QJra1u and join 2,000 senior sports executives from over 50 countries at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, for the Summit, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October.
As Gianni Infantino fights for his future as Fifa President, following a remarkable week in world football politics, James Emmett and David Cushnan reconvene to consider what’s happened and what may happen next.
They review the model - setting up a new entity to house a governing body’s commercial activity - Infantino proposed, where and why it’s worked in other sports, and the missteps he’s made that have enraged much of the football world.
There’s also time to reflect on the Hundred and its quest to build a family-friendly, commercially-attractive product, following James’ conversation this week with the competition’s Growth Director Belinda Moore.
The full Leaders Week London agenda is released next week, featuring high-level speakers from Lego, Chelsea, F1, Lululemon, Arsenal, Netflix, MLS, NWSL, Disney and many more. To book your pass visit: https://bit.ly/3QJra1u
The Hundred, the ECB's short-form cricket series, is into its sixth season, but it's being billed as another 'season one'.
Fresh from selling off majority stakes in the eight competing franchises, the ECB is ushering in a new era for its unique - and uniquely positioned - summer tournament.
The sell-off process raised more than £500 million for English cricket's governing body, and brought about a devolution of operational and commercial control from the centre to the teams themselves.
With new investors - predominantly from India and the US - this is a very different proposition behind the scenes than the one that started life as something of a novelty six years ago.
As Andy Burnham takes up the reins in the UK, James Emmett and David Cushnan consider the raft of big jobs available in British sport - including successors to Juliet Slot and Sally Bolton at Arsenal and Wimbledon, and potential roles running NBA Europe and the 2035 Fifa Women's World Cup.
Elsewhere, there's the final word on the World Cup - hydration breaks, Gianni Infantino - and a first look ahead to how different the 2030 edition might look, in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and South America.
And with a scaled down, slimline Commonwealth Games getting underway in Glasgow, there's time to ponder the relevance of the Games and its future funding and commercial format, amid a dwindling group of potential host cities.
The Summit, part of Leaders Week London, takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October - for the latest speakers and attendees, and to book your place, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
What are the most compelling hospitality experiences in sport? Who's buying what, when and why? And what can rights holders do to deliver more value to their premium clients.
These were the key questions put to Charlie Buck on the latest Episode of Leaders Worth Knowing.
Buck is the CEO of Lyvera, a collection of businesses focused on creating and marketing premium experiences to sports fans.
It was created earlier this year by sports hospitality giant Levy as a holding company for a number of the businesses it owns: Keith Prowse, Gullivers Sports Travel, The Experience Golf, Lime Venue Portfolio, Events International, the Venues Collection and the recently acquired iLuka Collective.
Lyvera plans to double turnover to £350m by 2028, and Buck, who has experience in senior sales and leadership roles across cricket, rugby, football, golf and triathlon, is the man tasked with delivering the growth.
Charlie Buck will be speaking at Leaders Week London on 8th October. For more information, visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/
The world of football administration, business leaders, celebrities and assorted VIPs are poised to descend on New York this weekend, ahead of the Fifa World Cup final. James Emmett and David Cushnan convene to discuss the who and why, and dig into the success of Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Fest, the four-day celebrity-studded collectibles festival, which is pitching up this week in the city.
They also examine who was at the highly-exclusive Sun Valley media and tech gathering this year; who found their way into the Royal Box at Wimbledon; and who is heading to Royal Birkdale this week for what’s expected to be a record-breaking Open Championship.
Elsewhere, there are reflections on recent Worth Knowing conversations with Bruin Capital’s George Pyne and PSG Chief Revenue Officer Richard Heaselgrave, and the latest intelligence from around Premier League commercial departments as several clubs finalise front of shirt partnerships in the new era of no betting sponsorship.
Join us for The Summit, part of Leaders Week London at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. For more information and to secure your pass: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/
Investor George Pyne, Founder of Bruin Capital, joins the show to share his thesis for sport and his rationale for targeting what he calls 'second level enablers' - the companies a layer below the headline-grabbing team and league properties.
In a wide-ranging conversation, he reflects on 12 years of Bruin, the investment firm he set up following a career that including a stint as COO of NASCAR between 1995 and 2006, and then nine years as President of ING.
Pyne discusses the particular challenges of raising money - he's done it four times with Bruin - and then deploying capital; his approach for working with the management teams of the organisations he's invested in; and the art of the elegant exit.
He also reflects on some of Bruin's most memorable investments, including Deltatre, Two Circles and On Location, and a current portfolio that includes production company Box to Box and Matchroom Sport, where Bruin is now a minority investor working with Barry and Eddie Hearn.
The conversation was recorded in early July, shortly before news broke of Bruin's sale of golf simulation company Full Swing to Versant for a reported $530 million.
Join us for The Summit, part of Leaders Week London at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. For more information and to secure your pass: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/
PSG Chief Revenue Officer Richard Heaselgrave joins the show to lift the lid on how PSG have built value through an imaginative approach to brand identity and creative partnerships.
Heaselgrave joined PSG in May 2025 after stints leading commercial teams at World Rugby, Tennis Australia, the EFL, the NBA, and Uefa. He joins co-hosts James Emmett and Alex Charkham, who runs strategy and consulting for global sports and entertainment marketing agency Fuse, for this third and final episode of the Cannes Debate.
On the agenda: how Paris Saint-Germain built out its brand identity around Paris and everything the city stands for; the rationale and objectives behind the creative approach to activation in music, entertainment, and fashion; and a review of some of the best work and the most compelling trends at the Cannes Festival of Creativity this year.
As Sky confirms its £1.6 billion deal to acquire ITV, James Emmett and David Cushnan assemble to consider the possible ripple effect on the UK sports rights market. Are we poised for a new era of creative collaboration and shared production?
Elsewhere, there's reflections on this week's conversation with Tony Godsick, Roger Federer's agent, and how working with superstar talent - and the building of stories around them - is changing.
And in a troubled week for Fifa and Gianni Infantino, amid suggestions of political interference in the tournament, why sport and politics have always mixed, and what impact, if any, it will have on Infantino's future as President of the governing body.
Few know the business of tennis as well as Tony Godsick, the long-time agent of Roger Federer and one of the founding fathers of the Laver Cup.
As preparations continue for the ninth edition of the North America versus Europe men's team event, at London's O2 Arena in September, he explains the rationale for creating the event, alongside Federer, and how its commercial performance is maturing.
Godsick also reveals how his professional relationship with Federer has changed, since the 20-time Grand Slam champion retired in 2022, and offers his take on the role of an agent, and working with world-class talent.
And, during period of significant change in tennis, he analyses the health of the sport, the business that surrounds it, and shares his perspective on the players' quest for a greater share of Grand Slam revenues, following protests - in the form of cutting short media duties - at Roland Garros and then temporarily, before a truce was called, at Wimbledon.
The Summit, part of Leaders Week London takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more information head to: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/
Two Circles CEO and Founder Gareth Balch joins James Emmett and David Cushnan, on location at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, to cast an expert eye over the week in global sports business.
Under discussion: the latest public uttering and industry chatter on NBA Europe - with work ongoing to sell the franchises, how realistic is the NBA’s suggested October 20207 start date?
There’s reaction to the news that FIFA and European Football Clubs (EFC) are coming together to help shape the future of the Club World Cup. And, as Exeter Chiefs are sold, becoming the first Prem Rugby team to come under US control, what do such deals signal for English domestic club rugby?
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The Summit, part of Leaders Week London takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more information head to: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/
Marina Logacheva is the Disability Sports Lead at the Matta sports marketing agency.
A keen amateur athlete, Marina was training for an Ironman in 2020 when she became a tetraplegic wheelchair user following a traumatic fall.
Here in the UK, July is Disability Pride Month, in which Visbility, intersectionality and disabled leadership are all celebrated.
Those topics were on the agenda during my chat with Marina too, as well as the huge opportunity that sports participation spaces are missing through a lack of focus on and catering for a potential disabled customer base.
Approximately 25% of the UK population reports having a disability. This equates to nearly 17 million people, yet the public discourse around disability, and the specific discourse around access to sport, remains minimal.
Fresh from a trip to Cannes, to take in the brands, celebrities and agencies this week at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, James Emmett provides David Cushnan with a postcard of who was there and why.
Elsewhere, what does Royal Ascot’s formal dresscode say about the event? And is Ascot’s grandstand facility one of the most underrated in all of sport?
Plus as the area around the Leaders studio in Wimbledon gets decked out in its tennis finery, ahead of this year’s Championships, there’s the latest on the player protests around the Grand Slams, and snap reaction to the renewal of the BBC’s contract to broadcast the tournament in the UK until at least 2033.
The Cannes Debate is a three-part series exploring sport’s growing role at the centre of media, marketing and culture.
Hosted by Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Alex Charkham, who runs strategy and consulting for global sports and entertainment marketing agency, Fuse, the series digs into why sport has become one of the most powerful tools in modern brand-building.
Recorded live from Cannes Lions (soundtracked, at times, by the unmistakable hum of the Croisette), Episode 2 features Dan Clays, CEO of Omnicom Media Group EMEA, on why sport is now at the very centre of how modern marketing works.
On the conversational agenda: why sport still cuts through in a fragmented, scroll-first world; how brands are turning sports partnerships into full-scale creative platforms; and what's really keeping CMOs up at night.
All with a few Cannes moments along the way: World Cup matches squeezed in between meetings, celebrity sightings, and the subtle art of networking on the French Riviera.
What's the point of Cannes for the sports industry? As the marketing world prepares to descend on the French Riviera for the annual 'festival of creativity' that is Cannes Lions, sport has becoming increasingly central.
Kenny Annan-Jonathan, the newly installed Cannes Lions Sports Director, joins co-hosts James Emmett and Alex Charkham, who runs strategy and consulting for global sports and entertainment marketing agency Fuse, for this first edition of the Cannes Debate.
On the agenda: why and how sport has taken a central position in brand marketing and communications; the evolving trends that should see sport dominate the marketing agenda; and the best examples of sports entities navigating the marketing and media landscape to create true cultural impact.
Also: what to wear, where to watch the World Cup, how to discern the gobbets of insight from the globules of BS, and why the role of 'Creative Director' is seeping into the mainstream across sport.
With the World Cup in full swing, James Emmett and David Cushnan pause and reflect on the hydration breaks, introduced for this year’s tournament, and the new commercial avenue they’ve opened up - and ponder where they might be seen next, as fans and broadcasters, like them or not, get used to the concept.
They also reflect on this week’s conversation with Louise Young, F1’s Chief Race Promotion Officer, and explain why the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix might have marked a turning point in F1’s business story. There’s also time for some conjecture about where the sport might go next, with Argentina, South Korea, South Africa and Rwanda all making a case for a race when a coveted spot on the calendar opens up in 2029.
Plus, snap reactions as Donald Trump hosts the UFC at the White House and Knicks fans take to the streets of New York.
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Leaders Week London takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. To secure your pass visit: https://bit.ly/3QJra1u
Louise Young is responsible for the F1 calendar. The Australian lawyer and her team manage the motorsport series' relationships with promotor organisations around the world.
They are responsible for bringing in new races onto the calendar; for negotiating contracts with existing race promotors; and for ensuring that host venues meet all the requirements - safety, racing, logistical, commercial, fan experience - that a modern, elite, global racing series has.
F1 is having a moment. Propelled by the takeover of Liberty Media in 2017, and spurred by the success of media initiatives like Drive to Survive and the F1 movie, the series is riding the wave of success; growing its fanbase around the world as well as its portfolio of partners.
The calendar, too, is in a good place. There are 24 races in the 2026 F1 season. Young and her team have 26 promotors under contract and a schedule that's locked in through 2028.
As she explains on this episode of Leaders Worth Knowing, her challenge is a sophisticated one: making good on F1's mission to have a truly global spread of 'Super Bowls' on the calendar, and maintaining serious interest in race hosting around the world with little short-term hope of awarding rights.
But new deals have been done of late. Creative negotiating has led to annually alternating race hosting in Belgium and Barcelona, allowing Portugal and Türkiye to come on to the calendar. Madrid is preparing to host its first F1 race later this summer. And rumours swirl around future races in Argentina and Africa.
But what does it take to become an F1 race host today? Any way in to Louise Young is the first requirement.
As the Fifa World Cup finally kicks off in Mexico City, James Emmett and David Cushnan run the rule over the major business storylines, commercial implications and ever-present politics to keep eyes on in the opening phase of the tournament.
Building on the first edition of Scroll Stoppers, our new series on digital content with Ten Toes, they consider who the breakout content stars in and around the tournament could be, from established football pundits to as-yet undiscovered creators.
Plus, what role will Donald Trump have on the tournament now the action has started? And why Iran's unlikely and restricted presence in the US will be one of the major stories of the opening round of games
Leaders Week London takes place on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October, at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. For more on who's speaking, who's attending and what to expect visit: leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
What does it actually take to win on social at the biggest tournament in sport?
In this opening episode of Scroll Stoppers - a new series from the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast exploring how to make an impact with digital content - Henry Breckenridge, Senior Content Manager at Leaders is joined by Ten Toes Founder & CEO Ben Weisfeld to unpack how the industry is gearing up for a World Cup like no other - driven by American culture and relentless competition for attention.
From campaigns planned months in advance to the moments you simply can’t predict, this episode dives into what it really takes to create content that cuts through - and why speed, creativity and instinct matter more than ever.
Ten Toes Social Media Director Ella Jerman also joins to take you inside the content operation at the tournament - from building teams and workflows, to storytelling and why the content that flies is often the least polished… and the least expected.
In the red afterglow of Arsenal’s Premier League title win and celebratory parade in North London, James Emmett and David Cushnan shine a light on Josh Kroenke’s role in the multi-club, cross-sport success story that is Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.
They also reflect on the winners elsewhere across Europe as the club football season ends.
Also on the show, reflections on James’ conversation with International Cricket Council Chief Commercial Officer Anurag Dahiya and the development engine the organisation is revving up in new markets. And, after the Killers at the Uefa Champions League final in Budapest, there’s a discussion about a possible new way forward for pre-match and half-time music shows at football’s showpiece occasions.
Anurag Dahiya has been Chief Commercial Officer at the ICC since 2020. He is responsible for all revenue generating activities at cricket's global governing body and looks after a portfolio of events ranging from short format T20 world cups through to newly established World Test Championships.
Formerly of Singtel and ESPN Star Sports, Dahiya joined us as a speaker for the latest edition of the Indian Sports Summit, hosted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team.
Joining us backstage after his session, Dahiya covered the biggest commercial issues facing cricket today: from a plethora of product, to a reliance on Indian money; from unbundling women's rights, through to influencer strategy and developing audiences through OTT offerings, and the ongoing work to develop the USA as the next major market in cricket.
This week, London is the stage for the third edition of World Sevens Football, the pioneering 7-a-side women's football competition, and Co-Founders Jennifer Mackesy and Julie Uhrman broke into preparations to join David Cushnan in the studio to discuss the concept and its creation. Eight WSL clubs will compete at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium for a prize pot of $1.5 million.
Mackesy, who has led the investment in World Sevens, which launched with two events last year, is also a minority owner of Chelsea Women and NWSL club Gotham FC. Uhrman, Co-Founder and President of Angel City FC over the past few years, and now a special advisor at the NWSL club, is this week making her public debut as Co-Founder.
On the show, they assess the current health of women's football and deliver a message to sceptics who doubt its business sustainability. They also explain the entertainment-infused mission behind World Sevens; its unique format; how clubs have been convinced to participate; the player buy-in that is critical to its success; and the way the tournaments can work as part of the existing and increasingly crowded club football calendar.
Nominate the rising star in your organisation for this year's Leaders Under 40 class - entries close on Monday 8th June. Visit www.leadersinsport.com/lsa for more information.
India’s appetite and readiness to host major global events was one of the main topics at this week’s Indian Sports Summit in Bangalore, and James Emmett is on the ground with the mood and the colour from on and off stage.
With the IPL in full swing, there’s the latest on the league’s media rights planning and what its strategy might be in a changing domestic market, and James has the inside line on Royal Challengers Bangalore’s new ownership.
Alongside David Cushnan, dialling in this week from New York for SBJ’s Sports Business Awards and Leaders’ Attention Seekers series, there’s also time to discuss the news that Sally Bolton is standing down as CEO at Wimbledon and the expertise her successor might need as the All England Lawn Tennis Club expands in line with the other tennis Grand Slams.
Put your best work and best people in the mix for this year’s Leaders Sports Awards, taking place in London on Tuesday 6th October. To nominate, visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-sport-awards/
Ross Hutchins is six months into the role as CEO of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
A former player, Hutchins retired in 2014 and went on to play numerous player-focused roles at the ATP. He replaced Kelly Fairweather in the role as the top executive at the global governing body of tennis in October last year.
He joins the show this week on the back of news that Visa has renewed as a partner of the Davis Cup, the men's team tennis competition organised by the ITF and ahead of a major rebrand that will see the ITF become 'World Tennis' in June/
On the agenda: what's the point of the ITF? As well as player Grand Slam boycotts, Saudi funding, player development and more.
The quest to influence and monetise audiences is the core mission for much of the sports industry, and this week James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on James’ podcast conversation with Liz Wynn, Chief Supporter Officer, at the Guardian - and in particular how the organisation has used newsletters to build direct, meaningful relationships with readers. It sparks a discussion about whether teams and athletes might be missing a trick.
Elsewhere, James reports back from this week’s launch of Ultimate Sevens in London, and has the inside line on the latest disruptor on the rugby union scene and yet another example of a franchise-based sports start-up. What’s really driving these new launches across sport? And there’s just time to chat through Fifa’s big decision to swap Panini - and its sticker albums - for Fanatics.
This episode is a masterclass in driving digital revenue through structured and sophisticated commercialization methods, purpose-led campaigns, and behavioural-psychology informed techniques.
Liz Wynn is the Chief Supporter Officer at the Guardian Media Group. Having had a varied career in telecoms and broadcast media - working at the likes of Orange, EE, and Sky, she joined the Guardian in 2023 to take full responsibility for digital reader revenue - ie anything that comes from subscriptions or donation.
Since that point, the Guardian's efforts to drive revenue through its digital consumers have achieved huge success. As of the last financial year, 44% of the media group's total revenue came from digital readers. Of that figure of £125 million, 60% has been driven from outside its home territory of the UK.
Liz was a speaker at the private Leaders Meet Innovation event in March, where her presentation on 'the power of direct connection in audience monetisation' won rave reviews with assembled c-suite audience from across sport.
There are many transferable lessons for the sports industry.
On the eve of the Giro d’Italia, the first grand tour of the cycling year, James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack professional cycling’s business model and examine the tensions at the heart of it.
Reflecting on James’ conversation with INEOS-Grenadiers CCO Tom Hill, they discuss the dominant role of Tour de France-organiser ASO in the sport, and the efforts the UCI WorldTour teams are making to try and grow their own revenues in a sport where sponsorship is particularly critical. They also consider the challenges of building brand equity in teams when team names change so regularly, as sponsors come and go.
Elsewhere, there’s reaction as UC3, the joint venture between Uefa and European Football Clubs set up to commercialise Europe’s club competitions, confirms a raft of fresh media rights agreements for the next cycle. Plus, why the Met Gala is now firmly part of the annual sports calendar.
As of the start of the 2026 Giro d’Italia this weekend, the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team will be known as Netcompany-INEOS.
Last week, the team - one of the most successful in elite road cycling - announced a new sponsorship deal with Danish tech and AI firm Netcompany.
INEOS, team owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s giant chemicals company, had yielded the main naming position for a deal reported as worth €100m over five years.
At the centre of deal - one of the biggest in the pro peloton - is Tom Hill. He joined the team as CCO in 2024 having previously held commercial leadership positions at World Rugby and Manchester United amongst others.
Hill joins us on the podcast this week to detail the work that went into signing Netcompany; to articulate the valuable USPs - and unique challenges - that cycling has as a sponsorship proposition; and to evaluate the cycling ecosystem as a whole and ask ‘is there a better way?’
After a record-shattering London Marathon, James Emmett and David Cushnan take a look at the ways in which marathons are being packaged and commercialised - and why, after 1.1 million applications this year in London, there's such a thirst for participating.
They examine plans for next year's London Marathon to become a two-day, two-marathon affair; London Marathon Events' recent acquisition of the Frankfurt Marathon; and World Athletics' recent decision to create a standalone marathon world championships.
Elsewhere, as Turkey rejoins the F1 grid, after signing a five-year agreement for a Grand Prix, there's a look at the changing shape of the F1 calendar, and the creative ways the sport is handling demand to host races whilst keeping to a 24-race per season calendar.
Table tennis hits London and the podcast this week, as the city hosts the World Team Table Tennis Championships and Table Tennis England CEO Sally Lockyer joins the show.
The Championships which include 64 men's and 64 women's teams are competing at two London venues, the Copper Box and Wembley's OVO Arena over the next fortnight. Lockyer has been front and centre of the preparations, heading up the joint venture that is responsible for organising and staging the tournament.
She discusses what's been keeping her up at night as the championships - the centenary edition - get underway and assesses what the legacy might be, as Table Tennis England looks to a digital transformation that aims to further engage its membership and more casual ping pong participants.
Lockyer also assesses the wider challenges smaller national governing bodies are faced with, and assesses China's role as a table tennis superpower. She also takes us behind the scenes on the trade mission to China and Japan, led by Keir Starmer and the UK government, she joined earlier this year, to showcase table tennis and its status as a soft power tool.
After a week dominated by speculation about LIV Golf’s future, amid a swirl of rumour about PIF’s continued financial support, James Emmett and David Cushnan attempt to unpick what’s happening and why.
Leaning on the conversation with R&A CEO Mark Darbon this week, they consider what the impact and legacy of LIV Golf is, as the PGA Tour, now stewarded by Brian Rolapp, proposes changes to its structure.
Outside golf, news of layoffs at Snap and Meta prompts a reflection on the relationship between sport and big tech. And there’s a call - and some suggestions - for more female leadership in the Premier League, as trailblazer Karren Brady steps down from her position as Vice Chair of West Ham United.
The first speakers have been announced for Leaders Week London, taking place on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October at Stamford Bridge - for more information and to secure your place, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.
The R&A is one of golf's governing bodies, guardian of the rulebook, and the organiser of the world's oldest Major, The Open Championship. As CEO for the past 18 months, Mark Darbon has been busy reframing the organisation's vision to grow the game around the world, and diving into the disrupted, sometimes fractured, world of professional golf.
In this extended conversation, David Cushnan chats to Darbon about preparations for this year's Open Championship and AIG Women's Open; the relationship between professional golf and the amateur, participation side of the sport; and the changing face of the professional game, amid a swirl of speculation about LIV Golf's future and with changes coming at the PGA Tour under Brian Rolapp's new leadership.
Darbon also reflects on disruption in another sport, rugby union, following his stint as CEO of Northampton Saints; explains what the R&A looks for in brand and agency partners; and shares the leadership advice he received from former London 2012 CEO Paul Deighton.
The first speakers have been announced for Leaders Week London, taking place on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October - for more information and to secure your place, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
Gary Neville’s The Overlap, now majority owned by Global, has acquired the watchalong YouTube channels run by Mark Goldbridge, a significant moment in the independent football content space.
James Emmett and David Cushnan dissect this week’s news and consider what Global, the radio and outdoor advertising giant, is buying as it builds out its sport and podcast arms.
There’s also reflections on the future programming that might start to populate in-house streaming services operated by rights-holders - other sports, other leagues and perhaps even other genres - as James Johnson builds out a soccer media hub in Canada, by acquiring rights including the Bundesliga and Uefa Women’s Champions League.
And there’s a word for SailGP, which has now transferred 12 of its 13 teams from central to independent ownership - most recently with the sale the championship-winning Spanish team - adding business prowess and a sprinkle of Hollywood stardom to the sailing world.
With the US taking the lion's share of the headlines, you could be forgiven for forgetting that Mexico and Canada are also co-hosting the upcoming Fifa men’s World Cup.
While the US will host 78 of the 104 games, Mexico and Canada will each stage 13 games, in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Vancouver and Toronto.
On the sidelines of March’s Business of Soccer event in Atlanta, David Cushnan sat down with Héctor Gonzalez Iñarritu, COO and President of Business at Club América, and James Johnson, newly installed at Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment, to hear more about both markets as they make final preparations for the tournament.
Iñarritu runs LigaMX’s most successful club, which plays home games at the newly-refurbished Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, venue for the first game of the World Cup. He shares what international visitors and businesses should expect when they enter the Mexican sports market. And Johnson, new to his post after a stint as CEO of Football Australia, explains the changes he's making to the way Canadian soccer is packaged and sold, and why he believes Canada will be the legacy story of this summer’s tournament.
The first major of the golfing season takes place this weekend. It's a fixture on the global event calendar, the first real harbinger of a major sporting summer, and arguably the finest example of sports marketing strategy in action.
In this episode of the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast, James Emmett is joined by MSQ Sports + Entertainment founding partner Steve Martin to pinpoint why and how the Masters has become the north star for so many sports marketers.
From the look and feel to the sport itself, the TV product and packaging, the secrecy that permeates the membership and the comms policy, the phone ban and the pimento cheese sandwiches, the less-is-more approach and the surety to stick steadfastly to a singular strategic approach, the Augusta National is home to a Masters-class on how to run an iconic global event.
Arthur Blank remains a compelling public speaker, even into his ninth decade.
The Atlanta sports doyen was one of a clutch of US sports owners on stage and wandering the halls at the Business of Soccer event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last week.
David Cushnan was also there, and on his return to the Leaders studio in London, he teams up again with James Emmett to talk about what makes the billionaire class of individuals who own US sports franchises different from their counterparts around the world. Storytelling and status are baked into the proposition.
The pair also discuss plans being made from the myriad brands looking to capitalize on what will no doubt be the most commercial World Cup in history this summer.
With the World Cup just a few weeks away, tournament and team sponsors are rolling out activation plans across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
A trio of senior brand executives sat down with David Cushnan, on the sidelines of Sports Business Journal and Leaders’ Business of Soccer event in Atlanta last week, to run through their activation plans, hopes and targets for the upcoming tournament, and consider what happens afterwards.
Allison Kolber is VP Integrated Marketing at The Home Depot, which is an official tournament supporter amongst several soccer sponsorships, and is engaging David Beckham to help promote its World Cup sweepstakes.
Lauren Flanigan, Head of Global Brands, Refreshment Categories at Mondelēz International, looking after brands like Halls and Trident, discusses how she's planning to engage Gen Z consumers during the World Cup.
And Kim Tunick, Head of Brand Experiences and Partnerships at Walmart - a more recent entrant to soccer sponsorship, with deals signed last year to partner Major League Soccer and LaLiga - explains how the retail giant will celebrate the tournament in its stores throughout the country.
On the eve of the IPL's 19th season comes confirmation that its defending champion franchise - in both the men's and women's competitions - has been sold by Diageo to a conglomerate led by Blackstone and its serial team-buying chairman David Blitzer.
David Cushnan and James Emmett dig into the details of the sale, and reflect on the latest iteration of the IPL as it heads into the penultimate year of its latest media rights cycle. Change is afoot.
Elsewhere in the episode, the art and science of engineering atmosphere at sports events, prompted by this week's podcast interview with music pioneer DJ Skee; and LIV Golf finds a formula that works as record crowds form an evocative backdrop at the latest tournament in South Africa.
DJ Skee - also known as Scott Keeney - has carved out one of the most unconventional careers in modern entertainment. From discovering future stars like Kendrick Lamar to becoming the first DJ to perform live at NFL and NASCAR events, he has spent two decades operating at the crossroads of music, media and sport.
Today, he leads The Realist, a fast‑growing memorabilia company partnering with major leagues, teams and entertainment brands to build authenticated, story‑driven collectible lines.
What began with mixtapes and trend‑spotting in the early 2000s has evolved into a new form of storytelling - preserving iconic sporting moments in physical form, whether it’s match‑worn jerseys or even snow from an NFL playoff game.
In this conversation with James Emmett, Skee discusses how he identifies emerging talent, how DJs became part of the stadium experience, what defines great in‑venue music, and why the memorabilia market is primed for global growth. He also explains how The Realist helps rights holders protect authenticity, engage fans and unlock new revenue through items that capture the emotion behind sport.
With the Fifa men’s World Cup looming ever closer on the horizon, James Emmett and David Cushnan consider the tensions between US host cities and Fifa’s central organising committee over who pays for what and the overall value exchange around staging games - and the particular challenges Fifa is facing by staging this year’s tournament in three democracies.
They reflect on James’ conversation with Bay Area Host Committee CEO
Zaileen Janmohamed, and her thoughtful perspective on evolving the model and ultimately giving host cities more flexibility.
Elsewhere, they discuss the NBA’s plans to hold an initial vote next week on whether expansion teams should be created in Las Vegas and Seattle, and the thinking and vision behind the league’s bold growth plan.
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Leaders Week London has a new venue for 2026 - Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. To find out more: leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
Zaileen Janmohamed was only a few weeks in the job when she found herself in a windowless room, standing in front of 32 of the most powerful people in America.
With just ten minutes on the clock, it was her first to task as CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee to pitch for the hosting rights for the 2026 Super Bowl.
She decided to throw the templated stump speech in the trash and go with something bold.
In this episode of Leaders Worth Knowing, Janmohamed unpacks the high pressure, high impact presentation she gave to the NFL Owners meeting that resulted in Levi's Stadium winning the right to host the most recent Super Bowl
Janmohamed became CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee in 2023. It's essentially the sports commission for the Bay Area, and bids for and then operates major, top-tier sports events. Janmohamed runs a team responsible for raising revenues for those events, telling coherent stories about the impact they'll have across the region, then making sure that comes true, while ensuring a legacy too.
She looks ahead to the upcoming Fifa World Cup, which will play six games in the Bay Area; and attempts to unpick and explain a lattice-work stakeholder environment that is creating tension in various host regions just a few weeks out from the biggest World Cup in history.
Janmohamed is a member of the Leaders Under 40 class of 2017, and she also reflects on a career that has seen her play leadership roles at rights holder, brand, and agency organisations; the sport industry full house!
The sharpest operators in sport met the smartest minds from other sectors at Leaders Meet: Innovation in London this week, and James Emmett and David Cushnan are on the ground at 180 Studios bending the Chatham House Rule as far as possible to share a little about what they saw and heard.
They reflect on a few of the standout presentations and panels, including a leadership masterclass from PizzaExpress CEO Paula MacKenzie; the story of The Guardian's reader monetisation model; and how Unilever's AI-powered content studio might be a new model for sport.
And James also caught up with Viagogo's VP of Open Distribution Shaun Stewart, hot off the stage at the event for a potted history of ticket sales and why, even with the help of transformative technology, sport is still taking cues from the airline industry of the 1950s and 60s.
As the Dana White-fronted Zuffa Boxing, backed by TKO and Saudi's Sela, makes its move to dethrone promotional giants Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions, James Emmett and David Cushnan consider the latest disruption in the fight game and Turki Alalshikh's role as chief string-puller.
They also reflect on their conversation with Uefa Marketing Director Guy-Laurent Epstein and European Football Clubs CEO Charlie Marshall, to unpack the new commercial programme being developed by the UC3 entity, a joint venture between Uefa and EFC - and the flexibility that is being built into the media rights and sponsorship sales packages being taken to market by agency partners Relevent and Two Circles.
And there's reaction to the Premier League confirmation it will launch a direct-to-consumer service in Singapore.
UC3 Co-Managing Directors Charlie Marshall and Guy-Laurent Epstein join Leaders Worth Knowing this week to shine some light on an organization that has been quietly pulling the strings of European football in the shadows for a little while.
It was set up in 2017 as a joint project between what was then the European Clubs Association (ECA) and Uefa to consult on the commercialization of European club competitions - principally the Champions League.
Last year, the project became an incorporated joint venture and has moved from a consulting role to a management capacity.
In the wake of the failed attempt at a European Super League breakaway, Uefa and the continent's most powerful clubs are now bound tightly together. UC3 exists to manage the commercialization of both the men's and women's club competitions; it has contracted Relevent Football Partners and Two Circles as agencies to enact that work in the market.
But how does it work? What's being done differently? And what does it mean for the future of European and world football. Marshall - who is also the CEO of the EFC - and Epstein - the Marketing Director of Uefa - are thrusting UC3 into the limelight.
Over 40,000 people volunteer at Parkrun events worldwide each week, with around 20,000 in the UK alone, which prompts James Emmett and David Cushnan to discuss sport’s reliance on volunteers to help run - and effectively help market - big events.
They reflect on this week’s podcast interview with Elizabeth Duggan, Parkrun’s CEO, and on the word of mouth-driven success story it’s become in the UK and further afield.
Elsewhere, as Gianni Infantino celebrates his 10th anniversary as Fifa President in Instagram style, it’s a timely moment to assess his front-foot approach to communications, in a week when IOC President Kirsty Coventry miscued during a press conference and a leading voice in women’s football, Victoire Cogevina Reynal, stepped away from her Mercury13 multi-club investment firm.
Elizabeth Duggan is approaching one year in the role of CEO at Parkrun, the volunteer-led running organisation that is held up as a blueprint for sports participation in the UK.
Duggan and her team do a lot with a little. What started 21 years ago as one man - Paul Sinton-Hewitt - looking for company on a 5km run around Bushy Park in London has blossomed into a global community of 'fun-runners'. Parkrun welcomed its 12 millionth registrant recently and now operates weekend events - 5km runs and walks, as well as 2km runs for children - in 23 countries around the world.
In the next few years, Duggan anticipates reaching 800,000 weekly runners taking part. In this conversation, she explains the principles that have driven the charity's success.
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Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
The proposed merger between the ATP and WTA remains on the table, but as James Emmett and David Cushnan discuss, the time it's taking to finalise tells its own story.
On this week's show, there's reflections on conversations with Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA, and Eno Polo, the new CEO at the ATP - and the challenges tennis faces with calendar congestion, balancing the demands of tournaments of various sizes, and player influence.
There's also time to discuss Casey Wasserman's decision to sell his stake in his agency, and the possible forms the sale could take, and as the NFL hires TMRW Sports to operate its planned new flag football league, how and where rights holders can create new IP, to make a greater footprint, expand geographically or fuel player development.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.
WTA Ventures CEO Marina Storti joins the podcast to review a transformative year for women's tennis.
She takes us inside the process of landing Mercedes-Benz as a new headline partner, in what is being widely reported as the biggest sponsorship deal in the history of women's sport.
She details the gains the tour has made across its digital output and in its internal structure.
And she explains the rationale behind the new PIF WTA Maternity Fund programme, an industry-leading scheme that provides WTA players up to 12 months of paid leave.
This episode is part of a series exploring PIF’s growing sports sponsorship portfolio, detailing how it is striving to help solve societal and sporting challenges across its portfolio.
Listen to episode 1, with PIF Director and Head of Events and Sponsorship Alanoud Althonayan, here.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.
ATP CEO Eno Polo joins the podcast to reflect on his first 100 days in charge of the men's tennis tour.
The Kenyan sets out his strategic priorities in what could end up being a transformative year for tennis, with a merger between the ATP and the WTA firmly on Polo's agenda.
He also outlines the support that the PIF brings to the tour's work with its players, particularly through its sponsorship of the ATP Rankings and through its investment in the Tennis IQ analytics platform.
This episode is part of a series exploring PIF’s growing sports sponsorship portfolio, detailing how it is striving to help solve societal and sporting challenges across its portfolio.
Listen to episode 1, with PIF Director and Head of Events and Sponsorship Alanoud Althonayan, here.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
James Emmett and David Cushnan look ahead to a new Formula 1 season and another potentially seismic shift in the sport.
With significant gains in audience and commercial growth for the motorsport series in recent years, teams have felt the trickle down benefit, logging their own commercial gains.
With the biggest set of rule changes for over a decade coming into force this season, the playing field - theoretically - has been levelled. At this stage, championship contention is a realistic goal for almost all the teams. One that stands a particularly realistic chance of improvement is Aston Martin, whose commercial MD Jeff Slack is the featured guest on the interview show this week.
James and David reflect on Slack's comments, and take some time to look back on the Super Bowl as well as ahead to the future of the IOC's TOP sponsorship model.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
As F1 pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain, Jeff Slack, Aston Martin F1's Managing Director of Commercial and Marketing, lifts the lid on how the team intends to reach the front of the grid.
He reflects on the way the team has grown to over 1,100 people since it was rebranded as Aston Martin in 2021, its move into a new purpose-built facility at Silverstone and, after a 7th place finish in 2025, how owner Lawrence Stroll has set the course towards competing for world championships in the next few years, with the help of Honda and Aramco.
Slack also draws on his wider sports industry experience, including stints in leadership roles at Inter Milan and IMG, to assess the overall health of F1 and the way it's evolving for brand partners as the 2026 season dawns - and reveals what the sport must be wary of as it enjoys its current fan and corporate boom.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
James Emmett in Brisbane and David Cushnan in London reflect on conversations with Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley and his top team, and explain how the expansion - outwards and upwards - of Melbourne Park hints at a new trend across sport's major events - and opens up the opportunity to create new sponsorship, entertainment and fan-friendly spaces.
There's also time to look ahead to the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, which begins on Friday, and will be spread across Northern Italy - bringing with it the potential for operational and sustainability challenges, that will help determine the future of the winter Games ahead of regional editions in the French Alps (2030), Utah (2034) and, most likely, Switzerland (2038). Plus, there's a run-through of the broadcast innovations Olympic Broadcast Services are rolling out for the Games.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
As the dust settles on a tournament that attracted a record 1.3 million attendees, we explore the inner workings of the Australian Open in a special episode.
James Emmett spent the weekend on the ground at Melbourne Park, as Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina claimed the big prizes, to find out how the AO operates, as a tennis and social event, and a best-in-class fan experience.
James sits down with Tennis Australia CEO and Tournament Director Craig Tiley, and then a trio of Tiley's key executives: Chief Content Officer, Darren Pearce; Director of Product and Customer Experience, Amanda del Prate; and Director of Partnerships, International, Roddy Campbell.
They explain all aspects of how the AO does what it does: designing, developing and delivering sponsor activations, creating hospitality offerings to suit all tastes and price ranges; retail and merchandising experiences; innovative content and broadcast products; and wide-ranging entertainment programmes.
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Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
The world’s top tennis have been barred from wearing Whoop wearables at the Australian Open, reigniting a debate over who owns personal performance data.
James Emmett is on the ground in Melbourne for this week’s show, with David Cushnan back in the UK, to examine the various cases for ‘owning’ that data.
They also reflect on recent events in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Public Investment Fund’s global sponsorship strategy, laid out in David’s conversation with PIF’s Director and Head of Sponsorship and Events, Alanoud Althonayan.
And as British Cycling’s Jon Dutton is appointed as the next CEO of the British Olympic Association, what will the next period of leadership look like for British Olympic sport and its many governing bodies.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
Alanoud Althonayan, Director and Head of Events and Sponsorship at Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, joins the podcast to explain PIF’s sponsorship strategy and dig into its current key partnerships.
In the first episode of a new series exploring PIF’s growing sponsorship portfolio, Alnothayan sits down with David Cushnan in Riyadh for an extended conversation, outlining what PIF looks for in partners, and the ways it is striving to help solve societal and sporting challenges across its portfolio.
She explains the rationale behind the new PIF WTA Maternity Fund programme, which provides WTA players up to 12 month of paid leave; how the AI powered PIF TennisIQ platform is revolutionising and democratising data for players and coaches on the ATP Tour; how the Electric 360 initiative co-developed with Formula E, Extreme E and E1 is supporting the growth of electric transportation; how the appeal of golf is being unlocked for locals through work with Golf Saudi; and how partnerships in football, notably with CONCACAF, are giving PIF a platform in the world’s most popular sport.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
The NBA’s private event in London on Monday saw investors and other interested parties gather to learn more about the league’s plans for its European league; how is the project starting to come together and what happens now?
James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack the latest on a potentially game-changing project, and reflect on James’ in-depth conversation with British & Irish Lions CEO Ben Calveley, touching on the upside and downside of scarcity, clarity of business models and innovation in rugby union.
There’s also a look at the trend for NFL stadiums to have roofs, changing the look and feel of the league, and what that might mean for stadium refurbishments and new builds in the Premier League.
British & Irish Lions CEO Ben Calveley reflects on a record-breaking tour of Australia in 2025, and looks ahead to the inaugural women's Lions tour of New Zealand in 2027.
The Lions - one of the most idiosyncratic entities in world sport - is the organization set up to manage the occasional rugby union side of the same name. Players are drawn from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland to compete for a touring team historically every four years.
The rugby unions of those same nations co-own the Lions.
This episode may well have been subtitled 'how to turn a profit on tour', because since taking on the top job at the Lions in 2018 - first as MD, and then as CEO in 2022 - Calveley has ripped up the model that underpins the Lions and started again with a robust new framework that incentivizes the many stakeholders involved in making - or allowing - a tour to happen: from the competing unions, the host nation, the players and their agents, to the leagues and clubs that they're contracted to.
The new model ensures a balanced share in the success of any tour, and revenues have ballooned.
Calveley goes into depth on how the model works; puts his neck on the line by declaring the first women's Lions tour will be profitable; and talks leadership and life in this comprehensive episode.
Fanatics chief Michael Rubin thinks a new credit card could generate his company’s next billion dollar revenue stream, but could content and his new Fanatics Studios venture also be a contender?
James Emmett and David Cushnan delve into the new projects, and reflect on David’s conversation with Chris Bryant, MD of Euro 2028.
They also examine the raft of innovative, fan-friendly ideas the organisers of the Australian Open are serving up, and the way the Grand Slams are taking up more space in the tennis calendar.
Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We’ll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
Euro 2028 Managing Director Chris Bryant joins the show to share how preparations for the tournament are going.
He'll share how he and his growing team are working with multiple Football Associations, governments and Uefa to bring the tournament, which will be played in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, to life - and how his experience of running the Wembley part of Euro 2020 and the whole of Women's Euro 2022 are helping.
As the World Cup approaches this summer, he also reflects on how major event organisers need to be attuned to the politics of the day, and ready to adapt accordingly. And he'll share what needs to happen in 2026 to make Euro 2028 great.
Gerrit Meier, the NFL's Managing Director and Head of International, is on the line from New York, to reflect on another season of games played around the world and the league's wider international ambitions.
He reviews games played this season in London, Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and Sao Paulo, and explains how the NFL approaches operating in new markets, from commercial activity to fanbase development, diplomacy to participation.
Meier also expands on the league's vision to ultimately play up to 16 games per season outside the US, and shares how the NFL is identifying cities and countries as potential future hosts.
Esteve Calzada, CEO of Saudi Pro League giant Al Hilal, assesses the evolution of football in the Kingdom, as he welcomes Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan to the club’s corporate office in Riyadh. Al-Hilal SC is Saudi Arabia’s most successful football team, and has clubs in over 20 sports.
In a wide-ranging conversation, the former City Football Club executive offers his advice to sports industry leaders thinking of making a move to Saudi Arabia; what life is like working and living in fast-developing Riyadh; and the challenge of managing a team of 300 made up of a mix of international and local executive talent.
He also explains how football fandom plays out in Saudi Arabia; why he can’t go out to dinner with his counterpart at rival club Al-Nassr; the professionalisation process underway in the Saudi Pro League that saw the Public Investment Fund take majority ownership of Al-Hilal; and the private sector opportunities for sponsorship and commercial growth in the Kingdom.
IMG's VP and Co-Head of Multisport Content Sally Brown is in the Leaders studio, alongside David Cushnan, for the final part of the series that examines how to do business around the global sports industry.
With a focus on EMEA - a region of established sports markets and fast-growing emerging territories - Brown explains how IMG’s suite of production offerings are helping grow sports across the region, including Euroleague Basketball and the Esports World Cup.
Chris Guinness, EVP and Global Head of Commercial, and Roland Nikolaou, VP of Football in MENA bring two more IMG perspectives, to discuss media consolidation and its impact on rights and production across European markets; football fan culture in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East; and advice for sports organisations looking to be more active in the MENA region.
Episode 2: APAC
IMG's SVP of Strategy and Growth Josh Humbler joins James Emmett in the Leaders studio in the second of a three-part series looking at how to do business around the global sports industry.
After digging into the unique sports media market that is Australia, Brisbane native Humbler is joined by two Shanghai-based colleagues Ellein Cao, VP, Commercial, Greater China and Rufio Zhu, VP, Digital at what was until very recently the Mailman agency.
On the agenda: how to make an impact in China and unearth the real economic opportunity ; making sense of the platforms, the numbers, and the content culture in China; tennis, soccer and the sports that are breaking through.
Paulius Motiejunas, CEO of European basketball's premier club competition, Euroleague, is the guest on this week's podcast.
As the prospect of a new NBA-backed European start-up league edges closer - with suggestions recently that a competition might be ready to launch in 2027 - Motiejunas joins the podcast (interview starts at 19.58) to give his perspective on developments; from the dynamics of the multi-stakeholder discussions, to the ramifications for the sport in Europe should plans progress as the NBA indicate they will.
He also reflects on two and half years of change during his tenure at the top of Euroleague, with a commercial restructuring that has seen a new sponsorship model brought to bear; IMG's comprehensive strategic partnership renewed for a further ten years; and significant headway made in expansion to the Middle East with a new team in Dubai and a successful partnership with Abu Dhabi as the new host of the league's climactic Final Four event.
Elsewhere in the show, Henry Breckenridge reports from inside Formula 1's technical broadcast operation at Biggin Hill Airport.
Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer James Maddison joins the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast to unpack his approach to social media.
Fresh off the stage at the Summit at Leaders Week this year, Maddison was joined by fellow panelists Shaneil Patel, Head of Social Media at Spurs, and Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok's Global Head of Sports Partnerships.
The trio piece together the winning formula that has made Spurs the most successful Premier League team on TikTok - with 43 million followers - and Maddison himself one of the most resonant active athlete voices on the platform today.
Andrew Abdo, National Rugby League (NRL) CEO, joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation, as its global ambitions solidify.
In London for the England-Australia Ashes Test series, he reflects on five years at the helm of Australia's biggest sports league by viewership, a stint which has seen major revenue growth and international expansion, in the Pacific and to Las Vegas.
He sets out the NRL's approach to international markets, reflects on the league's global vision - including its relationship with the Super League in the UK - and, as the NRL's next domestic broadcast rights cycle approaches, Australia's dynamic media market.
Abdo also shares his approach to longer-term challenges, including artificial intelligence, private equity investment and real estate development, and gives his advice to international organisations coming into Australia as the 2032 Olympics loom on the horizon.
Join 200 influential sports leaders at Leaders Meet: Australia in Brisbane on 4th and 5th February 2026 - for more information head to https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-meet-australia/
IMG Executive Vice President & Head of Americas, Rights, Hillary Mandel joins James Emmett in the Leaders studio in the first of a new three-part series looking at how to do business around the global sports industry.
After identifying the ramifications of media fragmentation, corporate consolidation and cord cutting in the North American media market, sports media legend Mandel, who has sold billions of dollars worth of rights across a 22-year career at IMG, is joined by colleagues Evandro Figuera, VP, LATAM, Rights, who's based in Sao Paolo, and Brian Pressman, VP of Brand Partnerships based in New York.
On the agenda: how to make an impact in Brazil, from the boardroom to the field play; IMG's record-breaking partnership with Conmebol; Major League Soccer, the NWSL and the gigantic opportunity that is the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Former AFC Bournemouth owner Jeff Mostyn and his daughter Janine, MD of search firm Huckleberry Sport, are the guests on this week's Leaders Worth Knowing.
The Mostyns are two of the best networked people in the UK sports industry, and ahead of the release of Jeff's new book, The Chairman: The Man who Saved AFC Bournemouth, they visited the Leaders studio to reflect on a (very expensive!) fairytale journey.
Having made a success of a financial advisory practice focused on the Armed Forces, Jeff began his association with AFC Bournemouth in 2006. At the time, the club was in the third tier of English football, saddled with debt and poorly run. Over the course of the next 16 years, Jeff took the club through administration, to the brink of extinction, via a trip to the very bottom of the English professional pyramid, before establishing the club as a force in the Premier League. Bill Foley's consortium, Black Knight Football Club, bought the club in 2022.
Janine has led sport and entertainment talent firm Huckleberry Sport since 2017, and works with the likes of Premier League football clubs, Formula 1 racing teams, media and broadcast production companies, business consulting services and agencies and world-renowned gaming and entertainment providers.
Audi joins the F1 grid in 2026 and the team’s Chief Commercial Officer Stefano Battiston joins the show to give an update on preparations.
Completing its phased, multi-year buyout of the Sauber team, the German manufacturer will join the grid as F1’s latest round of technical regulations come into play with the potential to shake up the competitive order.
Commercially, Battison was at the heart of a new title sponsorship agreement with finance app Revolut - he explains what happened behind the scenes to get the deal done.
He also reflects on the changing culture as the Swiss-based team grows, how Audi intends to make its mark as one of 11 teams in F1 next season and how he identifies new sponsorship categories and brands with marketing budgets.
In the aftermath of Leaders Week London 2025, James Emmett and David Cushnan breakdown some of the top stories and tidbits from the biggest sports industry event of the year at Allianz Stadium, before introducing a series of conversations recorded on-stage. On the agenda:
(10:42) Jeff Moorad, Co-Founder of MSP Sports Capital, talks about the art of the exit in sports investment, following MSP's recent decision to part ways with McLaren Racing after playing a key role in the team's revival.
(17:23) James Foster runs marketing at HUGO Boss and has a number of top tier partnerships in sport, including with Aston Martin. He talks through the rationale behind the organisation's sponsorship activity and more broadly, how the brand thinks about cultural traction.
(22:00) Foday Dumbuya, Founder and Creative Director at Labrum, on the partnership between Labrum, Arsenal and Adidas; an away kit collaboration that celebrates Arsenal’s connection to its supporters from across the African diaspora.
(31:00) Britt Hadris, Director of Global Women's Sport at PepsiCo, on how the brand looks at and measures sponsorships across men's and women's sport.
(36:35) Mohammed AlSayyad, Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory, PIF, on the four principles that help shape how PIF think about sports investment and sponsorship.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the FA's Director of Women's and Para Football Sue Day, and CBS Creative Producer Pete Radovich are the featured guests as Leaders duo David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by Karthi Gnanasegaram to review the final day of the Summit at the 2025 edition of Leaders Week.
James Emmett, David Cushnan and Eoin Connolly reflect on a terrific opening day at The Summit from Allianz Stadium, which saw over 2,000 movers and shakers from across the global sports industry gather at the home of England Rugby.
The trio discuss a range of themes and talking points from on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages.
Alongside the dialogue, this episode contains short snippets of sessions and from around the venue, featuring Victor Montagliani, Sarah Massey, Mark Wilf and Susan Goodenow.
WWE President Nick Khan, Garcia Companies Founder Dany Garcia, and IMG President Adam Kelly sit down for a series of punchy conversations on Leaders Worth Knowing this week.
On the eve of Leaders Week, James Emmett and David Cushnan give an inside view on what to look out for at the biggest sports industry event of the year at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham next week, before introducing a series of conversations recorded at the IMG x RedBird Summit last week.
Fresh from TKO's debut boxing event in Las Vegas, WWE President Nick Khan talks ground-breaking media deals with Netlfix and ESPN, ponders the future of PPV, and explains why he won't use emojis;
Dany Garcia - the woman who runs Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Promotions production company, as well as the UFL, Danimás, and a portfolio of other businesses - explains what makes a great sports film, talks bodybuilding, and finally reveals what it was that the Rock was cooking.
And Adam Kelly looks back at a year of breathtaking deal-making and partnership building at IMG, and gives us a view from his front row seat overlooking the rapidly changing picture that is the macro media market.
In the second episode of the series between Leaders and TikTok, we explore the social giant’s approach to sport through the prism of some of its key executives and content creators.
To help us do that, we called upon Rich Paul, Founder & CEO of Klutch Sports Group – one of the most influential sports agencies in the world with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Juju Watkins and Draymond Green on its books. Paul has recently become a TikTok user and has already been widely admired for dropping brilliant insights on athlete branding, draft picks, and what it takes to build a lasting sports empire.
Vanessa Craft, TikTok’s Global Head of Content Partnerships and Business Development, joins Paul on the show to talk through community-building, how the worlds of sports, music and fashion are showing up on TikTok, and the consumption habits between men and women on the platform.
SBJ’s Managing Director Dan Kaufman hosted the conversation a few days after TikTok’s North American Sports Summit.
As the finals take place this week, Billie Jean King Cup CEO Kerstin Lutz joins the show from Shenzhen, China, which is hosting the women's national team tennis competition for the first time.
Lutz explains how China's third-largest city is embracing the finals, and shares her tips for working in and running events in the country, as it re-emerges onto the global stage.
She also reflects on her first 18 months as CEO of the BJK Cup, the operational takeover of the tournament in 2023 by Billie Jean King and TWG's Mark Walter, working in tennis alongside the sport's many stakeholders, and the elements of agency life - Lutz is a veteran of Team Marketing - that have helped as she settles into life running a sports property.
Nascar EVP and Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst joins the show to discuss how the stock car series thinks about broadcasting and engaging fans.
Speaking to Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett, he explains the rationale behind the latest cycle of US broadcast rights, including a new partnership with Amazon, which began this season and netted Nascar a reported $7.7 billion over the next seven years.
Herbst also discusses why and how Nascar shows up in Roblox and Fortnite, plus its recent debut on Substack, and where international rights and coverage fits into his thinking as he plots the future media direction of the top-level Cup Series, the secondary Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.
Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) completed a series C funding round earlier this summer, raising a reported $40 million.
The round was led by Saudi Arabia's SURJ Sports Investments, and supported by Cordillera, Verance Capital, and initial investor Sir Michael Moritz.
Sam Renouf is the founder and CEO of PTO and the man who leads the organization's T100 series of triathlon events. He led the efforts to raise the money. He joins the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast this week to give us a step-by-step guide to the year-long process that led to the capital injection.
Professional Triathletes Organisation and many other rights holders from across global sport will be out in full force at Leaders Week London from 29 September - 2 October. To find out more and to secure your pass, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
David Bruce is the Chief Business Officer at Sunderland, the North East club that's back in the Premier League after an eight year absence.
Under owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who, at 28, is the youngest Chairman in the Premier League, Bruce is responsible for steering the commercial operations at Sunderland. Staying in the Premier League is the aim this year, and, quite simply, much of the resource required for putting together a team capable of doing that is being driven by Bruce and his team.
Bruce, who left his role as CMO of Major League Soccer to take up a position at his home club of Sunderland two years ago, joined the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast fresh from an opening day win against West Ham. On the agenda:
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The record shirt sales achieved through partnerships with Fanatics and Hummel;
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The new need for a season-ticket waiting list for the team's 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light;
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The new premium offerings rolled out this season;
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Finding new fans, and reconnecting the club to the city and its people;
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The business and marketing lessons he learned in the US that he's trying to implement in Sunderland.
According to Google, that's the second most common question people ask in relation to the former FC Barcelona and Spanish international football legend.
The answer may well be 'very'. Since retiring from playing in November 2022, Pique has launched himself whole-heartedly into the running of his Kosmos agency. A few short weeks after hanging up his boots, he launched Kings League, a seven-a-side football competition with unconventional rules designed to major on the entertainment side of the sport.
Two and half years later, and Kings League has established itself as a new model for short-form football; it's expanded out of Spain and into new markets around Europe and South America, with the Middle East and the US now firmly on radar.
Pique sat down to record with Leaders at the Cannes Festival of Marketing earlier in the summer. Fresh off a whirlwind few weeks of activity with Kings League - including signing a landmark deal with Saudi Arabian fund SURJ, and overseeing a successful finals event in Paris - Pique gave his thoughts on football's expansion into the US market, the Club World Cup, spawning competitor outfits like the Baller League, and the transition from the field to the boardroom.
Raine Group Partner and Head of EMEA, Jason Schretter joins the show to explain how the England & Wales Cricket Board managed the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises - which drew significant investment from the United States and India.
Raine was the lead financial advisor to the ECB on the auction process, working closely with Deloitte to achieve an overall valuation of over £975 million across the eight franchises, and a £500 million windfall for the development of English cricket.
In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, Schretter reflects on the process from start to finish, shares the rationale for such sizeable investments, identifies some of the lessons for other sports looking for investment and offers his assessment of the sports industry's current financial literacy.
Look out for the Leaders Week London agenda, which is out next week - check out leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
Tom Jackson, Group Director, Content at the DP World Tour - once known as the European Tour - joins the podcast to share the organisation’s approach to content creation and in particular its run of viral videos featuring challenges and players.
In conversation with Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Jackson explains the critical planning and process required to bring a comprehensive content strategy to life; how his team convinced players to take part; the risk and reward of humour in content; and how the DP World Tour’s approach to branded content has become more sophisticated.
Join leading creatives, digital and content experts, and organisations including Ferrari, FIFA, Chicago Bulls, Snuggs, NASCAR and more, on the Creative Stage at Leaders Week London - 1st and 2nd October at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. To find out more visit: www.leaders on sport.con/leadersweek
Fresh from the Uefa Women’s Euros semi-finals, Rexona/Sure Global Brand Director Emily Heath joins Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett to examine whether women’s football sponsorship actually works.
Heath shares her on-the-ground thoughts on the atmosphere around this week’s games and describes the mood in host country Switzerland, plus outlines how Unilever-brand Rexona (Sure in the UK) is approaching its Uefa and Fifa sponsorship activations across different markets.
She also explains how and when Unilever will measure the success of the Euros - from sentiment to sales - and offers a few top tips to rights-holders about how to approach partnership conversations with the brand.
Emily Heath will be one of a gaggle of senior, global brand-side executives speaking at Leaders Week London, on 1st and 2nd October at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. To find out more visit: www.leaders on sport.con/leadersweek
Mark Goldbridge, owner and frontman of The United Stand and That’s Football, joins the podcast to explain how he’s building the biggest football content brands on YouTube, and the truth behind the viral clips they spawn.
Manchester United-focused The United Stand (19 million views in June) and That's Football (9.85 million views) were the top two YouTube football channels globally for long-form views in June.
In conversation with Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Goldbridge discusses how he turned a hobby into a business; his thoughts on mainstream football coverage and how it needs to change; the business model and how The United Stand and That’s Football are increasingly working with brand partners; and, naturally, his thoughts on the soap opera that is Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Glazers and what he’d do first if he was club CEO Omar Berrada.
Manchester United have remained a market leading force in commercial activity despite a run of challenging seasons for onfield performance and results.
Current front-of-shirt partner Snapdragon, a mobile phone chip manufacturing brand within the Qualcomm software empire, is entering the second year of a five-year deal worth a reported $375 million. It's a top-end fee for a position at a club that finished 15th last season.
On the show this week, Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire and newly installed Manchester United Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong join James Emmett to talk about how to make commercial and marketing impact through a challenging era of transition.
Warrington Wolves CEO Karl Fitzpatrick joins the podcast to discuss the ways in which his team and sport are attempting to widen their appeal.
In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, he reflects on the realities of running a Super League team in the north west of England, surrounded by four Premier League football clubs; how the club - a mainstay of the Super League since its formation in 1996 - is evolving; and efforts to boost the sport's profile.
As a former player, Fitzpatrick is also well-placed to consider IMG's impact on the sport since it signed a 12-year deal with the Rugby Football League and its commercial offshoot RL Commercial three years ago, with a mandate to transform the sport.
Fitzpatrick was speaking in Manchester at last month's Leaders summer drinks, to mark the launch of the Manchester chapter of Leaders Club, our community for tomorrow's sports industry leaders. For more information on the membership, visit leadersinsport.com.
As The Championships begin, Wimbledon's Marketing and Commercial Director Usama Al-Qassab sets out what's new this year and how he's settled into his role over the past two years.
In conversation with Leaders' Content Director, Al-Qassab discusses how the All England Lawn Tennis Club continues to balance history and tradition with innovation and technology; how conversations with brand and broadcast partners are changing; and how he's thinking about AI and its applications in and around The Championships.
Plus he discusses the changes for the 2025 tournament, including line judging and the start time of the men's singles finals, plus Wimbledon's digital strategy and what his diary looks like during The Championships
Reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson sit down with Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett in Cannes to discuss how track and field is being - and should be - disrupted.
Lyles, who claimed gold in the blue riband event at Paris 2024, discusses his deliberate approach to personal brand-building, and what he likes and doesn’t like about the current structure of the sport.
Then Johnson opens up about the successes and challenges he encountered launching Grand Slam Track, the new series he founded earlier this year, a week after the announcement that season one would end prematurely with one event to go. He also reflects on his own approach to leadership, raising money and team building.
Welcome to the first episode in a new series called The TikTok Gameplan.
Over the course of several episodes across the year, we'll be exploring the social giant's approach to sport through the prism of some of its key executives and content creators.
In this first episode of the series, we dig into TikTok's Gameplan for magnifying women's sport.
To help us do that, we called upon the services of the Queen of TikTok herself, England goalkeeping legend Mary Earps, who announced her retirement from international football in May 2025, having won 53 caps and helped her country to a Euros win and a World Cup Final.
She has also found herself central to the battle for mainstream recognition that women's football has been fighting, particularly through the campaign to get Nike to manufacture and sell her replica goalkeeper jerseys for women.
Joining Mary and Leaders' Managing Director Laura McQueen were TikTok's North American sports lead Kat Marquez, and former basketball player and coach Chloe Pavlech, who is now Chief Growth Officer of start-up 3x3 women's basketball league Unrivaled.
Katlyn Gao, CEO of LOVB (League One Volleyball) and Alex Bazzell, President and Co-Founder of Unrivaled Basketball join Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett to discuss why women’s sport was top of the agenda in Cannes this year.
Gao charts the story so far for LOVB as it builds its own brand – and looks to attract brands - and considers the prominent role of the league’s athletes in its storytelling approach.
Bazzell lays out the plan to build 3x3 women’s basketball property Unrivaled into sport’s next billion dollar league franchise. He reviews the first year and reveals where he's looking for inspiration as Unrivaled grows.
James also chats to Deidre Lester, CEO of western sports media and entertainment company Teton Ridge, which is transforming the way cowboy culture and rodeo is packaged up and delivered to consumers.
Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dust off the mics to discuss what’s worth knowing this week in the global business of sport.
They examine some of the sports organisations currently on significant recruitment drives - Relevent Football Partners, Premier League Studios, Glasgow 2026 and the Cadillac F1 team among them - and reflect on a remarkable weekend of Grand Slam tennis at Roland Garros. Plus why Fulham FC’s new Riverside Stand might be the new model for stadium entertainment offerings.
There’s also a look ahead to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - where James will be next week and sport will again be well represented. Stagwell Chief Brand Officer Beth Sidhu drops by to preview this year’s Sport Beach.
Outgoing Meta wearables chief Dan Reed joins the Leaders Sport Business podcast this week.
Having announced his departure from the technology giant earlier this month, Reed reflects on 11 years at the helm of various departments at Facebook and then Meta.
Hired out of his role as President of the NBA's G League, Reed initially joined Facebook to head up its nascent sports activity as Director of Global Sports Partnerships in 2014.
Building out a crack team - which included the likes of Peter Hutton, Joyee Biswas, Ronan Joyce, Jordan Gruber, and Nick Shaw among many others - Reed oversaw the development of Facebook Live as a viable sports streaming platform, 'experimenting' with hundreds of millions of dollars of rights as the company tested different strategic directions in sport.
As VP of Global Sports and Media Partnerships, Reed developed the growing content creator ecosystem inside Facebook's portfolio of apps, and tailored new monetization models for all manner of sports-focused entities and individuals.
And as COO of Reality Labs, essentially Meta's wearables division, Reed drove a multi-billion dollar business in AI, AR, VR and Mixed Reality products, pioneering what many believe will be the next iteration of mass-adopted connected devices through the Meta Rayban partnership.
Major League Baseball’s CMO and the President of the Harlem Globetrotters join Leaders Content Director David Cushnan in New York on the fringes of 4se, SBJ’s sport-meets-entertainment conference.
MLB’s Uzma Rawn Dowler explains how the league’s MLB Life platform is at the heart of its growing activity on fashion, music, gaming, arts and entertainment, and how she’s managing her role as the league’s CMO and SVP, Global Partnerships.
Harlem Globetrotters President Keith Dawkins shares how he’s trying to turn the storied organisation, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, from a touring show into a ‘beloved global entertainment brand’.
And Daniel Yaw-Miller, who writes about and observes everything going on at the intersection of sport, culture and fashion, reviews what he heard at 4se, including detail of the NFL’s fashion strategy and the growing influence of the league’s Fashion Editor Kyle Smith.
World Snooker Tour CEO Simon Brownell reflects on crowning a Chinese champion, alongside Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.
In a wide-ranging conversation just after WST's debrief of this year's tournament, Brownell discusses the plan to maximise Zhao Xintong's success at the Crucible, in China and beyond; Sheffield's future as host of the World Championships; the sport's Olympic hopes and global ambitions; and how to engage a new generation of fans.
Exploring the influence Donald Trump will exert on the 2026 Fifa men's World Cup and LA 2028 Olympics, with sports communications strategist John Zerafa.
John joins Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan for a tour of global geopolitics, starting at the White House where Trump this week hosted Fifa President Gianni Infantino. They discuss the implications of Trump's Presidency and policies on the upcoming Club World Cup, from visas to tariffs to how to handle those Oval Office encounters.
They also consider what might be in Kirsty Coventry's in-tray as she takes over the IOC Presidency, how the competition to host the 2036 summer Games is shaping up, where Saudi's sports strategy stands, China's first world snooker champion and Lego F1 cars.
Following Wrexham AFC's latest promotion at the weekend, CEO Michael Williamson joins Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.
He lifts the lid on a memorable day - and night - at the Racecourse Ground, as Wrexham secured its third successive promotion, as well as early planning for life in the second-tier Championship next season.
Williamson also discusses the redevelopment of the Racecourse Ground, rising expectations, English football's new independent regulator and, a year into his CEO role, how he came to work for owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
LA Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker joins James Emmett and David Cushnan on the Leaders Sport Business Podcast this week.
After guiding James around the Clippers' staggering new $2 billion arena, Zucker sat down to chat through the process of pioneering new tech in sports venues: the facial technology that drives new, smoother fan experiences, the halo board that delivers unprecedented AV impact inside the bowl, as well as the many challenges that come with attempting to build the best.
Snap reflections on our Leaders Meet: Innovation event this week in London, with Craig Hepburn, Art Basel's Chief Digital Officer, and former Virgin Atlantic, McLaren and Chelsea FC Chief Marketing Officer, Claire Cronin.
Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are on location at 180 Studios on The Strand to reflect on two days spent with C-suite leaders from across sport, discussing the biggest global trends - artificial intelligence, the global economy and climate change - with the help of outside of sport perspectives, from the worlds of music, retail, media and technology.
They're joined by a couple of experts fresh off the stage - Craig Hepburn assesses how the sports industry is tackling artificial intelligence, while Claire Cronin offers her reflections on the two days and her conversation with Waitrose Executive Director, James Bailey.
Lancashire County Cricket CEO Daniel Gidney takes us inside the Hundred auction, as Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan reflect on the beginning of a new era for English cricket.
Gidney has been instrumental in the sale of a 70% stake in the Manchester Originals, part of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s process to sell shares in The Hundred franchises.
He explains what it was like to be in the thick of February’s auction action; the preparatory work that went into establishing a relationship with new partner RPSG Group, owner of the IPL’s Lucknow Giants long before that; the impact on his own role as CEO; how the club intends to use the injection of funds - and what happens now, as The Hundred enters its next phase of development.
And there's a preview of this week's Leaders Meet: Innovation event, in central London - on Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th April. https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-meet-innovation/
Philippe Moggio, Kathy Carter and Mark Bullingham are on the show this week, as Leaders duo James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on a week of soccer activity on and off the pitch in LA last month.
CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio, former LA28 CEO and Soccer United Marketing President Kathy Carter, and FA CEO Mark Bullingham joined James for a series of conversations in the corridors at the inaugural Business of Soccer event in LA a few days ago.
The event - put on by Leaders and SBJ in collaboration with CONCACAF and Major League Soccer - brought together all the major powerbrokers in North American soccer ahead of a pivotal 15 months as the continent prepares to host the biggest ever Fifa World Cup.
On the agenda: capitalizing on the momentum the tournament will bring; building women's soccer into a commercial behemoth; oversaturation in the market; and an MLS calendar switch that could prove transformative.
India's ambitions to stage the Olympic Games and become a sport-forward nation dominated conversation at last week's RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, and Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan is joined by Portas Consulting's Nic Coward to reflect on a fantastic few days in Bangalore.
They consider how India's plan to host the Games in 2036 are progressing, the ways in which the plan is galvanising national and state governments, corporate brands and influential and wealthy figures across the country, and how Thursday's election of Kirsty Coventry as the next IOC President might alter the bidding landscape.
There's also a review of who said what on-stage at Bangalore's Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, including Virat Kohli's rare sit-down interview; husband and wife duo Vita and Jalaj Dani, who are transforming table tennis in India; Fifa's SVP, Director of Commercial Partnerships; and SURJ's new Chief Commercialization Officer, Chloe Targett-Adams.
With horse racing's annual Cheltenham Festival playing out in the background, Jockey Club Partnerships Director Carey Weeks takes Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett on a tour of the Orchard, the racecourse's buzzing sponsor village.
The episode features on-the-ground conversations with sponsorship leaders from the likes of Brooklands Watch Company and Debenhams.
Later on, we hear from Leaders Managing Director Laura McQueen as she helps to launch the new 'Be the lead' initiative at an International Women's Day event in the plush surrounds of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park.
Liesel Jolly, women's football lead for Visa, also joins the show to talk about sustainable investment into women's sport, and to shed some light on some new thinking behind women's football as a sponsorship proposition.
With the new MLS season underway, Radhika Duggal joins Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan to discuss the marketing activity at the centre of the league’s 30th anniversary.
She explains how the season-launch Game On campaign came to life, why a Super Bowl advert was just one of many touchpoints for it and why players - as creators, brands and influencers in their own right - are increasingly at the heart of how MLS markets itself.
Duggal also reflects on her first 10 months in the role. The former Pfizer, JPMorgan and Super executive shares her first impressions of the sports industry and considers what the CMO role looks like in sport versus the worlds of financial services and fintech.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
Behind the scenes at F1's partner day, Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan speak to senior brand executives from some of the sport's key sponsors.
You'll hear from Moët Hennessy's Sport Partnership Director, Vincent Borjun-Privé, on why experiences are at the heart of LVMH's new relationship with F1; Thomas Mulders, Global Sponsorships Manager at Heineken, on ten seasons of F1 partnership; Globant's Global Sports Partnerships Head, Nicolas Rey Petit and Global SVP, Valeria Abadi on why the fastest growing IT company in the world has become an F1 partner; Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Head of Motorsport Partnerships, Mike Aghataher, on how its partnerships with F1 and Ferrari work in lockstep; and Lenovo's Global Sponsorship Director, Lara Rodini, on why the brand chose F1 to sit alongside its Fifa World Cup partnership.
There’s also reflections on the highly-produced F175 show at the O2 Arena and why it’s unlikely to be a one-off, plus an analysis of F1's commercial health going into the 2025 season.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
F1’s Chief Commercial Officer Emily Prazer and Director of Commercial Partnerships Jonny Haworth sit down with Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan, during F1’s hectic launch week in London.
In a wide-ranging conversation on the commercial health and outlook for F1, they discuss the sport’s enviable global partner roster - including major new brands like LVMH, American Express, Santander and Kit Kat and, as well as new licensing partners like Lego.
Prazer breaks down her dual role as CCO and President of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and explains how LVGP and F1’s teams are in the process of being integrated. They also discuss creativity in partner relationships and activations, their fresh focus on experiential and their desire to work with partners to expand F1’s footprint off track.
The conversation was recorded at F1’s partner day, at London’s Ham Yard Hotel on Monday 17th February.
Sports media and marketing expert David Stubley, author of ‘Gamechangers and Rainmakers: How Sport Became Big Business’, joins Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan, to discuss what there is to learn from the sports industry brands that no longer exist.
It’s a whistle-stop tour through decades of sports industry history, including the American Football League and its eventual merger with the NFL; Billie Jean King’s breakaway Virginia Slims Tour; Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket; British Sky Broadcasting’s role in the launch of the Premier League; the rise and fall of Horst Dassler’s ISL; and the dotcom bubble burst that did for OnDigital, Quokka and Sportal.
There’s also time to reflect on a busy sports industry week: the Super Bowl in review; Uefa’s decision to go exclusive with Relevent and end a decades-long relationship with TEAM; and rumblings of new global basketball leagues.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan share what’s worth knowing in the global sports industry this week.
They’re joined by Steve Gera, President and COO of Grand Slam Track, the new athletics series fronted by Olympic legend Michael Johnson. Gera shines a light on this week’s US media rights announcements for the first season, starting in April, and the calendar of Slams, beginning in Kingston, Jamaica and then moving to Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
He also discusses the challenges of building a start-up property, the dangers of going too big too soon, Grand Slam Track’s position as a disrupter in global athletics and why and how he’s targeting the youngest fanbase in sport.
Elsewhere, where the best Super Bowl parties in New Orleans this weekend might be and the remarkable early results of the auctions to decide the new investors in English cricket, as the sales process for the Hundred concludes.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan share what’s worth knowing in the global sports industry this week.
They’re joined by Juan Delgado, CEO of Footballco, the 350-person digital media company that owns and operates online brands such as GOAL, Mundial and Kooora. He explains how audiences consuming football content are growing and morphing into fully-fledged communities, the monetisation models underpinning that growth and the football content trends and markets he’s keeping tabs on.
Elsewhere there’s time to reflect on the era of real estate-focused sports team owners and Fanatics’ plan to open its first global flagship collectibles and merchandise store, on London’s Regent Street.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan share what’s worth knowing in the global sports industry this week.
They’re joined by Rachel Knight, Co-Managing Director of Women’s Sports Group. She details the ins and outs of the media rights process WSG ran for the Women’s Super League, which resulted in October’s landmark deal which will see the BBC and Sky Sports paying a reported £65 million for the next five seasons of live coverage.
She reflects on the marketplace dynamics that impacted the lengthy negotiations, the clips carve-out for teams and players, what she would have done differently and the challenge of comparison, with the men’s game and the NWSL, as the deals were being stitched together.
There’s also time to chat about Sixth Street’s new women’s football multi-club ownership group; Juventus tapping into The King’s League; and FC Barcelona breaking the 20 million subscriber mark on YouTube.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan share what’s worth knowing in the global sports industry this week.
In the mix: The Australian Open’s Nintendo Wii tie-up and a new breed of alt-casts to complement - and in some cases circumvent - traditional broadcast rights arrangements; the debut of 3x3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled later this week, which is taking place, like the new TGL golf series, in a brand new broadcast-first venue; the launch of Kroenke Signature Properties, to sell sponsorships across all his sports properties including the LA Rams and Arsenal; and more evidence of London’s status as an events capital, as MLB releases economic impact details of last summer’s International Series at London Stadium.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan strap in for 2025, exploring what’s worth knowing in the global sports industry this week.
They’re joined by Ed Warner, Chair of UK Athletics between 2007 and 2017 and current Chair of GB Wheelchair Rugby and the 2026 World Team Table Tennis Championships, to discuss who’ll be the next President of the International Olympic Committee and the routes to victory for the seven candidates in the race. Warner sets up the background to March’s election, as outlined in his Sport Inc. newsletter.
There’s also time to discuss a proposal to turn Test cricket into a two-tier system; the dynamics of European basketball as IMG renews with the Euroleague; and whether China might be refocusing on football.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, the weekly sports industry newsletter from Leaders, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are in reflective mood, as they review the stories of the sports industry year - as clicked on by you, the sports industry, in our weekly Worth Knowing newsletter.
They recall Netflix’s big commitment to sport (and entertainment); organisational chop and change at Manchester United; a stream of investment chatter; the proposed merger between the ATP and WTA tour; LVMH’s takeover of the Paris Olympics; George Pyne’s investment case for women’s sport; the rise of the Chief of Staff; the Saudi money steering the big decisions; campaigns that struck a nerve; rebrands that struck a chord; why you should fire your CMO; what makes a good CEO, and a whole lot more.
To subscribe to Worth Knowing, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan buckle up and settle back to review the stories of the sports industry week.
They’re joined by Isabelle Stewart, F1’s Head of Original Content to discuss her two years in the role so far; the logistics, planning and purpose behind Brad Pitt’s F1 movie as filming wraps; what F1’s content slate looks like now and could look like soon, from scripted drama to new short-form formats; and targeting and appealing to fresh new audiences.
There’s also time to salute McLaren and their CEO Zak Brown, after the team won its first F1 Constructors’ Championship since 1998. Plus the studio is full of excitement and anticipation in the wake of news that the Grand Sumo Tournament is heading to London next October.
Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan and Senior Content Manager Henry Breckenridge run head-on into the stories of the sports industry week.
They’re joined by Matt Porter, Chief Executive of the Professional Darts Corporation, ahead of this month’s World Championships at Alexandra Palace in London. He offers his SWOT analysis on the sport at the end of 2024 and explains the fan-first, party-first approach the PDC has refined over the past few years; expansion around the world to venues like Madison Square Garden; the phenomenon that is teen sensation Luke Littler; what it’s like filming for Netflix; and what to wear for a night at the darts.
Elsewhere, David and Henry reflect on the impact Ilona Maher - the world’s most followed rugby player - signing for Bristol Bears could have on Premiership Women’s Rugby, and the wider unsettled outlook for rugby union.
Welcome to the third and final episode of Model making, a series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks whether we need a new commercial vision for sport.
Hosted by Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Viagogo’s International Lead Matt Drew, the three-part series puts sport’s traditional revenue streams under the microscope.
If media rights increases cannot be taken for granted and sponsorship revenue is under threat, where are the new business lines for rights holders to focus on? This episode is focused on the solutions to some of sport's most existential challenges.
To help them make sense of the shifting sands around them, the pair are joined by four illustrious guests:
- John Skipper, formerly of ESPN and DAZN and the architect of some of the biggest rights deals in US TV history;
- Brett Gosper, Head of Europe & APAC at NFL and the executive in charge of pushing American football's international boundaries, having previously done so at World Rugby;
- Simon Denyer, serial founder and former leader of DAZN, current leader of PEAK, and board member on a number of global properties including the WTA;
- Zarah Al-Kudcy, the newly installed CRO at the Women’s Professional League Ltd, and a commercial leader at Chelsea, Formula 1 and the ICC among many before that.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dig in to the stories the sports industry week.
They tackle the big news that the Premier League is launching its own media production business from the start of the 2026/27 season, ending a 20 year partnership with IMG which has operated under the Premier League Productions brand, delivering coverage and content to its international broadcast partners.
There’s discussion on the rationale behind the move, the realities of building an in-house media production unit, and what it means for the future of media production agencies like IMG.
And there’s also a look at F1’s decision to grant General Motors/Cadillac an entry, as an 11th team, from 2026, with a project backed by LA Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dissect some of the stories of sports industry week.
They reflect on whether Friday’s Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson fight was a win for Netflix; the slightly mesmerising nature of the Vendee Globe app; and the social media trend towards Bluesky.
Then, in a conversation recorded at last week’s Leaders Sport Performance Summit in London, David chats to Peter Mattson, Red Bull’s Global Performance Director. He offers a glimpse inside the energy drinks giant’s Athlete Performance Center, the brand’s evolving culture and the dynamics of building a high performance athlete within a global marketing machine.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are out and about at this week’s Leaders Sport Performance Summit, looking out over The Oval cricket ground in central London.
They’re joined by astrophysicist Professor Carole Mundell, the Director of Science at the European Space Agency, fresh off a scintillating presentation on stage, for an outside-of-sport, out-of-this-world conversation on leadership and culture: making complex decisions, managing a multitude of stakeholders (a staff of 500 and perhaps as many as 46,000 people across ESA’s 22 member states), and clarity in communication. Plus what happens to black holes when they get indigestion and whether Pluto should feel hard done by for being downgraded to dwarf planet status.
There’s also time for a rifle through the sports industry stories of the week, including Whoopi Goldberg’s new sports network, Barcelona and Nike staying together and the Premier League’s continuing efforts to crack down on piracy.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan give their verdict on the sports industry week, then introduce two power conversations from on stage at Leaders Week London.
First, Jess Smith, President of soon-to-launch WNBA team Golden State Valkyries sits down with Netball Super League Managing Director, Claire Nelson. Then former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham is in conversation with Esteve Calzada, the former City Football Group executive who is now CEO of PIF-owned Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal.
Brett Gosper, Head of NFL Europe & Asia-Pacific, takes a quick break from a very busy month of American football to join James Emmett on this week's episode.
He shares his top-line reflections from the 2024 London games, along with some impressive and record-breaking stats for the league; plus, what's immediately up next as the NFL touches down in Munich for its second foray to Germany, this weekend.
Elsewhere on the show, Leaders' Strategic Account Manager Javan Odegah shares his reflections on the games, having been in attendance at Wembley when a record-breaking 86,651 crowd witnessed Jacksonville Jaguars beat the New England Patriots.
Welcome to episode two of model making, a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks whether we need a new commercial vision for sport.
Are the business models that have sustained professional sport for so long at breaking point? And what are the solutions that sport's most innovative thinkers are endorsing?
Big questions answered on-stage at Leaders Week London 2024 by Chicago Cubs and Marquee 360's Senior Vice President, Cale Vennum, and Viagogo's International Lead, Matt Drew. James Emmett, Leaders Editorial Director was in the moderator's chair to find out how ticketing can help unlock additional revenue streams and engagement.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan return to the studio, for some more reflections on Leaders Week London and to review the most notable stories of the sports industry week.
As IMG, On Location and Professional Bull Riders move from Endeavor to TKO ownership, they consider the corporate storytelling implications and ponder whether it's the precursor to further change.
They also discuss the WNBA’s upcoming collective bargaining negotiations, after the players’ decision to opt out of the current agreement early, as well as luxury brand Chanel’s decision to sponsor the annual university Boat Race along London’s River Thames.
In this episode, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by special guests, Richard Conway, Founder & Managing Partner at Spectacle Partners, and serial sports industry board member, Nic Coward, to review the action from a barnstorming return to Leaders Week London.
The team touch on a number of topics from Day 2 of The Summit at Allianz Stadium as well as the on-stage sessions, which featured Nikki Doucet, Chief Executive Officer, Women's Professional Leagues Ltd; Kealan Casey, Director of Brand Marketing, North America at BBC Studios; Declan Sharkey, Global Director and Senior Principal at Populous; and Mark Ashton, Chief Executive Officer at Ipswich Town FC.
James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on a terrific opening day at The Summit from Allianz Stadium, which saw over 2,000 movers and shakers from across the global sports industry gather at the home of England Rugby.
The duo discuss a range of themes and talking points from on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages.
Alongside the dialogue, this episode contains short snippets of sessions and from around the venue, featuring Gerard Piqué, Kosmos; Sally Horrox, World Rugby, Mark Shapiro, Endeavor; Don Garber, Major League Soccer; Gareth Balch, Two Circles and England Cricketer Tammy Beaumont.
Welcome to model making, a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks, do we need a new commercial vision for sport? Are the business models that have sustained professional sport for so long at breaking point? And what are the solutions that sport's most innovative thinkers are endorsing?
Hosted by Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Viagogo's International Lead Matt Drew, the three-part series puts sport's traditional revenue streams under the microscope.
Where and why are media rights flatlining? Are sponsorship dollars under threat below the elite level? And are matchdays being maximised?
To help them make sense of the shifting sands around them, the pair are joined by three illustrious guests:
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John Skipper, formerly of ESPN and DAZN and the architect of some of the biggest rights deals in US TV history;
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Simon Denyer, serial founder and former leader of DAZN, current leader of PEAK, and board member on a number of global properties including the WTA;
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Zarah Al-Kudcy, the newly installed CRO at the Women's Professional League Ltd, and a commercial leader at Chelsea, Formula 1 and the ICC among many before that.
James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Leaders Managing Director, Laura McQueen, and Event Director, Hannah Redfern, to preview the annual sportsbiz extravaganza that is Leaders Week London.
It's a week filled with forums, think tanks, Awards and social get-togethers – taking place all day, all night, all week, right across the city. The week culminates with The Summit at Allianz Stadium: a place where you’ll find sport’s biggest names and the most progressive ideas shaping the industry, all in the company of 2000 attendees from all corners of the globe.
And ahead of all of that, the team share their top tips for maximizing on your time out of office, who to look out for on the speaker programme, and where to go if (surprisingly) you're yet to secure your event pass.
Mary Bekhait is one of the global entertainment industry's leading talent executives.
As Chief Executive of YMU Group, she leads an international business representing mega stars across music, sport, entertainment, literary, social, art and business management, including: Davina McCall, Simon Cowell, Tom Daley, Clare Balding, Ant & Dec, Fred again, and many more.
She joined James Emmett and David Cushnan in the Leaders studio (ahead of an important business call with Simon Cowell) to run through the inner workings of YMU Group; her top tips for building and nurturing relationships (forged from a 20-year career in talent management); how brand sports marketers can best work with and maximise athlete talent; who she enjoys managing the most and what great output looks like on LinkedIn.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan slip back into the studio to consider the stories of the sports industry week.
As Whisper secures a big contract for host broadcast services at Roland Garros, they reflect on the changes, creativity and innovation in the sports production market - and, as Lionel Messi launches his own studio, when athletes and influencers might join the contest for big live production work.
Then David plays in a couple of conversations from last week’s Two Circles EMEA Client Summit in London. The agency’s Co-Founder and CEO Gareth Balch sets the scene, then Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer Juliet Slot, Two Circles’ Managing Director of Ventures Annie Panter and Zarah Al-Kudcy, who has just started as Chief Revenue Officer at WPLL, the new entity operating the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship on England, sit down to discuss how to scale women’s football.
They explain how fan insights are impacting the stadium experience, getting ticketing strategies and pricing right (and wrong), how to carefully read the new wave of data being collected and how it’s informing approaches to marketing the women’s game.
Welcome to Convergence – a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It’s a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand.
In this series we’ll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more – and it’s being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering.
Diane Gotua, a strategic business leader with nearly two decades of global leadership experience in strategy, operations and corporate development within sports and finance, is our guest for episode three. Diane currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategy at Fanatics, having previously worked at the NBA for 9 years in a variety of leadership and strategy roles.
Welcome to Convergence - a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It's a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand.
In this series we'll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more - and it's being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering.
DAZN’s CEO of Growth Markets, Pete Oliver – the executive who leads the group’s activities and teams in markets such as the UK, US and Canada – is our guest for episode two.
Dan Rossomondo has spent over 20 years in the sports industry delivering international business strategies to accelerate growth across sponsorship, media, licensing and retail.
He cut his teeth at the NBA where he helped to supercharge the organisation as a sports, entertainment and lifestyle property for over a decade. He's now bringing that experience and track record to MotoGP, where he was appointed as CCO in 2023, and is responsible for leading the media rights, global commercial partnerships and digital business teams.
One year into the role, he joined Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett to reflect on the journey so far, the incredibly exciting time for the sport, and how he's planning to fuel the continued internal growth of MotoGP's profile, audience and revenue.
This episode is part of the Leaders in Focus series, produced in partnership with IMG.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett popped his wellies on and headed down to Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire this week to join an exclusive gathering of sports, media and entertainment leaders at the IMG x RedBird Summit.
'Raising the Game' was the theme of the event, and much of the conference content was future-focused, aimed at identifying, in RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale's words, how to 'skate to where the puck is going'.
In amongst the on-stage sessions, the off-stage masterclasses, and the catch-ups across the farm, James sat down with a handful of the guests for a series of low time-high impact conversations.
On the show, you'll hear from:
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RedBird's Gerry Cardinale - on his investment thesis and the opportunity to rejuvenate world class IP at AC Milan, Paramount, and the Telegraph;
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IMG's President of Media Adam Kelly - on his vision for the event, and the current state of play in the sports media rights market;
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PCP Capital Partners CEO Amanda Staveley - on her exit from Newcastle United and the buyer/seller dynamics in elite football ownership;
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Gymshark Chief Brand Officer Noel Mack - on building a British brand with unicorn status;
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IMG EVP Hillary Mandel - on a year of major deal making with the USTA and ESPN, Roland Garros and Warner Brothers Discovery, and the NWSL.
Welcome to Convergence - a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It's a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand.
In this series we'll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more - and it's being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan hit the studio again for a wander through the sports industry stories of the week.
On the eve of the Uefa Champions League draw, they’re joined by Uefa Marketing Director Guy-Laurent Epstein to help explain the revamped competition format and the reasons behind the changes.
Epstein also discusses partner reaction to the new-look tournament; 30 years of Champions League brand finessing; the rise of the Women’s Champions League; North America’s growing interest in football and what that means for organisations like Uefa; what he’s looking for in an agency partner, as a new sales cycle looms; and the approach to innovation in a football market that prizes tradition.
Marina Storti has spent over 20 years in the sports industry delivering strategies to accelerate commercial growth, engage diverse fans and impact positive change.
And she’s been bringing all of that experience and expertise to her new role as CEO of WTA Ventures – the commercial arm of the WTA – having previously earned her sporting stripes at Sky and NOW TV.
One year into the role, she joined David Cushnan and James Emmett to reflect on an incredibly exciting time for women’s professional tennis; the partnerships that she’s overseen during her tenure so far - most notably with Saudi Arabia - and how she’s planning to guide WTA Ventures in an innovative new era of the WTA.
This episode is part of the Leaders in Focus series, produced in partnership with IMG.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan gather their thoughts and reflect on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
They discuss the broadcast coverage and tone, for the BBC, Discovery and NBC in particular; sponsor creep in the wake of LVMH and Samsung’s activity in Paris; the visual spectacle and the power of the still image; the challenges ahead for organisers of LA28; and Thomas Bach firing the gun on an IOC Presidential election next year.
Claire Nelson is in the midst of overseeing the relaunch of Netball Super League. As Managing Director, she’s plotting a 10-year path to professionalisation for the newly-restructured eight-team league and intent on growing the sport around the UK.
On this edition of Leaders in Focus, she shares those plans; her approach to breaking the bad news to the existing teams that won’t be getting a place in the new league format; why working with Premier League club Nottingham Forest – which acquired one of the franchises - could open up a world of opportunity; and the commercial models that underpin the Super League’s growth strategy.
She also discusses life as a CEO; the progress being made in EDI across sport; and how to make room for brands looking to be creative – and even edgy - when activating in and around women’s sport.
Claire Nelson is in the midst of overseeing the relaunch of Netball Super League. As Managing Director, she’s plotting a 10-year path to professionalisation for the newly-restructured eight-team league and intent on growing the sport around the UK.
On this edition of Leaders in Focus, she shares those plans; her approach to breaking the bad news to the existing teams that won’t be getting a place in the new league format; why working with Premier League club Nottingham Forest – which acquired one of the franchises - could open up a world of opportunity; and the commercial models that underpin the Super League’s growth strategy.
She also discusses life as a CEO; the progress being made in EDI across sport; and how to make room for brands looking to be creative – and even edgy - when activating in and around women’s sport.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are reunited for a chinwag about the global business of sport.
They reflect on the summer of sport and hospitality so far - from Wimbledon to the British Grand Prix - and consider the latest state of play at the NBA, as its new media deal nears completion, and the health of tennis and golf.
Then, on the eve of the Olympic Games, they ponder the major storylines and pointers of Paris 2024, including the baffling logistical and security operation for the opening ceremony along the River Seine; the role and integration of LVMH into various aspects of the Games experience; the political clouds hanging over the event; and the ambitious hospitality programme being delivered for the IOC by On Location.
Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan rattles through the big stories of the sports industry week - media rights updates from the NBA and Ligue 1, and the IOC-Saudi deal for the Olympic Esports Games - before two more conversations recorded at last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He was joined by two athletes transitioning into executive roles, operating in growing, challenger sports in the US.
Brazil’s Helio Castroneves is a four-time Indy 500 winner, who is gradually winding down his racing career and moved into team ownership in Indycar.
Paul Rabil, one of the great lacrosse players, co-founded PLL in 2019 and has put it on a growth path, helped by a major ESPN media deal and a switch this year to a city-based model for its eight competing teams.
For the fifth year in a row, Leaders in Sport is partnering with The Women’s Sport Collective and Women in Football to offer funded places at October’s Leaders Week London for women and nonbinary people working in sport. For more information and to apply visit leadersinsport.com
Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan is back with the stories of the sports industry week, while Editorial Director James Emmett chips in with two more conversations from last month’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity.
England and Arsenal footballer Alessia Russo was first to drop in to the Sport Beach, hosted by Stagwell, for a chat about working with brands, and learning from the creative and marketing worlds.
Then climber Alex Honnold, perhaps best known for his Free Solo film, stopped by to discuss how to tell the best sports stories and balancing performance with commercial work.
For the fifth year in a row, Leaders in Sport is partnering with The Women’s Sport Collective and Women in Football to offer funded places at October’s Leaders Week London for women and nonbinary people working in sport. For more information and to apply visit leadersinsport.com
Recorded at The All England Lawn Tennis Club on the eve of the 2024 Championships, Sally Bolton discusses life as Wimbledon's CEO.
In a wide-ranging conversation on Leaders in Focus, in partnership with IMG, she reflects on the varying leadership styles required to manage a two-week Grand Slam, a thriving year-round club and relations with a host of partners and global tennis stakeholders.
She also assesses the overall health of sport in the UK, 12 years on from London 2012 and after her experiences running the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
Bolton pinpoints Wimbledon's role in discussions over the future direction of professional tennis, as the four Grand Slams are working more collaboratively; shares how she motivates and challenges her team; outlines the pursuit of perfection and the art of making that look effortless; and shares some of the leadership traits - resiliance, transparency - that are essential in one of world sport's most prestigious jobs.
Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan brings you the stories of the sports industry week, while Editorial Director James Emmett brings you a couple of heavyweight brand CMO conversations from last week's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
At the Sport Beach, hosted by Stagwell, he sat down with Don McGuire, CMO of Qualcomm, a B2B company that, through its Snapdragon brand, is about to become much more visible, as Manchester United's new front-of-shirt sponsor.
Then he catches up with Mark Kirkham, CMO of International Beverages at PepsiCo, who reflects on how the best storytelling in sports marketing happens - and where it's happening in 2024.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are out and about, sharing their sports industry week.
James is in Cannes, taking in the beaches, making note of the activations and soaking up the vibes at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - and asking what sport is doing there, who it wants to meet, why so many athletes have turned up and where sport actually fits in the minds of the big brands and agencies who have decamped this week to the South of France.
Meanwhile, David’s had a slightly shorter trip, to Chiswick Park in West London, where he reflects on hosting part of IMG Networking Week, IMG’s latest internal engagement initiative - and picks up a few tips including how to remember names and the art of the elegant conversation exit.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan take an amble through the sports industry week, joined by Seven League and Rematch Founder Richard Ayers.
They discuss how politics and sport are mixing during the UK General Election campaign, and as French President Emmanuel Macron calls a snap election just weeks before Paris hosts the Olympics.
It’s a free-flower of a conversation, taking in evolving agency models; what Richard plans to digitally transform next; table tennis and badminton’s incessant rise; how government sports policy is formed, and the impact a future UK sports industry trade body could have; creating live, theatrical ‘immersive’ experiences inside and outside sports venues, and the evaporating barriers between the physical and digital worlds.
Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan is joined by Javan Odegah, for the latest on the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series.
They reflect on the recent Diversity breakfast hosted at 4se New York, touch on reports Anthony Joshua may be about to buy a stake in his hometown football club, Watford FC, and consider how Arsenal's newly-adopted anthem, North London Forever, has taken hold.
Then you'll hear a portion of an on-stage conversation from 4se New York, our sports-entertainment-business event, featuring Curry Brand GM Ryan Drew. Drew, talking to Business of Fashion's Dan-Yaw Miller, shares how involved Curry has been in honing the values of the company and his qualities as a pitchman, as well as how the brand is likely to evolve as Curry's playing career winds down.
The final deadline for Leaders Sports Award entries is Monday 11th June - to find our more and to enter any of the nine refreshed categories, visit leadersinsport.com/LSA.
Andy Anson is preparing Team GB for a golden summer in Paris. The British Olympic Association CEO is the guest on this month's Leaders in Focus, where he looks ahead to the Olympics; considers the major challenges the Olympic world faces; and discusses whether athletes should be paid directly for winning medals at the Games.
He reflects on a long and varied career in sports and media: developing his love of brand at Disney; takeovers and working under the Glazers at Manchester United; and working out what went wrong with England’s bid for the 2018 Fifa World Cup, a campaign he fronted.
Anson also reveals the leadership traits he’s learnt – and the leaders he’s learnt from – along the way, as well as how he dovetails his BOA commitments with his role as Chair of Lancashire County Cricket Club and the advice he has for the next generation of sports CEOs.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan take stock of a big week of sports, entertainment and business at 4se New York.
As the green room is dismantled around them in Chelsea, they reflect on some of the big themes of the event: storytelling in all its forms, the rise Cowboy culture, and the budding relationship between sports organisations and the music industry.
US Ski & Snowboard CEO Sophie Goldschmidt also stops by to discuss one of the big stories elsewhere this week - the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s new deal with the Women’s Tennis Association - and share her thoughts on the impressive group of Gen Z athletes, snowboarders Red Gerrard and Hailey Langland and NASCAR driver Rajah Caruth, she shared the stage with at 4se.
Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan lean into the sports industry stories of the week.
They're joined by Anna Edwards, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at executive search and advisory firm Elite Performance Partners (EPP), to discuss Manchester United' Co-Owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's new work-from-office edict and, as the WNBA continues to expand, how to structure a start-up sports organisation's front office.
They also discuss the latest Leaders Special Report, Succession in Sport, produced in partnership with EPP and the challenges of smooth executive change, managing internal leadership candidates and the skillsets a modern sports CEO should possess.
Barbara Slater is one of the most respected figures in the sports broadcasting industry.
A former international gymnast and Olympian, Barbara joined the BBC 40 years ago and is on the cusp of retiring from her current Director of Sport role.
During her tenure, she's changed attitudes and enhanced perceptions of women's sport, overseen remarkable growth in BBC Sport’s digital services, and cemented the BBC as the most popular broadcaster in the UK - all whilst managing the challenges that come with working for a publicly-funded broadcaster.
Slater was in the hot seat for May's edition of Leaders in Focus and had a wide-ranging conversation with Leaders duo James Emmett and David Cushnan on her life at the BBC and what she leaves behind for her successor.
This episode of Leaders in Focus was produced in partnership with IMG.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan shake down the global sports industry for the stories of the week.
That includes Amazon’s potential broadcast deal with the NBA, Saudi giant Aramco’s new partnership with Fifa, difficult days for sports journalism, George Payne’s turf management, DAZN’s German football dispute, the rise of Cowboy culture, and reflections on the death of Ayrton Senna 30 years ago this week.
And there’s time for a new feature, Inside The Deal, explaining how Hewlett-Packard’s new title sponsorship deal with Ferrari came about: the brand alignment, the value exchange, who was at the negotiating table, the Omnicom fingerprints on the agreement including the role of the Fuse and PHD agencies and why it’s a handy way to get a slice of Lewis Hamilton’s time.
The agenda’s out for 4se New York, our sports, media, brands and popular culture show, examining the spaces where sport, lifestyle, culture and entertainment are intersecting.
There’s still time to join us in New York on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May - visit 4-se.com for more details.
Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan run the rule over the stories moving the global sports industry needle this week. They're joined in the studio by Aquatics GB CEO Drew Barrand.
Together they discuss the fallout from the Chinese doping story; and the CEO response to scandal: the motivating factors behind any move or statement and the stakeholder sensitivities that have to be accounted for.
Fifa's big ambitions for the new look Mondial de Clubes and the carve-out that's tempting Apple to the rights negotiating table are also covered.
Meanwhile, Cushnan had a front row seat for the premiere of the third part of Thomas Bach's Olympic Agenda trilogy: the IOC's AI Agenda, and he liked what he saw.
Plus, why the NGB equation of performance + governance = not a lot of room for much else has to change; and what Aquatics GB are doing with the data behind the 550,000 streams of the recent British Championships.
The agenda’s out for 4se New York, our sports, media, brands and popular culture show, examining the spaces where sport, lifestyle, culture and entertainment are intersecting.
There’s still time to join us in New York on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May - visit 4-se.com for more details.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick out and poke around the stories of the sports industry week, joined by DAZN VP, Right Strategy, Tom Waterhouse.
They discuss World Athletics’ announcement it will pay athletes who win Olympic gold this year - and the wider debate over whether and how athletes should be paid that’s opened up - and the BBC and its sports strategy, as Alex Kay-Jelski prepares to step into Barbara Slater’s shoes as Director of Sport.
Plus, DAZN’s rights acquisition process; how data and intuition can work together; DAZN’s joint venture with the Professional Fighters League and the competitive MMA space it’s now part of; and whether it’s really possible to serve hardcore fans of a sport and attract casual viewers at the same time.
The agenda’s out for 4se New York, our sports, media, brands and popular culture show, examining the spaces where sport, lifestyle, culture and entertainment are intersecting.
There’s still time to join us in New York on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May - visit 4-se.com for more details.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan have a roam around the stories of the sports industry week.
On the eve of the Masters, there’s a reminder of Augusta National’s well-manicured and private approach to running a global sports event; remote reflections on the Caitlin Clark-inspired remarkable few weeks for women’s basketball in the United States; honourable mentions for Endeavour’s new arrangement with Silver Lake and Greenfly’s latest funding round; YouTube’s approach to live sport and live sport’s approach to YouTube; and a plan of action for how the Commonwealth Games ought to be reimagined as the search for a host of the 2026 edition continues.
The agenda’s out for 4se New York, our sports, media, brands and popular culture show, examining the spaces where sport, lifestyle, culture and entertainment are intersecting.
There’s still time to join us in New York on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May - visit 4-se.com for more details.
Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan review the big sports industry stories of the week, joined in the studio by Giulia Zecchini, Co-Founder of Sneaker Sisterhood.
There’s reflections on the big motorsport announcement which has seen F1 owner Liberty Media acquire MotoGP in a deal valued at £3.6 billion.
Elsewhere, Giulia Zecchini joins the show for a deep dive on sneaker culture: what it is, the challenger brands in the market, and how fashion collaborations are put together.
Plus a look back to the on-stage programme at 4se New York in 2023, our sports, media, brands and popular culture show, examining the spaces where sport, lifestyle, culture and entertainment are intersecting.
There’s still time to join us in New York on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May for the 2024 edition – visit 4-se.com for more details.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan return for an extended ramble around the stories of the sports industry week.
There’s reflections on the Cheltenham Festival as an event, a social occasion and a sports industry hospitality hotspot; the competing visions for the future of global professional tennis; and the NFL’s latest expansion of its team international marketing programme.
Plus a look ahead to the on-stage programme at 4se New York, our sports, media, brands and popular culture show, examining the spaces where sport, lifestyle, culture and entertainment are intersecting.
There’s still time to join us in New York on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May - visit
4-se.com for more details.
Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan has the stories of the sports industry week, and he's joined by Winners Alliance CEO Ahmad Nassar.
Nassar discusses Netflix's decision to halt production on tennis documentary Break Point and the latest on the NBA's next media rights deal.
He also explains the rationale behind Winners Alliance, the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association and the Federation of International Cricketers' Association, and its latest project: the launch of a new track and field professional series in partnership with Michael Johnson.
Also on the show, Leaders' Javan Odegah stops by to share the latest on the Leaders Diversity Series, and preview his YouTube conversation with the LTA and Amazon Prime Video.
Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett sifts through the sports industry stories of the week in the company of World Horse Racing CEO and sports broadcast expert Russell Scott. Leaders MD Laura McQueen is also in the hot seat and outlines what you need to do to win a Leaders Sports Award this year.
On the conversational agenda: Reviewing the National Rugby League’s first foray to the US with two action-packed games being played out in front of a 40,000 Las Vegas crowd; the content pillars that are helping World Horse Racing tell new stories; and China’s return as a global sporting superpower.
Listen to the podcast below, and subscribe today on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or your chosen podcast platform.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan sum up the sports industry week, joined in the studio by British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton.
They reflect on the first edition of the Greater Bay Area International Sports Business Summit, held last weekend in Macau, and a new positivity around China’s relationship with sport. There’s also time to examine the abandonment of the DFL’s plan to find a private equity partner for the Bundesliga, challenger sports trying to make it in the USA and Apple’s new scores app.
Then Dutton discusses preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games; how British Cycling is restructuring at a time when the national governing body model is “distressed”; the different rhythm of leadership required at an NGB versus his previous role as CEO of the Rugby League World Cup; and commercialising the men’s and women’s Tours of Britain.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan take a purposeful stroll through the stories of the sports industry week, joined by Dee Kundra, Managing Director, Americas, for Bayern Munich.
There are reflections on the NBA’s annual tech summit - and the concept of in-house rights-holder conferences - and the league’s NB-AI showcase, plus a look at China’s re-emergence on the global sports stage.
Then Kundra explains exactly how a regional office for a major football club works and outlines the business, logistics and importance of pre-season club tours, as well as looking ahead to the first edition of the expanded and revamped Club World Cup, which will take place in the United States in the summer of 2025.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan sift through the stories of the sports industry week.
They ponder China's decision to cancel two Argentina friendlies, as the row over Lionel Messi escalates; putting boots on the ground in new markets, as the NFL selects Madrid as its next host venue; Emirates' new deal with the NBA; the trio of media companies going into business together with a new sports streaming service; and the ATP's viral promo video.
And, with half an eye on our 4se New York sport-meets-entertainment event experience (Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May), there's no better duo to examine the deepening relationship between fashion and sport. For more details on 4se New York, visit: https://4-se.com.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan break down the stories of the sports industry week, in the company of big-time boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland.
There's Lewis Hamilton's big move to Ferrari, the latest Saudi sports plays and a major deal in executive search, as Elevate acquires SRI.
Then Sauerland, Global Head of Boxing at Wasserman and one of the driving forces behind crossover boxing series Misfits, takes us inside the boxing industry: Saudi Arabia's growing influence, working with KSI on Misfits and why he sold his business, Team Sauerland, to Wasserman in 2021.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan assess the stories of the sports industry week, with the help of Amanda Calder-McLaren, the new CMO of outdoor wear brand Montirex.
They discuss stadium and Formula One team branding, as Levi’s renew a big deal with the San Francisco 49ers and Visa teams up with Red Bull in F1.
Then Calder-McLaren explains her switch to Montirex after six years looking after The North Face’s brand and marketing activities. She outlines the challenges of building credible, meaningful partnerships with endurance/adventure events and fans; shares her perspective on the role purposes plays in modern marketing; and explains why she’s helped found Opening Up The Outdoors, a coalition of brands seeking to make outdoors spaces a more inclusive environment.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick over the stories of the sports industry week, in the company of Ladies European Tour Commercial Director, Fiona Harold.
They react to Netflix’s big, bold move into live sports-entertainment with WWE and examine the latest news from Saudi Arabia, as World Snooker prepares to host its first event there and Formula E, Extreme E and E1 Series sign a sizeable partnership with the Public Investment Fund.
Sticking with Saudi, Harold shares her perspective on the latest state of play in golf, the LET’s busy 2024 international schedule, and how the tour is working with and seeking to attract brand partners.
Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick over the big issues of the sports industry week, with the help of Veritone's Head of Sports and Entertainment, Gary Warech.
They discuss AB InBev's big deal to sponsor the Olympics, the launch of Major League Soccer's Innovation Lab and the relentless wave of sports documentaries, before Warech explains when and how AI should be embraced by the sports industry; what sport's leaders need to know and the skillsets they should be looking for; and creative approaches for using AI to generate revenue.
On the agenda:
- 00:00 – 04:46: Introductory remarks
- 04:47 – 07:28: The key weekly sports business stories reviewed (in 180 seconds)
- 07:34 – 11:10: A welcome to Gary Warech, Veritone’s Head of Sports and Entertainment and a look at AI
- 14:21 – 19:10: Placing sports documentaries under the microscope
- 21:47 – 24:20: Major League Soccer’s pioneering Innovation Lab
- 27:02 – 34:32: Major sponsorship deals dissected including AB InBev x Olympics and BYD x Euro 2024
- 34:40 – 42:45: A deeper dive on AI in 2024 with Gary Warech
- 42:46 – 46:08: Advice to CEOs of sports organisations on using AI
- 50:47 – 57:34: Recommendations: what to read, watch and listen to
To sign up for Leaders' weekly newsletter, Worth Knowing, visit: https://leadersinsport.com/newsletters/
On this special episode of Leaders in Focus, two of IMG’s digital experts, discuss and dissect some of the key digital trends in sport.
As a busy new year begins, Leaders are joined by Bindi Ghai and Charlie Beall - VP of Digital Commercial and VP of Digital Strategy at global sports and culture company IMG.
In conversation with Leaders’ James Emmett, they reveal the platform sport is sleeping on; why 2024 is the year women’s sport fulfils its potential; how to achieve maximum impact for minimum spend in making stadiums smarter; and the difference between ‘if’ and ‘when’ in digital trend spotting. The basis for the conversation, which was recorded in early January 2024, is IMG’s annual digital trends report.
Leaders in Focus is produced in partnership with IMG.
The CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation tackles the critics who say the Games have lost their relevance.
As the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Katie Sadleir finds herself at the centre of the most critical moment in the organisation’s history.
In this episode of Leaders in Focus, Sadleir offers a status report on the the Commonwealth Games, following the Australian state of Victoria’s shock decision last July to withdraw as host of the 2026 edition.
Sadleir also reveals the leadership attributes she prizes the most and explains the critical importance of effective stakeholder management, as well as recalling her experiences working in sport in New Zealand and at World Rugby.
Leaders Managing Director Laura McQueen joins James Emmett and David Cushnan this week in the studio.
Discussion and analysis of the latest happenings in the sports industry, hosted by Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.
On the conversation agenda: Michelle Kang’s acquisition of the London City Lionesses, and the hype cycle in women’s football; the vote which may pave the way for private equity investment in Germany football; and our completely unofficial awards ceremony at the end of a busy year – including best venue, best dealmaker and best hype-person.
New York Giants and Gotham FC royalty Carolyn Tisch Blodgett joins the show.
Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan bring you the latest shifts from across global sport’s tectonic plates.
New York Giants and NY/NJ Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Founder and CEO of the Next 3 investment firm, joins the show for a conversation that includes Shohei Ohtani’s remarkable new deal with the Dodgers, John Rahm’s seismic – and, arguably, sensible - decision to play on the LIV golf tour, Spotify’s latest round of layoffs, and the state of play in the NWSL.
Amazon's European sports chief reflects on five years of Premier League coverage and building out the company's rights portfolio.
This conversation was recorded shortly before the Premier League announced its new domestic media rights deal.
Amazon's rights portfolio includes Uefa Champions League deals in Italy and Germany, plus Ligue 1 and Roland Garros in France - thanks in large part to Alex Green, Managing Director of Sport, Europe for Prime Video.
On the latest edition of Leaders in Focus, Green speaks to Leaders' James Emmett and Cameron Macdonald to discuss his work at Amazon and explore his own leadership in the media sector - his tactics at the negotiating table, how he deals with setback and a customer-obsessed approach. Green also explains how Prime Video's sports team is able to draw on Amazon's vast engineering capacity and why we're simply not talking about latency in sports streaming as much any more.
At the end of a week in a country that bristles with sporting potential, Leaders’ James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect - direct from Bangalore - on the first edition of Leaders Meet India, in partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
They’re joined by Portas Consulting’s Nic Coward - a man with considerable experience of the Indian market - to discuss the potential India bid for the 2036 Olympic Games that was the talk of the conference, the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian sports market, and the contributions made on stage by the likes of Dream11 Co-Founder Harsh Jain; IPL Chair Arun Dhumal; G20 organiser Amitabh Kant; Olympic champions Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra; Premier League Chief Commercial Officer Will Brass; and Manchester United Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Norman.
A discussion about what great strategy looks like in practice with two of Europe’s most storied football teams, recorded live at Leaders Week London.
This is the Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre about straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
This series teases out insights from leading industry executives about how they strategise. They’ll provide a fresh perspective on sports’ most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t).
In this episode, Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett are joined by Mike Armstrong, Chief Marketing Officer at Juventus and Patrick Jenkinson, Commercial Director of Venue and E-Commerce, at Manchester United for a special edition, recorded live on stage at Leaders Week.
On 29th– 30th November, Leaders are headed to Bangalore for the first edition of Leaders Meet: India. This two-day exploration will connect global leaders in sports and media as they share ambitious plans to propel growth. To enquire attend, please visit: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-meet-innovation-india/
The sports industry week reviewed.
Welcome to the Leaders Sport Business podcast, your weekly show hosted by Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.
On the show today: a review of F1’s Vegas debut; fight announcements in Riyadh and the business of boxing; Australia’s record-breaking cricket win in a record-breaking tournament; learnings from the Leaders Sport Performance Summit; the NFL and Universal Music Group’s hip-hop collaboration; and more.
On 29th– 30th November, Leaders are headed to Bangalore for the first edition of Leaders Meet: India. This two-day exploration will connect global leaders in sports and media as they share ambitious plans to propel growth. To enquire attend, please visit: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-meet-innovation-india/
A fresh new sound for the Leaders Sport Business podcast, featuring a 360 view of the sports industry, this week unpacked with one of football’s veteran commercial leaders.
Welcome to the Leaders Sport Business podcast, your new weekly show hosted by Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan. We’ll review the past week in and around the global sports industry, and welcome experts into the studio to unpack these stories and share their own.
This episode includes talk of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the NWSL’s huge broadcast rights deal, the record-breaking but lengthy Cricket World Cup, and more – plus Tyson Henly, whose 25 years of commercial experience most recently includes stints as Chief Commercial Officer at AS Monaco FC and Nottingham Forest FC, joins the conversation.
On 29th- 30th November, Leaders are headed to Bangalore for the first edition of Leaders Meet: India. This two-day exploration will connect global leaders in sports and media as they share ambitious plans to propel growth. To find out more and enquire to attend, please visit: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-meet-innovation-india/
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin on reviewing the Rugby World Cup and running a game in the midst of change.
As the tickertape settles on a record-breaking 2023 Rugby World Cup, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin reviews the tournament – the format, the performance of the Tier 2 nations, the role of technology and the experience in France – and sets out the organisation’s big priorities over the next few years.
In an extended conversation on Leaders in Focus, Gilpin spends time with Leaders’ James Emmett and David Cushnan, at IMG’s London studios, to discuss what a sustainable and smart future for women’s rugby union could look like; player welfare and safety; the influence private equity money might exert over the sport in the coming years; the dynamics at play in the CEO-Chairman relationship within international federations; the boring-but-critical role of committees; and the constant evolution of sports hospitality.
He also reflects on the unique way rugby stirs emotion and how he channels his own emotions as a leader.
Leaders in Focus is produced by Leaders in Sport, in partnership with IMG. The full video version is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbxdPzEtr5w&t=909s
Founder and CEO of Mercury/13 on the multi-club approach and making an impact in women’s football.
Mercury/13 is one of the most talked-about companies in the global sports industry right now, and Victoire Cogevina Souki one of its most in-demand leaders.
The former agent and tech entrepreneur has this summer launched a fund with US$100 million to spend on women's football clubs, in Europe and Latin America - with a mission to create a multi-club model that will supercharge the sport, and a team of experienced sports industry names, including Eni Aluko, Luis Vicente and Ebru Köksal, around her.
On this first episode of Leaders in Focus, Cogevina Souki sits down with Leaders' Laura McQueen and David Cushnan at IMG's London studios, for a candid conversation in which she shares how her passion for football began; the mission underpinning Mercury/13; her thesis on women's football and its potential; the multi-club investment plan and why it's a model built for women; and her own approach to decision-making and assessing risk.
Leaders in Focus is produced by Leaders in Sport, in partnership with IMG. The full video version is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_dl4dNlci4&list=PL8ADew6iO39WkFD89KndCuqXdypdfPgtt
Recapitulating the learnings from our unforgettable flagship event, onsite at Twickenham Stadium.
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team will review the action and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions. In this episode, Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Managing Director Laura McQueen are joined by Stuart Rowson, Founder and Consultant at Lucky Socks Media, to recap the goings-on from a momentous return to Leaders Week London.
The group discuss a range of themes and talking points spanning the week and our Business Summit on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages. Alongside the dialogue, the episode will contain short snippets of sessions featuring Mark Bullingham, CEO of the FA, Jennifer Hills, Co-Managing Director of Globe Universal Music Group, H.E Bader Alkadi, Vice Minister of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Sport and more.
A run through of the week coming up on 16 - 19 October, how it’s shaping up and tips and tricks for when you go.
Leaders Week London is happening on Monday 16th to Thursday 19th of October. With 3,000 in person attendees from over 70 countries and 50 sports, it’s an unparalleled opportunity to connect with those at the heart of the global sports industry. In this episode, Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Managing Director Laura McQueen and Events Director Hannah Redfern tell you what to expect, what to look out for and everything you need to know about everything happening during the week.
Monday 16th: The Diversity Forum – a platform for executives within sport to champion equity, diversity and inclusion.
Tuesday 17th: The Leaders Sports Awards - a prestigious, black-tie celebration of excellence across the industry with 500 distinguished guests, at the iconic Natural History Museum.
Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th: The Summit, at Twickenham. 3 fully programmed stages, a host of private forums and gatherings, a thriving partner village, all your favourite sports industry connections and the best lunches in town.
If you’d like to join sign up for an unforgettable week of relationship building and knowledge sharing, you can find out more via: https://bit.ly/3tcFQtP. And if you’re already registered, you can download the official Leaders Events app from your chosen app store to see the latest version of the agenda, plan your week, book meetings and connect with people from across the industry.
Agency founder Jo Tongue on building a business around her clients.
Welcome to Founders Keepers, the podcast series about entrepreneurship and business building from the Leaders Sport Business podcast.
The guest for this final episode of the season is Jo Tongue, founder of Tongue Tied Media.
Tongue has 20 years of experience in the industry across sport, media and commercial, beginning with an eight-year stint as a Producer at the BBC. She then moved to independent agency Somethin Else, before beginning her role as as Director at Women in Football in 2010 – a role she holds to this day. She is also a Trustee of the Jason Roberts Foundation and the Michael Carrick Foundation. She was recently recognised in the Woman's Hour 2023 Power List for Women in Sport, and was awarded an MBE for services to Football and to Gender Equality in the 2023 New Year Honours List.
In 2015, Tongue founded Tongue Tied Media. Tongue Tied Media consists of two branches. The first is Tongue Tied Management, which represents the likes of Jill Scott, Leah Williamson, Dion Dublin, Andy Cole, Emma Hayes and Michael Carrick.
The second branch is Tongue Tied Productions. The company’s production portfolio includes 'Euro '96 - When Football Came Home' and 'Raising the Bar with Rob Rinder' on BBC Radio 5 Live - which featured the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Alan Shearer, Kelly Cates, Glenn Hoddle and Chris Sutton. Their series ‘Re:United’ brought together rivals such as Vinnie Jones and Paul Gascoigne, Steve Cram and Lord Coe, and Andy Cole and David Seaman.
Leaders Week London, our flagship in person event experience, is returning on the 16th-19th October. To find out more about how you can connect with those at the heart of the global sports industry, visit https://bit.ly/3tcFQtP.
ONE Championship’s Founder and CEO on creating Asia's largest billion-dollar global sports media empire.
Welcome to Founders Keepers, the podcast series about entrepreneurship and business building from the Leaders Sport Business podcast.
The featured guest on this episode is ONE Championship Founder Chatri Sityodtong, a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist.
Sityodtong was raised in Thailand, cut his teeth in the US, and now runs his MMA and media empire from his base in Singapore. His is an extraordinary story.
Inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame, he has over 35 years of martial arts experience as a student, a fighter, a teacher, and a coach. He is a certified senior Muay Thai instructor under the legendary Kru Yodtong Senanan, and holds a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Master Renzo Gracie. Sityodtong is also the star of the first-ever global edition of The Apprentice, and was recently named Asia’s King of Martial Arts by the Financial Times, and Asia’s 2nd Most Powerful Person in Sports by FOX Sports. Business Insider also ranked him as one of Asia’s Top 100 Business Leaders.
In 2011, Sityodtong ONE Championship and, in the decade that followed, built it into Asia's largest global sports media property in history. According to Nielsen, ONE is now amongst the world's top 10 biggest sports media properties in terms of viewership and engagement.
ONE is a celebration of Martial Arts, and its deep-rooted values of integrity, humility, honour, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion. As the world's largest martial arts organization, ONE is on a mission to unleash real-life superheroes, tell stories, celebrate values, ignite dreams, inspire nations, and change the world.
Leaders Week London, our flagship in person event experience, is returning on the 16th-19th October. To find out more about how you can connect with those at the heart of the global sports industry, please visit www.leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
Two Circles co-founder Gareth Balch and his entrepreneurial journey.
Welcome to Founders Keepers, the podcast series about entrepreneurship and business building from the Leaders Sport Business podcast.
Two Circle co-founder Gareth Balch is the featured guest on this episode.
Balch represented Great Britain as an 800 metre runner before moving into the world of sports business, first with Goodform, and then in the commercial strategy team at Manchester City.
In 2011, at the age of 28, Balch founded Two Circles alongside Matt and Claire Rogan.
Conceived as a digital agency focused on helping sports rights holders develop direct relationships with fans, Two Circles’ marketing mandate matched its business plan perfectly, and it very quickly established itself as the data driven agency in sport. It’s gone on to hoover up business across the UK and Europe – and latterly in the US and internationally too – and is a serial winner of the Agency of the Year gong at the Sport Industry Awards.
Since inception, Two Circles has generated annual revenue and profit growth of 54% and 42% per year on average. It was also named as one of the fastest growing companies in The Sunday Times 100 for two years in a row, and its global footprint has expanded to 500 ‘Two Circlers’ across six cities.
Two Circles was acquired first by WPP in 2015; and then by Bruin Sports Capital – which took a majority stake for $42m in December 2019 - and since then has made four significant acquisitions to strengthen its rights and sponsorship sales, and marketing offerings: sports rights-sales agency TRM Partners, ticket strategy and sales company Sports Ink, award-winning sports content agency LiveWire Sport, and the Australian digital transformation company Codeware, in a deal that was announced just days before this interview took place in January this year.
Leaders Week London, our flagship in person event experience, is returning on the 16th-19th October.To find out more about how you can connect with those at the heart of the global sports industry, visit https://leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.
Examining how sport franchises have tailored their apparel to appeal to the masses.
4se Material explores some of the many stories at the intersection of sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture. This episode was originally published on the 4se Material feed in April - to hear more like it, search '4se Material' on your chosen podcast platform.
It seems sports fans and non-fans alike are sporting licensed sportswear. From jerseys to caps, a passerby on any city street can spy some of sports’ most famous logos worn on the bodies of many a trendsetter. But how did this happen? How did pieces of memorabilia, originally designed for die-hard fans, develop this mass appeal? Why would sports organisations seek to make their merchandise more wearable, and why would non-fans buy into it? And how much power really is there in recognisable company iconography?
To help us stitch this sportswear story together, we spoke to Matthew Primack, SVP of International Business Affairs and Development at Fanatics, and to Samantha Gibb, Head of PR and Digital Communications EMEA at New Era - two world-class organisations retailing and manufacturing licensed sports merchandise; we also consulted Dr Lauren Burch, Senior Lecturer in Sports Business at Loughborough University London, to help us understand how organisations benefit from investing in merchandise; and last but certainly not least, we spoke to Mirko Borsche & Kolja Buscher from global design studio Bureau Borsche, whose portfolio includes heading the design of the rebranding for Venezia F.C, whom the media have labelled “the world’s most fashionable football club”.
In conversation with the Chief Strategy Officer at the commercial media arm of the ATP Tour.
This is the Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre about straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
This series teases out insights from leading industry executives about how they strategise. They’ll provide a fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t).
This episode features Nick Bourne, whose role as Chief Strategy Officer at ATP Media is to lead the organisation’s build out of new services and capabilities built on centralised data, content and platforms – and support the wider business' development as the sports media rights market continues to transform. Bourne joins Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett for an insightful discussion around execution vs planning, driving the Netflix deal and when and how strategy can sometimes fall down.
Insights on strategic thinking with the VP of Strategy and Business Intelligence at one of the NFL’s cornerstone franchises.
This is the Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre about straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
This series teases out insights from from leading industry executives about how they strategise. They’ll provide a fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t).
In this episode, Russell Scibetti, who created and manages the Business Intelligence department at the New York Football Giants, joins Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett to discuss strategy as alignment, how to correctly maximise use of data and how the leagues work with clubs for a fan-first approach.
Note: This interview was recorded virtually and there may be some slight distortion in the audio, but this should not take away from your listening experience.
In conversation with the Chief Commercial Officer at the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
This is the Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre about straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
This series teases out insights from from leading industry executives about how they strategise. They’ll provide a fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t).
In this episode, Heidi Pellerano, who leads commercial initiatives at CONCACAF, joins Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett to outline her approach to strategic thinking, how and why investing in data is critical, and how working with member associations requires a flexible strategy.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and neighbouring industries. This season of the Leaders in EDI podcast series features perspectives from outside of the sports industry to develop a more holistic view of the EDI sector, to discuss what specific challenges other industries face, and to understand what we can learn from how they tackle them.
Joanna Abeyie is a journalist, broadcaster and social impact entrepreneur who has spent the last 15 years committed to the EDI sector. She is Founder and MD of Blue Moon and Partners, an organisation designed to find the best talent for business and create inclusive environments for employees to thrive and drive business success. She is also Co-Secretariat at Creative Diversity APPG, a cross-party group in UK Parliament to identify and tackle obstacles to diversity in the creative sector, and acts as Commissioner at Civil Service Commission UK and Common Councillor at City of London. She recently stepped down as Head of Creative Diversity at the BBC, where she was tasked with ensuring on-air diversity and inclusions strategies across the broadcaster.
The wide-ranging conversation, beginning at 3:05, includes insights into facilitating communication with and between production companies and commissioners, avoidance of stereotypes, and the current lack of socioeconomic inclusion in the creative industry - as well as talk around the best ways to implement EDI strategies, reliability of data (or lack thereof) and what more sport can do to mobilise against discrimination.
The Blueprint returns with a conversation with the EVP of Business Operations & Chief Strategy Officer at one of the most storied team brands in sport.
This is the Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre about straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
This series teases out insights from leading industry executives about how they strategise. They’ll provide a fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t).
Kicking off season two is Alex Sugarman Executive Vice President of Business Operations and Chief Strategy Officer at the Chicago Cubs. Having spent 13 years at the famed franchise, Sugarman joins Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett for a conversation covering how to work with ownership and operationalise their goals, measuring your strategy framework, and aligning with other local teams.
A perspective on the music & events industry from the man who brought #Merky Festival to Ibiza before making his mark at the world’s leading talent agency.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and neighbouring industries. This season of the Leaders in EDI podcast series will feature perspectives from outside of the sports industry to develop a more holistic view of the EDI sector, to discuss what specific challenges other industries face, and to understand what we can learn from how they tackle them.
This episode features Jordan Hallpike speaking on the music and events industry. Hallpike holds the unique title of Crossover agent at WME, a world-class entertainment agency whose music roster features the likes of Adele, Bruno Mars, The Killers and Olivia Rodrigo. Prior to starting his current role in April 2022, wherein he facilitates new creative opportunities for WME’s esteemed roster of talent, Hallpike held the position of Director of Talent and Programming at Ibiza Rocks group. Having first joined the organisation in 2011, throughout his time there Jordan oversaw the expansion of Ibiza Rocks events from evening events to pool parties - successfully launching a residency with Craig David - and went on to conceptualise the #Merky Festival, which quickly became an Ibiza staple. Hallpike has also co-founded Applebum events (which celebrate Black and street culture) and creative design studio Midnight Movement.
The insightful and engaging conversation, beginning at 5:07, includes talk of socioeconomic barriers to entry, the glass ceiling for minorities, gender imbalance and where the sports industry is learning from the music industry – as well as discussions on platforming artists from all backgrounds, and helping them to forge a brand and legacy.
The Founder of Black Eats LDN joins the series to discuss inclusivity in an industry that, through necessity, affects every living person.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and neighbouring industries. This season of the Leaders in EDI podcast series will feature perspectives from outside of the sports industry to develop a more holistic view of the EDI sector, to discuss what specific challenges other industries face, and to understand what we can learn from how they tackle them.
This episode features Jackson Mclarty, speaking on the food, beverage & hospitality industry. Mclarty is the Founder of Black Eats LDN, the UK’s first and (so far) only Black-owned restaurant directory. The organisation is a purpose-led platform that offering resources, consultancy services and curates exciting events content in order to platform Black-owned business and offer others the opportunity to engage with the culture. The organisation has hosted events that have seen 150,000+ attendees, and features 300+ restaurants with brand partners including Uber and Apple.
The conversation, beginning at 4.27, includes conversation around appropriation vs. appreciation, the importance of affordability, how and why the traditional gender role of ‘woman as cook’ is not reflected in the number of professional chefs, and how diversifying food options at sports venues could positively impact the fan experience.
This is Threats, a podcast about the changing sports media landscape and the conditions that threaten to undermine the traditional model.
In this series, Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Synamedia’s Head of Sport Simon Brydon will identify the conditions that threaten to undermine the traditional model. Alongside a handful of prominent industry experts, they also explore ways that leaders can navigate the ever-evolving sports broadcast space for optimum success in the field.
This episode focuses on innovation – how ever-changing technology provides both challenges and opportunities, and how to maximise on the latter. The featured guest is Sharon Fuller, VP of Content and Social for Europe and the Middle East at the NBA, who prior to joining the organisation in February held prominent content positions at Red Bull Media House and at the UK’s very first broadcast innovator, the BBC.
This is Threats, a podcast about the changing sports media landscape and the conditions that threaten to undermine the traditional model.
In this series, Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Synamedia’s Head of Sport Simon Brydon will identify the conditions that threaten to undermine the traditional model, and alongside a handful of prominent industry experts, explore ways that leaders can use these challenges as opportunities for innovation.
This episode focuses on choice and price, featuring a discussion with Sebastien Audoux around the difficulties in engaging an audience that already has an abundance of offerings. Audoux is a content technology rights specialist who followed a 15-year television career as a sports commentator with a stint as Head Sports Digital Content at Canal+. He now works with numerous clients as an independent consultant, and holds Board Member positions at HYPE Sports Innovation and Decyfr Sport.
This is Threats, a podcast about the changing sports media landscape and the conditions that threaten to undermine the traditional model.
In this series, Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Synamedia’s Head of Sport Simon Brydon will identify the conditions that threaten to undermine the traditional model, and alongside a handful of prominent industry experts, explore ways that leaders can use these challenges as opportunities for innovation.
The first episode in the series features a conversation with Rhys Beer, with focus on viewing habits and Gen Z. Rhys Beer, who currently serves as SVP Platform & Content at OneFootball, has 20+ years of extensive experience in the sports media landscape across traditional and emerging platforms. Starting with his role as a Media Rights Manager at the FA, Beer went on to hold positions such as Commercial Director – Media at DAZN Group, VP, Sports Distribution & Business Development at NBCUniversal and Head of Content Strategy & Programming, International at Meta.
Reviewing the action from the new event experience where sport meets entertainment, lifestyle and culture.
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team recap the goings-on and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions. This week, the Leaders Team have been in New York, working with sister company Sports Business Journal, for the big launch of 4SE following a pilot event last year. 4SE is a unique event experience that provides a much-needed opportunity for senior executives to explore and navigate the collision of sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture.
In the episode, Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan elaborate on the intentions and objectives of 4se, and identify and discuss key themes and takeaways from the sessions – all followed by an insightful conversation with Elke Jones, Chief Strategy Officer at GMR Marketing. The analysis also features snippets from the on-stage content, featuring speakers such as Eli Manning, Fat Joe, the CMO of New Balance and the VP Creative of New Era.
4SE, at the intersection of sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture, is due to become an annual fixture in the calendar each year in May. To find out more, please visit our website at www.4-se.com.
Editor's Note: This was recorded on site, so there may be some slight distortion in the audio, but this should not take away from your listening experience.
For our season finale of Leaders Live, IMG’s EVP of Head of Global Production joins the show to run the rule over the sports broadcast and production sector.
Leaders Live, produced in partnership with IMG, is our studio talk show on hot button issues in the industry, featuring conversations with leaders from across sport.
This edition features former Sky Sports chief and current EVP, Head of Global Production at IMG, Barney Francis, who offers his industry-wide assessment of the sports broadcast space. With Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Editorial Director James Emmett, Francis explains who’s innovating and where the big technical and creative leaps are happening, pinpoints the sector’s biggest challenges and details why it’s never been a more exciting time to be in the sports production game.
Francis also takes the Leaders team behind the scenes of IMG Studios at Stockley Park in West London, the home of Premier League Productions, CBS Sports’ Uefa Champions League coverage, ITV’s EFL highlights show and a multitude of other sports programming and production. To watch the broadcast in video, you can visit: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leaders-executive-sport-ltd-_leaders-live-inside-img-studios-behind-activity-7062426189507751937-lcQx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
The CEO of UK Sport, the Head of Women’s Sport at Sky Sports and the Director of the Women’s Professional Game at the ECB visit IMG studios for the monthly live chat show.
Leaders Live, produced in partnership with IMG, is our studio talk show on hot button issues in the industry, featuring conversations with leaders from across sport.
As Paris 2024 draws closer, UK Sport CEO Sally Munday offers insight on the big-ticket items to address and what is front of mind for the organisation. Munday also shares her leadership lessons, taken in part from guiding sport successful through an unprecedented period – the two rescheduled Olympic and Paralympic games, against the backdrop of a global pandemic.
And then from 29:09, Jo Osborne, Head of Women’s Sport at Sky Sports, and Beth Barrett-Wild, Director of Women’s Professional Game at the England & Wales Cricket Broad, explain how women’s sport has learned to be agile, and how the sports industry as a whole can apply those lessons in approaching the current economic climate.
The EDI Director at the ECB, the Senior Manager of EDI at Liverpool FC, and two EDI consultants with extensive experience in football in the final installment of Leaders’ step-by-step guide to building an EDI strategy.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and other industries. This season of the Leaders in EDI podcast offers a guide to building, executing, monitoring and evaluating a successful EDI strategy, with each of the four episodes focussing on a different stage of the process.
In the final episode of the season, the focus is first on adaptation and response to crisis – how do you know when to make minor changes, and when to re-strategise entirely? How do you reiterate your commitment to EDI internally and externally?
In the second half, our EDI professionals reflect on the process in its entirety – what problems might you face when building a strategy? What stages can be most exciting and/or most challenging? And how does the sports industry provide excellent opportunities to platform EDI?
The experts offering their insight are:
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Kate Aldridge – EDI Director at the England & Wales Cricket Board.
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Rishi Jain – Senior Manager of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Liverpool’s FC.
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Hayley Bennett – EDI consultant and campaigner, and co-founder of Nutmegs, a football community for women and non-binary people of colour. Bennett also serves as board director for Goals 4 Girls and Spirit of 2012.
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Chris Paouros – Consultant, advisor, charity trustee and non-exec director for organisations including the Premier League, the FA and Kick it Out.
Senior Manager of EDI at Liverpool F.C, the EDI Director at the ECB and EDI advisor Chris Paouros are joined by EDI consultant and campaigner Hayley Bennett to discuss measurement in EDI.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and other industries. This season of the Leaders in EDI podcast offers a step-by-step guide to building, executing, monitoring and evaluating a successful EDI strategy.
This penultimate episode of the season focuses on measurement and evaluation. How important is measurement in EDI? What methods can you use to gather quantitative and qualitative data to measure the effectiveness of your strategy? And how do you create an environment where employees feel they can be transparent?
The episode offers perspectives from:
- Hayley Bennett – a consultant and campaigner in the EDI space. Alongside her consultancy work, Bennett is a co-founder of Nutmegs, a football community for women and non-binary people of colour and serves as board director for Goals 4 Girls and Spirit of 2012.
- Kate Aldridge – with an educational background in STEM and expertise in data and strategy, she now leads the EDI action plan as EDI Director at the England & Wales Cricket Board.
- Rishi Jain – Jain leads Liverpool’s FC’s work in the EDI space as Senior Manager of EDI at the club.
- Chris Paouros – a consultant, advisor, charity trustee and non-exec director for organisations including the Premier League, the FA and Kick it Out
An EDI consultant and advisor, the EDI Director at the ECB, and the Senior Manager of EDI at Liverpool F.C provide insight into their process for creating an action plan.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and other industries.
This second episode of our season on EDI strategy focuses on implementation and action. How do you define an action plan? What is the process of creating one? How do you communicate actions across the organisation to ensure everybody plays their role, and how do find the balance between celebrating wins and highlighting challenges?
The season offers perspectives from: Chris Paouros - consultant and advisor for organisations such as the Premier League and the FA; Kate Aldridge – EDI Director at the England & Wales Cricket Board; and Rishi Jain – the Senior Manager of EDI at Liverpool Football Club, who leads the work on the club’s Red Together strategy.
On 30th March, we are hosting a pop-up event at Meta’s offices in London to mark International Women's Day. To find out more and register your interest, please visit: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/international-womens-day/?utm_source=Social+Media&utm_medium=LinkedIn+SB&utm_content=IWD+Event+Speakers&utm_campaign=LIS+CE+%7C+SB+%7C+DS+%7C+Diversity+Club+Pop-Up+Event%3A+International+Women%26amp%3B%23039%3Bs+Day+Mar+23
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The first episode in a new series in which a Premier league PLEDIS Panel Member, the ECB’s EDI Director and Liverpool FC’s Senior Manager of EDI offer a step-by-step guide on how to build an EDI strategy.
Leaders in EDI shines a light on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in the equity, diversity and inclusion space across sport and other industries.
This first episode of our series on EDI strategy focuses on inception and planning. What exactly is a strategy, and how does it differ from an action plan? How do you identify your need for a strategy in EDI? How do you present your case to key stakeholders, and how do you set targets that are both realistic but will have real impact?
We hear from:
- Chris Paouros, consultant, advisor, charity trustee and non-exec director for various organisations including the Premier League, the FA, Kick it Out and the Women’s Equality Party.
- Kate Aldridge, EDI Director at the England & Wales Cricket Board, whose educational background was in STEM before moving into a career in business strategy.
- Rishi Jain, Senior Manager of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Liverpool F.C, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the EDI space in football.
Key takeaways from the episode: 1) You cannot commit to driving proper change without having a strategy and understanding how to execute it; 2) Your EDI strategy should be tied into and ensure the success of your overall business strategy; 3) You can and should look to other organisations and industries for inspiration on what makes a successful EDI strategy, but you also must ensure its specifically tailored to your organisation; and 4) When setting targets, you need to evaluate internal and external data to measure the pace of change.
The Leaders Meet: Diversity Series highlights news, views, comments and debates happening across the EDI space in our monthly ‘Spotlight on EDI’ segment on Leaders Live. To watch our latest edition, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7041732098168082432/
On 30th March, we are hosting a pop-up event at Meta’s offices in London to mark International Women's Day. To find out more and register your interest, you can go to: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/international-womens-day/?utm_source=Social+Media&utm_medium=LinkedIn+SB&utm_content=IWD+Event+Speakers&utm_campaign=LIS+CE+%7C+SB+%7C+DS+%7C+Diversity+Club+Pop-Up+Event%3A+International+Women%26amp%3B%23039%3Bs+Day+Mar+23
Premiership Rugby’s CEO and Pepsi’s Director of Sports Marketing (North America) and Expedia Group’s Director of Football and Music Partnerships.
Leaders Live, produced in partnership with IMG, is our studio talk show on hot button issues in the industry, featuring conversations with leaders from across sport.
As a tumultuous Premiership Rugby season rumbles on, the league’s CEO, Simon Massie-Taylor, joins the show to discuss the challenges of running a major domestic league, the future direction of the sport and his gameplan for raising rugby union’s profile in England.
And then from 34:47, Melissa Duhaime, Director of Sports Marketing for Pepsi in North America, and Liseli Sitali, Director of Football and Music Partnerships at Expedia Group, join our hosts James Emmett and David Cushnan to explore the sponsorship market – what’s working, what’s not and where’s the real value to be found.
You can visit https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:7039610644790157312/ to watch the broadcast in video.
Insights from an experienced leader in one of the world’s most recognisable sports franchises.
This is the Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre about straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
Over the course of the series, we’ve been hearing from leading industry executives about how they strategise - how do they build in flexibility? Inject creativity? Bring projects and partnerships to life? - providing fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t).
In this episode, Rose Barre, Executive Director of Sales, Service & Business Strategies at the New York Yankees, joins Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett in a conversation drawing on her 12 years experience at the heart of one of the world’s most famed sports teams – she discusses the scrutiny that comes with heightened brand recognition, the discipline required for strategic thinking in the off-season and building a ticketing and engagement strategy around tourists to New York.
Reviewing Day 2 of the Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit, brought to you in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team recap the goings-on and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions.
In this episode, David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by sports marketing veteran Kate Bosomworth, Founding Partner of Platform London and Chair at Onside Law, to discuss the action on Day 2 the fifth Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. The trio explore a variety of topics across the on-stage sessions, with interviews from the following guests:
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Roy Hodgson CBE, retired football manager, England national team (32:54-48:58)
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Nasser A. Al-Khori, Executive Director – Generation Amazing, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (56:40-1:07:15)
Note: This was recorded on site, so there may be some slight distortion in the audio, but this should not take away from your listening experience.
Behind the Scenes of Day 1 of the fifth edition of the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi.
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team review the action and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions. In partnership with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the Leaders team invited 750 senior executives to the world-renowned Yas Marina Circuit for the fifth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi.
In this episode, Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan and Editorial Director James Emmett review the proceedings from Day 1, with insight from the following guests:
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Michele Ciccarese, Commercial & Marketing Director, Lega Serie A (08:51-17:13)
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Juliet Slot, Chief Commercial Officer, Arsenal F.C (22:38-32:07)
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Richard Bell, Managing Partner, UK Financial Advisor, Deloitte (34:58-40:59)
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Tony Bellew, Boxing Analyst & Pundit, DAZN Group (49:03-57:27)
The man leading the largest commercial group in British racing on leading through crises.Welcome to Leaders and how they lead, the podcast series that spotlights different leaders and different leadership styles from across the world of sport.
This week’s guest is Nevin Truesdale, who has been with The Jockey Club for almost a decade, having joined as Finance Director in 2013. His time at The Jockey Club follows a near five-year stint as Finance Director at the UK’s leading energy supplier British Gas. He also serves as a NED at Sport United Against Dementia.
The Jockey Club is one of the UK’s leading sports and hospitality businesses, operating 15 racecourses including Aintree (home of the Grand National) and Cheltenham, where the organisation is responsible for the annual four-day Cheltenham Festival.
Truesdale became CEO in August 2020, following a challenging period for the organisation with the appointment and then swift departure of Truesdale's predecessor Delia Bushell, and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Upon taking the role, Truesdale made extensive changes to leadership and completed an overhaul of the business structure, culture and strategy”.
The fifth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 1st and 2nd March. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/the-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi/
The Legends Co-President on the multi-leader model, and the Atlanta Hawks’ CMO on the meaning of authentic leadership.
Hello and welcome to Leaders and how they lead, the podcast that brings all manner of sporting CEOs into the Leaders studio to ask them how they manage – and to nudge and nurdle them into thinking deeper about what they do on a day-to-day basis.
This week’s guest is Mike Tomon, Co-President and COO at premium experiences and sports sales hothouse Legends, which was founded in 2008 through a ground-breaking partnership between the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. Tomon joined the company in 2014, having previously played a key commercial role in AEG’s Global Partnerships team.
A key cog in Legends’ Co-President leadership structure, Tomon leads global business development and identifies new opportunities for growth and innovation across the company; he also oversees Legends’ marketing, creative and communications divisions. He has negotiated over half billion dollars in strategic partnership deals for Legends in the last four years.
Beginning at 28:03, the episode also includes insights on leadership from EVP and CMO of Atlanta Hawks, Melissa Proctor.
The fifth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 1st and 2nd March. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/the-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi/
The CEO of the ATP Tour, CEO and Founder of Noah Media Group and the director of ‘No Woman, No Try’ join the monthly live chat show.
In February’s episode, recorded live from IMG Studios, the business of tennis first takes centre stage (court). Massimo Calvelli, CEO of the ATP Tour joins the show in our ‘Big Interview’ to discuss the emergence of a new generation of players, finding a new generation of fans and the new generation of leadership on the men’s professional circuit.
And following the launch of Netflix’s new tennis series ‘Break Point, the panel segment (from 35:11) goes behind-the-scenes on the wave of sports documentaries and originals currently finding their way to a screen near you; examining the pros and cons, challenges of access, creative process and hard economics of storytelling. The panel consists of our hosts David Cushnan and Cameron Macdonald, and experts ‘No Woman, No Try’ director Victoria Rush and John McKenna, CEO and Co-Founder of Noah Media Group, the production company behind the likes of '14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible'; 'Arsene Wenger: Invincible'; and 'Finding Jack Charlton'. To watch the broadcast in video, you can visit https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leaders-executive-sport-ltd-_leaders-live-the-big-interview-with-massimo-activity-7029463746674622465-cTu0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
On 1st and 2nd March, we are partnering with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to bring you The Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/the-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi-2/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_P6dBhD1ARIsAAGI7HCCGlj9q3PpsJp0X-G1UXjQClMECIBUGKu50cyCYuuOA9IuDFwFkagaAv6HEALw_wcB
The President and CEO of the US governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding joins Editor-at-Large James Emmett in the Leaders studio.
Welcome back to Leaders and How They Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
The series explores a range of leaders’ perspectives from a range of different organisations; pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they develop people; and how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means.
This episode features Sophie Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt began her sporting journey as an aspiring tennis player while attending college in the US; following an injury, she began a role as a Sports Marketing Manager at sportwear giant Adidas in 1999, managing their tennis ambassadorship programme. In the decade following her four years at Adidas, she served as VP of Sponsorship & Marketing at the WTA, MD of EMEA at the NBA, and began a role as Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer at England Rugby. In the years since leaving her role at England Rugby, her senior leadership roles have included stints as Group Managing Director at CSM Sport & Entertainment and CEO of World Surf League, before moving to her current role as President and CEO at US Ski & Snowboard in October 2021.
The fifth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 1st and 2nd March. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/the-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi/
Leaders bring you a conversation with the Commissioner of one of esports’ biggest leagues and an interview snippet with record-breaking cricketer Sir Alastair Cook.
Welcome back to Leaders and How They Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
The series explores a range of leaders’ perspectives from a range of different organisations; pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they develop people; and how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means.
The first guest of the season is Alexander Inglot. Inglot began his career as a corporate commercial lawyer in City of London prior to moving to Mexico to work in Marketing and Communications for Atlante FC. He later returned to the United Kingdom to work as a Senior Consultant at JTA (with clients including Manchester United and AETLC), then later as Director of Communications at Sportradar AG. Following a period of balancing a role as a European Player Representative at the ATP Tour with his current role as Commissioner of the ESL Pro League, he chose to depart from the former in 2021.
Beginning at 28:22, the episode also includes insights on leadership from British cricket legend Alastair Cook. In a snippet from an interview recorded at our fourth Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi, Cook discusses his leadership style, the importance of resilience and how to guide a team through crises and challenges.
The fifth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 1st and 2nd March. Please visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/the-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi/ to find out more and register your interest.
Seven League's CEO and SailGP's Chief Content Officer come to IMG studios to offer expert insight into what to expect from the sports industry in 2023.
Leaders Live, produced in partnership with IMG, is our studio talk show on hot button issues facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport. January's episode offers the ultimate start-of-year guide on what to expect, what might surprise and what’s vital in the global sports industry over the next 12 months.
Joining the show this episode are two of the industry’s leading thinkers
Leaders Live, produced in partnership with IMG, is our studio talk show on hot button issues facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport. In this episode, we offer you the ultimate start-of-year guide on what to expect, what might surprise and what’s vital in the global sports industry over the next 12 months. To view the broadcast in video, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:7019316504055701504/
Joining Wiltshire is Melissa Lawton. Throughout her 20-year career in Content and Production, Lawton has worked as Head of Live Content (Red Bull TV) at Red Bull Media House and Head of Production at Meta, and now holds the title of Chief Content Officer at SailGP.
On 1st and 2nd March, we are partnering with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to bring you The Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/the-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi-2/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_P6dBhD1ARIsAAGI7HCCGlj9q3PpsJp0X-G1UXjQClMECIBUGKu50cyCYuuOA9IuDFwFkagaAv6HEALw_wcB
NFL Head of Europe and UK Brett Gosper, World Cup bid specialists John Zerafa and Nick Varley, and EDI expert Edleen John join the monthly live chat show.
Monthly sports business chat show Leaders Live returns for episode 3 from IMG Studios with a big interview with the NFL and a deep dive (from 23:37) on what the FIFA World Cup - and the Olympics for that matter - could be.
Gosper, the former CEO of World Rugby, gives his end-of-year reflections on the league’s growing global status and the International Series, including that remarkable debut in Germany, as well as giving a peak behind the curtain into the NFL's owners meetings.
Meanwhile, as the final rounds of possibly the most controversial World Cup ever staged play out in Qatar, the tournament - and other major international sports events - goes under the microscope.
With new FIFA stipulations around human rights coming into play for future hosts, the World Cup is only likely to get more political, and as it enters an expanded, multi-country host era, with the USA, Canada and Mexico poised to host in 2026 and a variety of multi-nation bids in the works for 2030, our studio guests look at how it could and should be positioned as a milestone social and commercial moment for players, brands, fans and governments alike.
Live at our Black History Month pop-up event, we spoke to two trailblazers in the Black British community.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
In this episode, recorded live at our Black History Month event in October (which we deemed ‘Black Futures’), Leaders' Cameron Macdonald was joined by Liseli Sitali, Sky Sports’ Head of Marketing (and Founder and Host of the In Her Corner podcast) and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Team GB Captain and Sprinter. Throughout the panel, starting from 17:35, the trio discuss the ins and outs of empowerment in the place of work for the Black British community. From the importance of mentors to finding the right way to integrate allyship, the discussion aimed to look at the journeys of the two panellists through their professional lives in order to impart key takeaways for listeners to implement in their own.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj.
Note: This is a live podcast recording, so there may be some very slight audio distortion in the panel segment, but this should not take away from your listening experience.
Live on the Podcast stage at Leaders Week London, the future of sport (in a strict 7-minute format).
In this live recording of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, which took place in September at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in front of a live audience, three guests present their vision on the future of sport, under the pressure of a strict 7-minute timer.
On the roster:
- LaLiga Global Network’s Keegan Pierce, presenting the future of how we think of rights holders;
- Ashwin Limaye, Chief Product Officer at AI tech company Magnifi, presenting the future of how we watch sports;
- Jonathan Brown, Senior Managing Director of Risk, Forensics & Compliance at consulting firm Ankura, presenting the future of how we govern sports.
- After each gave their 7-minute presentation, the trio sat down for a Q&A where to discuss the transformational breakthroughs in recent years, the biggest risks sport in facing in coming years, and how this hypothetical future can become reality.
We investigate the significance of the first hip-hop ambassadorship story, and how that has contributed to the rise of the hip-hop genre and the popularity of streetwear.
4SE Material is a podcast series in which we explore some of the many stories at the intersection of four key pillars: sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture.
In this episode, we explore the world of hip-hop, sportswear, streetwear, and where they overlap. How does sportswear and hip hop tie into the rise of the streetwear aesthetic? What role did ambassadorship deals play? And there any pitfalls of these deals for either party?
Throughout the episode, we seek to answer these questions with the help of three experts: To help us understand hip-hop culture and its history we spoke to Dr Todd Boyd aka Notorious PhD, the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race & Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the USC School of Cinematic Arts ; to explore the impact of well-selected ambassadorships we have Broderick Hicks, Senior VP and Head of EMEA at Wasserman., and to offer an informed perspective on fashion, streetwear, and how fashion executitives think, we spoke to we approached Minal Malik, Fashion Entrepreneur and Fashion Marketing Lecturer at London of College.
This podcast is brought to you by 4SE, in association with our founding partners, Constellation Brands and Nielsen, and in collaboration with Leaders’ sister companies SportTechie and Sports Business Journal. 4SE is a collection of social and content experiences for leaders seeking to explore the growing intersection between those four pillars, and create opportunities to align and collaborate. Our pilot event experience took place with a select group of executives from sport and entertainment back in May. It’s set to become an annual fixture every year, with our big launch to take place in May 2023 in New York City. For more information, please visit https://4-se.com/.
We’re joined first by the CEO of New Zealand Rugby Commercial, and then by the CEO of Queensbury Promotions, Head of BT Sport Boxing and Pay Per View & IMG Media VP Michael Ridout for a Big Interview, and then a deep-dive on the worlds of boxing and MMA.
Leaders Live, our monthly, topical broadcast, is back for season two – and now we’re in partnership with IMG, with a brand new home at IMG Studios. Leaders Live is our studio talk show on hot button issues facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport.
During part one and for our Big Interview, we’ll hear from the most senior commercial executive at the most famous rugby brand in the world, Richard Thomas. As CEO of New Zealand Rugby Commercial, Richard will tune in to share his perspective on the challenges being tackled in rugby union at the moment, some actionable insights on leadership, plus a look ahead to Saturday's Rugby World Cup Final featuring the Black Ferns.
For part two and for our Deep Dive segment, from 24.30, we'll turn our attention to fightsports and their fans and against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive sports universe. We’ll be joined by George Warren, CEO of Queensberry Promotions; Head of BT Sport Boxing and Pay Per View, Louisa Clark; and IMG Media Vice President Michael Ridout to examine how MMA became a competitor on the global stage and how boxing has adapted to the ever changing media landscape. Why do the business aspects of both sports gather so much attention online and how have both sports utilised social media to build individual superstars and create compelling narratives that become must see events?
To watch the broadcast in video form, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leaders-executive-sport-ltd-_leaders-live-the-big-interview-with-new-activity-6996486071043661824-Ibq6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
In conversation with the woman driving Formula E’s media strategy.
Welcome to The Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre for straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
Over the course of the series, we’re hearing from the industry’s leading strategists about how they strategise: How do they build in flexibility? Inject creativity? Bring projects and partnerships to life? They’ll provide fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t), to reveal how to execute strategy successfully and avoid pitfalls.
In this episode, Leaders’ Head of Content David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett are joined by the Chief Media Officer at Formula E, Aarti Dabas. In a candid and fascinating conversation, Dabas draws on her extensive experience both at Formula E and from her 12-year stint at the International Cricket Council to detail how organisations go about executing strategic plans, including the trade-offs needed to bring strategies to fruition and the complex task of managing a multitude of stakeholders through a strategic journey.
Strategic insight from the New York Jets and the Seattle Sounders.
Welcome to The Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre for straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
Over the course of the series, we're hearing from the industry’s leading strategists about how they strategise – How do they build in flexibility? Inject creativity? Bring projects and partnerships to life? They’ll provide fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t), to reveal how to execute strategy successfully and avoid pitfalls.
In this episode, recorded at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in September, we’re joined by two innovative leaders from the US: Chris Gargano, VP and Executive Producer at the New York Jets and Maya Mendoza-Extstrom, COO at the Seattle Sounders FC and Chair of the Seattle 2026 World Cup Committee. Together with Leaders’ Head of Content David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett, the pair explored not only the traditional components of strategy (i.e measurement, benchmarking and constant iteration) but also how they encourage flexibility and exercise creativity as leaders in the modern age.
The IMG Media President, The Sidemen’s Head of Content and the man leading Athlete Partnerships at TikTok join the team to explore the impact of the creator economy within the sports industry.
Leaders Live, our monthly, topical broadcast, is back for season two – and now we’re in partnership with IMG, with a brand new home at IMG Studios. Leaders Live is our studio talk show on hot button issues facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport. In this episode, we are examining the creator economy – What is it, how can we utilise it, and what does sport really need to understand about how the online influencer world works?
To provide answers to our burning questions this month: First we have IMG Media President Adam Kelly, who gives a state of the nation verdict on the sports industry and reviews the key themes emerging from Leaders Week in September. We are then joined by Victor Bengtsson, Head of Content for creator collective The Sidemen, to explore what the rise of the creator economy means for the sports industry and sports content. Last (but certainly not least) we have Tim Edwards, who looks after athlete partnerships at TikTok, offering a glimpse into how the platform is helping athletes become creators, where the crossovers are between sport and the online creator community and helping to explain how and where brands can get involved in a credible way.
To watch the broadcast in video, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leaders-executive-sport-ltd-_leaders-live-the-creator-economy-and-how-activity-6988860397030113280-ulRM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Leaders’ Editor John Portch joins host Javan Odegah in conversation with Voice’s Sports Editor, and Sky Sports’ Lisali Sitali joins Executive Director Greg Taylor on stage at Leaders Week.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space. We also shine a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
This month, we have a jam-packed episode to mark Black History Month here in the UK. At 14:38, the Leaders team are joined by Rodney Hinds, the longstanding Sports Editor at The Voice (Britain’s favourite Black newspaper), who talks about the importance of mentorship in the EDI space. At the 29 minute mark, we then move to a conversation originally recorded on the Headline Stage at Leaders Week London, where Sky Sports' Head of Marketing Lisali Sitali was in conversation with the NBA Foundation's Executive Director Greg Taylor. In an engaging exploration, the pair reflect on how the NBA is using the power of its brand, the cruciality of engaging with players from recruitment to beyond retirement, and what inspired the formation of the NBA foundation and the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit: https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj
In the timeline section of the episode, we speak about the IPC’s #WeThe15 video, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHCDvdCaJhI
Talking strategy with the Commercial Director of one of Europe’s most dominant sports media brands.
Welcome to The Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre for straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
Over the course of the series, we’ll hear from the industry’s leading strategists about how they strategise – How do they build in flexibility? Inject creativity? Bring projects and partnerships to life? They’ll provide fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t), to reveal how to execute strategy successfully and avoid pitfalls.
In this episode, we’re joined by Yath Gangakumaran, Commercial Director at Sky Sports. Together with Leaders’ Head of Content David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett, Gangakumaran explores the growing complexities around partnerships between broadcasters and rights holders, navigating an increasingly fragmented media landscape, and how strategies at Sky are conceived, built and executed together with internal and external stakeholders.
This interview was recorded 19th July 2020.
We take you behind the scenes of the ‘Glastonbury of Sports Business conferences'.
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team will review the action and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions. In this episode, David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by Consultant and Co-Founder at Rational Collective Sharon Fuller to review the action from a barnstorming return to Leaders Week London.
The trio touch on a number of topics spanning the week and our Business Summit on-stage sessions, which featured guests such as Founder of RedBird Capital Gerry Cardinale who spoke about the intricacies of investment, Bundesliga CEO Donata Hopfen who discussed the success of the 50+1 rule, and Rezzil investor (and football legend) Thierry Henry who explored the future uses of VR technology in sport.
The man leading CRM and Membership at the FA takes Leaders and Deltatre inside strategy planning and execution at the world’s oldest football association.
Welcome to The Blueprint, the podcast brought to you by Leaders and Deltatre for straightforward strategic thinking in sport.
Over the course of the series, we’ll hear from the industry’s leading strategists about how they strategise – How do they build in flexibility? Inject creativity? Bring projects and partnerships to life? They’ll provide fresh perspective on sport’s most recognisable organisations, with real life examples of where strategy worked (or didn’t), to reveal how to execute strategy successfully and avoid pitfalls.
In this first episode, we’re joined by Paul Brierley, CRM and Membership Lead at the Football Association. Together with Leaders’ Head of Content David Cushnan and Deltatre’s Commercial Strategy Lead Max Barnett, Brierley discusses evolving fandom models, building a strategy around membership and participation within a multi-faceted organisation like the FA.
Wasserman's Web 3.0 expert demystifies the latest iteration of the world wide web and explains how we can make it diverse, inclusive and equitable.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
Mary Pryor is Senior Director of Strategy & Web3 at Wasserman, a role she added to her impressive repertoire in September 2021. Throughout the interview (beginning 11:46), she breaks down the concept of Web 3.0 and explores what EDI looks like in this world, offering her expert insight into the possible barriers to entry, the pillars needed to build an inclusive environment within it and how we can utilise Web 3.0 as a tool to empower.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj
The woman leading the London Legacy Development Corporation reveals how, 10 years following the London 2012 Olympic Games, she’s delivering on one of the Games’ most important bids.
This is Leaders and How They Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry. We’ve been exploring a range of perspectives over the course of this series; going deep with leaders of teams, agencies, governing bodies, venues, and charities – very different types of organisation and very different types of leader.
We’ve been pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they communicate full stop; how they develop people; how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means where they are.
Our final guest is Lyn Garner, the Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation. She took on the role in February 2018, following a 7 year stint as Strategic Director of Regeneration, Planning and Development at the London Borough of Haringey (during which she oversaw the redevelopment of the area following the 2011 riots). Within her role at the LLDC, Garner not only oversees the long term planning, maintenance and development of the different sports venues that remain part of the Olympic Park, but also in the surrounding areas as the corporation seeks to create a thriving community and business zone in East London.
We investigate the significance of those who fill the coveted front row seats and the impact this has on fan experience and broadening reach.
4SE Material is a podcast series in which we explore some of the many stories at the intersection of four key pillars: sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture.
In this episode, we investigate where celebrity culture and sports events collide, with particular focus on the NBA and the fixation on who is sitting courtside. What kind of celebrity might you see at a game? Why do they attend them? How does this enhance (or take away) from the experience? And how effective a pull is celebrity attendance for bringing in new fans?
Throughout the episode, we seek to answer these questions with the help of three experts: To help us understand what moments are deemed worthy of capturing, we spoke Michael Lawrie, Senior Manager of Sports Operations at Getty Images; to guide us through the VIP experience we have Michelle Kajiwara, Senior Vice President of Premium Business and Events at Crypto.com Arena at AEG, and to offer an academic perspective on why it is we are so fascinated by celebrities, we spoke to Dr. Donna Rockwell, clinical psychologist and founder of Already Famous.
This podcast is brought to you by 4SE, in association with our founding partners, Constellation Brands and Nielsen, and in collaboration with Leaders’ sister companies SportTechie and Sports Business Journal. 4SE is a collection of social and content experiences for leaders seeking to explore the growing intersection between those four pillars, and create opportunities to align and collaborate. Our pilot event experience took place with a select group of executives from sport and entertainment back in May. It’s set to become an annual fixture every year, with our big launch to take place in May 2023 in New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.4-se.com/ .
Music: Red Carpet by Bjorn Lynne https://bit.ly/3BXMvKN
Al Guido reveals how he developed the leadership skills to balance his roles as CEO of a growing industry giant and President of the San Francisco 49ers.
This is Leaders and How They Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
We’ve been exploring a range of perspectives over the course of this series; going deep with leaders of teams, agencies, governing bodies, venues, and charities – very different types of organisation and very different types of leader.
We’ve been pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they communicate full stop; how they develop people; how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means where they are.
Our guest this week is Al Guido, who started his sports business career in sales before climbing the ladder to COO at one the NFL’s most valuable teams, the San Franscico 49ers. He was promoted to President in 2016. Two years later, he added the role of CEO to his repertoire at Elevate Sports Ventures, a best-in-class consulting firm that provides innovative solutions to organisations across the global sports and entertainment landscape.
Adam Fraser reflects on his professional journey from journalist to CEO of a global charitable foundation.
This is Leaders and How They Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
We’ve been exploring a range of perspectives over the course of this series; going deep with leaders of teams, agencies, governing bodies, venues, and charities – very different types of organisation and very different types of leader.
We’ve been pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they communicate full stop; how they develop people; how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means where they are.
Our guest this week is Adam Fraser who, after 5 years with the company as their Global Development Director, was made CEO of Laureus Sport for Good in 2019. Laureus Sport for Good raises money for and supports more than 275 programmes to change lives across 50 different countries. Created under the patronage of Nelson Mandela with the founding belief that "sport has the power to change the world," the organisation uses the power of sport to end violence, discrimination, and disadvantage.
The CEO of the Bristol Rovers Football Club reflects on his impressive ten year career as a young leader in the sports business world.
Welcome to Leaders and How they Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
We’re taking a range of perspectives over the course of this series; going deep with leaders of teams, agencies, governing bodies, venues, and charities – very different types of organisation and very different types of leader.
We’re going to be pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they communicate full stop; how they develop people; how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means where they are.
Our guest for this episode is Tom Gorringe. Gorringe began his career as an Intern at Portsmouth FC. He spent the next four years at the club, during which time they experienced two relegations, two administrations and an FA Cup Final. He continued to climb the ladder with stints as a Sales & Marketing Manager at Cardiff City FC and Head of Marketing at Brighton & Hove Albion F.C before moving to Bristol Rovers FC, first joining in 2017 as a Commercial Director. In November 2021, he was made CEO of the club at just 32 years of age, making him one of the youngest CEOs in football.
We investigate the boom in popularity of the game and pinpoint when it became a phenomenon.
4SE Material is a new podcast series in which we explore some of the many stories at the intersection of four key pillars: sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture.
In this first episode, we cast our eyes towards the chess world to tell the story of the historical and ongoing popularity of the game. When exactly did the reputation of the game go from purely academic, and somewhat stuffy, to cool and accessible?
Throughout the episode, we seek to answer these questions by exploring the game’s universal appeal, the role that technology has played in its growth, and the momentous increase in participation throughout the pandemic, particularly following the release of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’. And we did so with the help of Malcolm Pein, International Master and former professional chess player, now International Director of the English Chess Federation (ECF); Emil Sutovsky, Grandmaster and Director-General of chess world governing body, Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE); and Henrik Carlsen, Board Member of the Play Magnus Group and father five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen.
This podcast is brought to you by 4SE, in association with our founding partners, Constellation Brands and Nielsen, and in collaboration with Leaders’ sister companies SportTechie and Sports Business Journal. 4SE is a collection of social and content experiences for leaders seeking to explore the growing intersection between those four pillars, and create opportunities to align and collaborate. Our pilot event experience took place with a select group of executives from sport and entertainment back in May. It’s set to become an annual fixture every year, with our big launch to take place in May 2023 in New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.4-se.com.
Former CEO of England Netball and UK Athletics talks the highs and lows of leadership, and the weight of responsibility that comes with the role.
Welcome to Leaders and How they Lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
We’re going to be taking a range of perspectives over the next six weeks; going deep with leaders of teams, agencies, governing bodies, venues, and charities – very different types of organisation and very different types of leader.
We’re going to be pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they communicate full stop; how they develop people; how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means where they are.
Our second guest is Joanna Coates. Having initially aspired to work in fashion, Coates gained experience in multiple different areas before becoming a sports industry leader, rising to CEO of England Netball in 2015 and overseeing the immensely successful commercial and public rebuild of the sport. In 2019, she left England Netball and began a challenging stint as CEO of UK Athletics in early 2020, before stepping down from the role in November 2021.
In conversation with DAZN Group’s Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Leaders in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the equality, diversity and inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
Beginning at 20:27, this episode includes a guest interview with Shola Aminu, the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the DAZN Group. DAZN is the world's first pure-sport live and on-demand streaming service, currently available in seven markets across three continents.
Having started at DAZN in 2015 in a finance role, Aminu stepped into the role as the company’s first ever Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in June 2020. With our host Javan Odegah, Aminu explores the topic of Deliberate Action, with talk of acting with purpose, knowing your benchmarks for comparison, and balancing commercial elements with workplace culture.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums To find out more about Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj.
In the podcast, we also refer to our latest Performance Special Report, which is titled 'The Female Lead: The evolution of athlete and coach development in women's sport'. To read this report, please visit: https://leadersinsport.com/performance-institute/reports/the-female-lead/?
IMG Media President Adam Kelly talks tough conversations and restoring the reputation of a sports industry powerhouse.
Welcome to Leaders and how they lead, the podcast series that looks at what it means to be a leader in the sports industry.
We’re going to be taking a range of perspectives over the next six weeks; going deep with leaders of teams, agencies, governing bodies, venues, and charities – very different types of organisation and very different types of leader.
We’re going to be pressing them on what makes them tick; how they think they manage (upwards and downwards); how they handle failure and conflict; how they communicate strategic vision; how they communicate full stop; how they develop people; how they lead to win – whatever ‘win’ means where they are.
Our first guest is Adam Kelly, who recently became President of IMG Media, a division of the agency giant that operates across rights management, production, and technology and data.
An IMG lifer who started as an intern, Kelly is on a mission to reset the strategic course for IMG Media after a challenging period for the agency.
To mark the UEFA Women’s Euros 2022, we sat down with two leaders making a difference in the women’s sport space.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
For our ‘ Women’s Euros’ special, we spoke via video call to Women in Football CEO Yyvonne Harrison and PepsiCo UK & Ireland’s SVP and GM for Snacks, Western Europe, Fiona Tomlin. The two organisations have paired up for Women in Footballs #GetOnSide Campaign and, on the day of the championship’s opening game, launched an initiative to boost opportunities for women to pursue careers in coaching.
While there is talk of the partnerships and of the Euros, Harrison and Tomlin offer their perspectives on the women’s sport space as a whole, with discussion around the new opportunities from the increased level of coverage, the emphasis on values for women’s sports sponsors and the business argument for investing in this space.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. Please click here to find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj.
Management Futures’ Diversity Specialist Toby Sawyer leads a panel of experts at our Pride Pop-up event.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport. This month’s episode, recorded live at our Pride pop-up event, features a panel of three unique perspectives merging for a holistic and insightful view on how we can make meaningful movements towards LGBTQ+ inclusion in the sports industry.
First on our panel is Erin Williams, Sports Progammes Manager at trailblazing LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall. Joining Williams is Jamie Dapaah who co-ordinates Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Fulham Football Club. Rounding off the panel is Susannah Townsend MBE who, after recently retiring from her Olympic gold-medal winning career as a field hockey player, has joined Evolve as their Head of Growth.
The trio spoke to Management Futures’ Diversity Specialist Toby Sawyer, who artfully led an open and illuminating discussion about individual vs. collective responsibility, the importance of ‘big little things’, freedom to make mistakes in learning, and what men’s sport can learn from women’s sport when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is our regular podcast to discuss, debate, and explore the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
This time, Leaders Editor-at-Large, James Emmett, and Head of Content, David Cushnan reflect on this week’s monumental Indian Premier League rights deal, Major League Soccer’s new partnership with Apple+ and consider what LIV Golf got wrong (and right) about their first broadcast.
Helping James and David unpack these stories is Finn Bradshaw, Head of Digital at the International Cricket Council. Bradshaw previously headed up digital departments at Tennis Australia and Cricket Australia and, stopping by as part of a much-delayed trip to London, adds insight into the buoyancy of the Indian media market, discusses the likely internal recalibration at MLS, and draws comparisons between LIV Golf and cricket’s T20 format. He also discusses his role at the ICC, its partnership with FanCraze, and NFTs as a unique and appealing fan engagement proposition.
Listen to the podcast below, and subscribe today on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify or your chosen podcast platform.
In today’s episode, we bring you a conversation with the CEO of the all-female racing championships, and two diversity heads from leading sports companies.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the equality, diversity and inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
Our first conversation, beginning at 17:32, is a Q&A with Catherine Bond-Muir, CEO of the W Series. We caught up with Catherine last month over Zoom, after we covered the W Series’ deal with Sky in last month’s ‘What’s Happening in the Timeline?’ segment. Bond-Muir educates us on the W Series and their mission, the need to platform women in sport and why partnerships like those with Sky and ESPN are so important.
At 31:18, we then move to our next interview, which was a live podcast recording, recorded in May as part of our inaugural 4SE event. Our regular host Javan Odegah and Leaders Managing Director Laura McQueen are joined by Lindsay Labennett, the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Wasserman and Brandon Thompson, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at Nascar. In a practical, engaging and insightful session, the group discuss the need for measuring inclusion, what data points to look for, and the need to look internally before trying to make progress externally, all the while giving their views on inclusion riders, running your own race and why you should avoid the ‘copy and paste’ method.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj
The Leaders team bring you their thoughts on the current sports broadcast space, along with a Q&A with the NBA’s Head of Fan Engagement & DTC.
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is a regular podcast for discussion, debate, and exploration around the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
Leaders Editor-at-Large and Head of Content James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack a Q&A with the NBA’s Head of Fan Engagement & DTC for EMEA, George Aivazoglou, which was recorded back in March at our Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi event. Aivazoglou doffs his cap to Fortnite, Nike and Roblox in a fascinating conversation on micropayments, the metaverse, and the process of innovation.
But first, James and David offer their views on the latest happenings in the sports content space, with talk around the issue with subscription models in the midst of a cost of living crisis, Spotify’s big plans in the global sports content space, and what FIFA’s new gaming strategy reveals about the purpose of FIFA+.
Behind the Scenes of the inaugural edition of our 4SE event experience in NYC with two key leaders from Elevate Sports Ventures.
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events – and this one’s a bit different. The Leaders team has been in New York this week, working with our sister companies Sports Business Journal and SportTechie to launch 4SE, a brand-new event experience providing a much-needed opportunity for senior executives to explore and navigate the collision of sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture.
Leaders Editor-at-Large James Emmett is joined by colleagues Matthew Stone and Javan Odegah in a Manhattan backroom to explain more.
James is also joined by Al Guido, President of the San Francisco 49ers and Chairman and CEO of Elevate Sports Ventures, and Shawn Doss, newly promoted to run Elevate’s international business.
Formed in 2018 in partnership between the San Francisco 49ers and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Elevate is a leading consulting firm that has quickly become something of juggernaut in the sports and entertainment sector, and the trio sat down for a conversation about where and how sport meets entertainment in 2022, how an organisation like Elevate fits into that, and the company’s global aspirations.
4SE, at the intersection of sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture, is due to become an annual fixture in the calendar each year in May. Do join in on all the action by visiting https://4-se.com/#contact to register your interest for 2023.
Leaders Editor-at-large and Head of Content James Emmett and David Cushnan bring you their thoughts on the latest trends and developments in the sports broadcast space.
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is a regular podcast for discussion, debate, and exploration around the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
On this episode’s conversational agenda: The long anticipated announcement of DAZN Bet, and how DAZN are differentiating themselves in a saturated market; What is (and perhaps what is not) working with FIFA’s new streaming service; Our critique of the broadcast coverage for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix; Intriguing developments in the Olympic World, and the ramifications for broadcast and production; OneFootball’s huge new investment round and the next chapter of its success story; a quick mention of how, despite UK government pressure, Channel 4 are building up an impressive sport portfolio; and a shout out the impressive growth of Swedish entertainment group NENT.
Next week we will be hosting our inaugural 4SE event in New York, which will be around the intersection between sports, entertainment, lifestyle and culture. We will be opening the week with a Broadcast Disruptors Think Tank, unpacking the D2C conundrum over three facilitated hours. If you in the area and wish to attend, please contact James or David at james.emmett@leadersinsport.com or david.cushnan@leadersinsport.com.
In this episode, three inspiring advocates for diversity discuss what they have learned about standing firm and speaking out.
Leaders in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the equality, diversity and inclusion space.
This episode features an unmissable conversation led by Shona Crooks, who works as Management Futures Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She is joined by Sarah Cartwright, coach, trainer, speaker and Associate of Management Futures, and by Darnelle Morgan-Johnson, a sports and events professional currently working as the Events Services Operations Manager at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.
Within the discussion, the trio offered their valuable insight and practical advice that they have taken away from C-Suite and Future Leader programmes that were delivered by Management Futures as part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series. Among the topics of exploration were setting boundaries and how this may be affected be race and gender stereotypes, psychological safety and how to offer feedback, and the uncomfortableness but cruciality of establishing non-negiotables with leaders.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj.
DFL Digital CEO Andreas Heyden joins the team to reveal how technology is enriching the fan experience.
Leaders Live is our studio talk show on hot button issues facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport. On this episode, we are examining the ultimate matchday experience – what is it, how has it changed, and how can we deliver it?
To provide answers to our burning questions this month: Andreas Heyden. Heyden is the Executive Vice President of Digital Innovation at DFL, and the CEO of DFL Digital, and thus speaks with deep knowledge on smart solutions for enhancing the matchday experience for fans both at home and in-venue. He explains how DFL’s ‘glass to glass’ strategy is revolutionising how the Bundesliga interact with fans, why aiming under the age average will maximise your appeal across all age groups, and the potential of the Metaverse and other developing technology to elevate the fan experience holistically as the present and future converge.
To watch the broadcast in video, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_9sxxs0y08
In this episode, we bring you a conversation on Inclusive Leadership with the CEO of English Football’s leading equality and inclusion organisation.
Leaders in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the equality, diversity and inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
This episode includes a guest interview with Anthony Burnett, the CEO of Kick It Out. Kick It Out have been working throughout the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and campaign for positive change in the game for almost 30 years.
Having previously had experience in senior roles within organisations such as Ford, Lloyds Banking Group, and the West Midlands Police, and having worked across the world within the EDI Space, Burnett brings a strong, fresh, and global perspective on the topic of inclusive leadership. Within the discussion, Burnett offers fascinating insight on the distinction between re-examining and re-inventing, lists some examples of leaders setting a shining example, and laments the significant negative impact of when imposter syndrome meets longstanding systemic messaging.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj
Digital expert and newly appointed CEO of Stadion gives his views on the innovations happening in the space.
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is a regular podcast for discussion, debate, and analysis around the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
On this episode, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Russell Stopford, a giant in world of sports digital, who is newly-installed as CEO of digital agency Stadion, following over a decade of leading digital activity at three of football’s biggest clubs, Manchester City, FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
In an insightful and informative conversation, the trio dive into the latest happenings in the space, such as the NFL’s plans for a new subscription streaming service, Spotify’s giant sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona and of course, 2022’s biggest buzzword, the metaverse. In the process, Stopford offers his expert perspective on the complexity of developing a huge new project like the NFL’s, the untapped potential in the crossover between sports and music, and the big tech question in the development of the metaverse that demands to be solved.
Atlanta Hawks CMO Melissa Proctor in conversation with Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan.
Melissa Proctor is an accomplished leader with 20 years of experience across sports and entertainment. She began her professional life with Turner Broadcasting as an intern, before going on to assume multiple roles during a nine-year stint, such as Director of Insights & Inspiration for the Turner Media Group, Senior Director of Strategy Development at Cartoon Network & Adult Swim, and eventually VP of Brand Marketing & Content at upwave.
Proctor joined the Atlanta Hawks in 2014 as the Vice President of Brand Strategy and quickly rose up the ranks, first assuming the role of Senior Vice President of Strategy in 2015, and then to Executive VP and CMO in 2016. Her interest in the NBA first began as a teenager when she was the first ball girl for the Miami Heat, an experience that went on to inspire the title of her bestselling book ‘From Ball Girl to CMO’.
In an insightful conversation conducted live as part of our Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi in mid-March, Proctor reveals how the leading NBA franchise is cornering international markets, delving into the details behind the international strategy, the process of working with key stakeholders in new regions and the balance between global expansion and serving the home fanbase.
She also offers her valuable perspective on how the role of CMO has changed in an increasingly digital world, the importance of being a civic asset and how the unique nature of Atlanta as a city informs her marketing approach.
The big issues facing football around the world, as seen by three international leaders in developing the game.
Leaders in Conversation is a series that puts you in the room, fly-on-the-wall style, for discussions between the most influential leaders in sports and media. Our latest episode features James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, Laura Georges, Secretary General at the French Football Federation and Robbie Fowler, the former England and Liverpool player, in an on-stage session led by Dubai Eye 103.8 host Chris McHardy. This discussion, titled ‘Football Development around the World’, was recorded in mid-March, as part of the Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi.
James Johnson is the CEO of Football Australia, the country due to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Prior to joining Football Australia in January 2020, Johnson held senior roles across the world of football, such as Director of International Relationships and Development at the Asian Football Confederation, and Head of Professional Football at FIFA.
An esteemed former player for the French national team, Laura Georges is now Secretary-General of the French Football Federation, the current men’s World Champions, and one of the national federations at the forefront of progressing the women’s game. Committed to the promotion of women’s football, Georges served as ambassador of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 in France and has overseen the development of the women’s refereeing plan.
Robbie Fowler is a former player and current manager, best known for his time with Liverpool between 1993 and 2001. To date, he remains Liverpool’s top scorer in the Premier League and is the eighth top scorer in Premier League history. Following his time in the UK, Fowler played in Australia and Thailand and has since transitioned into management, where he most recently managed East Bengal of the Indian Super League.
In this fascinating and wide-ranging discussion, the panel discuss, among many other topics, the possibility of biennial World Cup; what works and what doesn’t in different markets across the world when it comes to coaching and talent pathways; and how the development of technology is changing football, for better and for worse.
Behind the Scenes of the fourth edition of the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi
Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team will review the action and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions. In partnership with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the Leaders team invited 400 senior executives to the world-renowned Yas Marina Circuit for the fourth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi on 16th and 17th March, where we explored the new dynamics of global sport. This episode recaps the two-day summit and explores the key themes.
First, our Head of Content David Cushnan and Content Producer Cameron Macdonald are joined by Ryan Norys, Chief Revenue Officer ay AS Roma, to recap the action from Day One. The trio touch on a number of topics, including (but not limited to) the renewed focus on purpose in shaping the identity of clubs, the growing desire to bridge the gap between the elite, professional of sport and the grassroots, community-focused end, and what it is like to be in thick of trying to sell these multimillion pound deals, such as the one recently announced between FC Barcelona and Spotify.
Later in the episode, from 23.48, David is joined by Phil Cotton, CEO at Elevate, and Laura Georges, Secretary General of the French Football Federation. In this section, the three discuss the goings-on on Day Two and their review of the summit overall. On the conversational agenda; the impact of investing in new ways to engage fans in the culture, the impact of inspiring women and girls to participate in sport, and the fascinating dynamic created when two of our speakers had opposing views.
In today’s episode, we bring you an important and insightful conversation between three champions for allyship.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport. This month’s episode, recorded live at our International Women’s Day pop-up event, sees three trailblazing advocates for women in sport discuss the importance of allyship.
First on our panel is Katie Shaw, an inspiring female leader in sports and entertainment. Shaw spent seven years at prominent sports marketing company Fuse, before leaving in the latter half of last year to begin a new role of Global Head of Brand Engagement at Entourage Sports & Entertainment Company. A keen champion for women in sport, Shaw was a committee member at Omniwomen UK during her time at Fuse.
Joining Shaw is Manisha Tailor, Assistant Head of Coaching at Queen’s Park Rangers, and a leader who has dedicated much of her working life to supporting women and those with mental illness through work in education. A qualified head-teacher with over 15 years of experience working in schools across the UK and Internationally, Tailor is also an education worker for Show Racism the Red Card, and Founder/Director of Swaggarlicious Limited, which uses the power of football and education to engage with diverse community groups and organisations to help them lead a healthy lifestyle and develop lifelong learning skills.
Rounding off our panel is the man Tailor sees as a great example of allyship, Chris Ramsey, a former professional footballer and Taylor’s colleague at QPR, where he serves as Technical Director. He has coached and managed at all levels of football, and has been listed among the 30 Most Influential Black People in Football by the Voice, the UK’s leading black newspaper. As an outspoken advocate of social justice and EDI, Ramsey has been lauded as a trailblazer for changing the face of the QPR Academy in a positive way.
In an illuminating and educational discussion, the three panelists talked to Leaders hosts Javan Odegah and Laura McQueen about different facets of allyship, such as how to implement allyship on a day-to-day basis, traditional line management vs allyship and how exactly you can “microwave someone’s learning.”
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/leaders-events/leaders-sport-business-summit-abu-dhabi/.
The fourth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 16th and 17th March. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/AD2022
Note: This is a live podcast recording, so there may be some slight distortion in the panel section, but this should not take away from your listening experience.
Former BBC exec Stuart Rowson reveals the secrets of making content for younger audiences.
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is a regular podcast for discussion, debate, and analysis around the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
On this episode, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Stuart Rowson, a multi-platform expert with a mission to help brands and media companies engage with children and younger audiences. In a fascinating and varied conversation that includes talk of Cocomelon, Hey Duggee and the NFL’s Nickelodeon broadcast, Rowson discusses how he oversaw BBC Sport’s younger audience strategy, the unique work he is doing with Chelsea FC, and reveals what you may be doing wrong in your approach to engaging younger audiences.
The fourth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 16th and 17th March. To find out more and to register your interest, please visit http://www.leadersinsport.com/AD2022
Serial challengers reveal how a distinctive mindset has fuelled their success.
Leaders Live is our monthly studio talk show on hot button issues facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport. On this episode, we unpack what ‘the challenger mentality’ actually means, analyse what it takes to build something new, and explore how to make an impact with something different in the sports industry.
There’s something inherent in sport about the concept of ‘the challenger’. Not just a necessary half of any one-on-one contest, but something deeper: a romantic notion of potential triumph against the odds; a compelling story that sweeps people up and drives competitors and fans alike; a mindset that inspires, energises and informs strategy. But what about the business of sport? Do the same notions apply here? And how do the most successful start-ups use the challenger mentality to their advantage?
To help us answer these questions, we are joined by Philip Sharpe, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Infront X, who is an expert in helping global sport brands engage with audiences and monetize their investments by identifying opportunities enabled by digital technology.
Our second guest is Tim Godfrey, Chief Marketing Officer of the Professional Triathletes Organisation, a two-year-old entity that seeks to showcase the passion, ability, setbacks and accomplishments of all those who participate in triathlon, from newbies to professionals, through motivational content, inspiring events such as the Collins cup, and first-of-its-kind ranking technology.
Last but certainly not least we are joined by Sharon Fuller, Chief Content Officer at the new eSkootr Championship, the world’s first electric scooter racing series. Launching this year in six different countries across Europe and North America, the series’ goal is to revolutionise micromobility by turning it into a competitive sport for the very first time. The mixed-gender championship has a mission to drive positive change in sport by advocating for inclusion, accessibility and sustainability.
If you would also like to watch this episode in video form, visit https://twitter.com/LeadersBiz/status/1496499676299808773?s=20&t=ZrbEETMbE_vJWO8UAnLIwg
On 16th and 17th March, we are partnering with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to bring you The Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. To find out more and register your interest, please go to https://www.leadersinsport.com/AD2022
In today’s episode, we bring you two conversations with two key leaders in sport around the importance of measuring progress and implementing change in the ED&I Landscape.
Leaders in EDI is a monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the equality, diversity and inclusion space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
Our first conversation, beginning at 08:40, is with Leaders’ Managing Director Laura McQueen and Nielsen Sports’ Head of Brands, Lynsey Douglas. The focal point of the discussion was the survey that Leaders ran in collaboration with Nielsen in order to benchmark where members of the Leaders Meet: Diversity series feel we are in the EDI space. The pair cover key statistics from the survey findings and what changes we can make to ensure even better results over the coming year, and take the opportunity to discuss having ambition to drive change, the importance of having an inclusive work environment as we return to the office space, and the key approach to joining a community.
At 21:15, we then move to a guest interview with Leon Mann, an entrepreneur, activist, broadcaster, filmmaker and founder of sports consultancy and production company, Refresh Sport. This conversation expanded on the theme of change, with a focus given to the distinction between short-term change and long-term reform. Within it, Mann offers his valuable insight on reflecting on your own biases, holding leaders accountable, and how taking action in the diversity space will maximise the performance of your business.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/leaders-meet-diversity-2
The fourth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 16th and 17th March. To find out more and register your interest, please visit https://leadersinsport.com/AD2022
Leaders Editor-at-large and Head of Content James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Sky’s Director of Product Management to discuss what’s going on and why it matters across the sports media industry.
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is a regular podcast for discussion, debate, and analysis around the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
On this episode, James Emmett and David Cushnan first consider some of the latest stories in the space, such as the new phase in the discussions around BT Sport: DAZN is out and Discovery is in; and UEFA’s decision to split its next cycle of club competition rights between incumbent TEAM Marketing and US newcomers Relevent Sports.
The pair are then joined by Dave Gibbs, Sky’s Director of Product Management – Group Content (Sports & News), Apps, Partner Content & Advertising.
On the agenda: the ‘streaming wars’ and how they benefit the customer; the Metaverse and how it will enhance the viewer experience; and the evolving role of UGC in sport and how it fits into Sky’s product strategy.
The fourth edition of Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi returns on 16th and 17th March. To find out more and register your interest, please visit http://www.leadersinsport.com/AD2022
Sue Anstiss leads a discussion with two female leaders in sport.
Leaders in Conversation is a series that puts you in the room, fly-on-the-wall style, for a discussion between the most influential leaders in sports and media. Our second episode is with Jo Osborne and Kelly Simmons in a moderated conversation led by Sue Anstiss.
Jo Osborne has worked in television production for two decades, the entirety of which she has spent at Sky Sports. She assumed the role of Executive Producer in June 2021, and throughout the duration of her career has been committed to increasing the visibility of women’s sport.
Kelly Simmons took up the new role of Director of the Women’s Professional Game in September 2018 to help deliver and transform professional women’s football in England. Simmons was previously The FA Director of Participation and Development, overseeing the implementation of a £200m four year investment programme into children’s and grassroots football.
Sue Anstiss worked in sports marketing and sports PR for over 30 years, delivering highly successful campaigns to get more women and girls talking part in sport and physical activity. In 2020, Anstiss established Fearless Women, a company with powerful ambition to drive positive change for women’s sport.
In this discussion recorded as part of October’s Leaders Week London as a session titled ‘To What Extent Should Women’s Sport Replicate The Men’s Sports Commercial And Broadcasting Template?’, the three leaders discuss finding and targeting new fans for women’s sport, building new formats, and the importance of criticism as part of broadcast coverage. The session coincided with the launch of our Special Report, which was produced in partnership with Sky and centered around the women’s sports landscape in the post-pandemic era. To download the report, visit http://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-special-report-womens-sport-bouncing-back-from-the-pandemic
On 16th and 17th March, we are partnering with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to bring you The Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. To find out more and register your interest, http://www.leadersinsport.com/AD2022
The Leaders team invite industry experts to discuss the tech world’s hottest buzzword on our monthly live show.
Leaders Live, now converted to audio form, is our monthly show featuring discussion on the major issues and topics facing the industry, featuring interviews with leaders from across and beyond sport. Our first episode of 2022 is dedicated to the metaverse and the various ways in which, over time, it could impact sport. You can also watch the broadcast in video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMbaTU8asxw
Are you a sceptic? Are you a believer? Are you somewhere in between? Who are the sports organisations to watch in this new online era? What are the easy mistakes to make? Could sport be an ideal showcase and educational tool for the tech boffins working on making the metaverse happen? And does it represent the fundamental change some insist it will be, or simply another way to connect with and engage with fans? We attempted to explain what we know - and what we don't - as the metaverse becomes a reality.
To help do so, we were joined by Ashley Shaner, Senior Digital Consultant at Seven League. An MBA graduate with over 12 years of experience with clients in the UK and the US, Shaner is an expert in digital marketing with a keen sense of the ways in which new technology can connect us, and the intersection in changing the business landscape.
Our second guest is Carsten Thode, the former Chief Strategy Officer at Synergy who has gone on to create sports entertainment platform Aphetor. Founded in 2019, the Aphetor Games – described by some as the ‘Metaverse Games’ - brought together popular social media creators across many different platforms.
On 16th and 17th March, we are partnering with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to bring you The Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. To find out more and register your interest, visit http://www.leadersinsport.com/AD2022
In conversation with the Premier League’s first head of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Leaders in EDI is a new monthly series covering news, views, comments and debates happening across the diversity space. It also shines a spotlight on the progress being made and the challenges being faced in EDI across sport.
For our inaugural episode, we explored the topic of ‘intentional inclusion’, with a man whose role is about those very two words. Former professional footballer and manager, Iffy Onuora, became the Premier League’s first Head of Equality, Diverity and Inclusion last year. The role was created to manage EDI matters at the league, and to encourage and support best practice at the 20 Premier League clubs.
The conversation explored how Onuora is implementing purposeful action-based plans that are focused on advancing positive change at one of the world’s largest sports leagues.
The Leaders in EDI podcast is part of the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series, delivered in partnership with Meta, which provides a platform for executives within sport to come together to drive diversity across the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation of executives, through thought-leadership events and digital forums. To find out more about the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, please go to https://info.leadersinsport.com/l/856843/2021-04-21/hfhrj
Leaders Editor-at-large and Head of Content James Emmett and David Cushnan bring you their predictions on the sports broadcast space for 2022
Leaders Editor-at-large and Head of Content James Emmett and David Cushnan bring you their predictions on the sports broadcast space for 2022.
The Leaders Broadcast Disruptors Audio Bulletin is a new regular podcast for discussion, debate, and exploration around the latest developments in sports content production, distribution and monetisation.
On the conversational agenda:
-How sports content producers will find alternative ways to seek new audiences, while utilising old methods of monetising existing audiences.
-Where we may see an increase in ‘pop-up’ sports broadcast events.
-How rights holders will put lockdown learnings into action.
-How women’s sport will be used as a crucible for innovation in the sports broadcasting space.
-How the Metaverse could factor into the reach of sports broadcast in remote locations.
Along with these topics, James and David discuss exciting new developments, causes for concern and some more left-field predictions for the future of sport.
An unfiltered discussion between the leaders of the BBC and Wimbledon.
Leaders in Conversation is a new series that puts you in the room, fly-on-the-wall style, for a discussion between the most influential leaders in sports and media. Our first episode is with Tim Davie and Sally Bolton, both of whom took the helm at their historic British institutions just over a year ago.
Tim Davie became Director-General of the BBC on 1st September 2020. He is the 17th Director-General of the Corporation. Prior to this, Davie was Chief Executive of BBC Studios, the BBC’s principal commercial subsidiary. Responsible for creating and distributing content globally; Davie led BBC Studios from April 2013. Whilst in the role, he oversaw the merger between the BBC’s production arm and BBC Worldwide, the Corporation’s distribution company, and was responsible for an annual turnover of over £1.4billion.
Sally Bolton is Chief Executive at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, having previously held the roles of Strategic Planning & Operations Director and Head of Corporate Affairs at the Club. Prior to this, Bolton spent two years as Managing Director of the Organising Committee for the London World Athletic Championships in 2017. Bolton assumed this role having led the team that delivered a highly successful Rugby League World Cup in 2013, a role for which she was recognized with the award of an OBE.
In this unmoderated conversation recorded as part of October’s Leaders Week London, the two leaders reflect on the challenges of reforming, modernising and pioneering in what was a fascinating glimpse in to the day-to-day of leading uniquely British establishments.
In conversation with the billionaire that has ownership interests across the NBA, NHL and Premier League.
One Careful Owner is a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features exclusive conversations with the people who invest billions into teams. Who have a unique handle on where the industry is going. On media rights. On globalisation. On asset creation. On trading players. On the risks, rewards and the pitfalls. On the pressures and demands. The unique challenges and often downright weird situations that only sports owners have experienced. And all while they’re doing their day job.
Our latest guest is Josh Harris, the Co-Founder of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest alternative investment firms. He is also one half of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Prudential Center, the Dignitas esports team and has a stake in Elevate Sports Ventures, which provides venue, ticketing and hospitality solutions across the industry.
In a keynote conversation conducted live as part of October’s Leaders Week London, Josh discusses his ownership philosophy, the differences between owning US and UK teams and where he sees brilliant investment potential. He also shares his perspective on the European Super League, the impact Covid has on team owners, changing consumption habits and paints a picture of what it’s really like in the room when team owners get together.
Our next sport business conference, Leaders Meet: Qatar 2022, takes place on 28 – 29 November (later this month) and will see global sports industry decision-makers connect, share insight and do business with international sponsors, clubs, leagues and broadcasters involved or investing in Qatar. Visit leadersinsport.com to find out more and to join us in person, or from wherever you are.
Behind the scenes at Leaders Week, London.
David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by former FIS General Secretary Sarah Lewis to review the action from day two of an action-packed return to sports industry conferencing at Leaders Week, London.
On the agenda:
- Contractual flexibility and long-term relationships in sports sponsorship;
- The best conference session of any conference in any industry from any time;
- 'Proportionality' and reacting to crises, plus other golden gobbets of leadership wisdom;
- BBC Director General Tim Davie, Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton, Purplebricks CMO Ben Carter, Rugby League World Cup CEO Jon Dutton;
- Reaching new diverse audiences, and (trying!) to create inclusive environments in sport (and at Leaders);
- Techno, techno, techno, techno.
Behind the scenes at the Leaders Sport Business Summit.
David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by Nielsen Sports' Samantha Lamberti to review the action from a barnstorming return to face-to-face conferencing at the first day of the Leaders Sport Business Summit in London.
On the agenda:
- The buzz on the conference floor; and re-learning how to network;
- The big themes from the day: change, change, and more change;
- The huge momentum behind women's sport as new research indicates that 21% of UK adults follow more women's sport than they did 18 months ago.
- HBSE's Josh Harris, Sky Sports' Jo Osbourne, and Unity's Peter Moore;
- NFTs, and the new wave of technological innovations sweeping sport and the conference halls;
- How evolving consumer habits, new technologies, and creative approaches to monetisation are changing the way we produce and consumer sport.
Join us on Thursday for another full day at Leaders, and another live wrap-up show.
Going inside ‘the full Sky Sports treatment’| Innovation in sports broadcasting | The commercialisation of the Women’s Super League
Appointment to View is a series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features conversations with rights owners, broadcasters, creators and innovators at the epicentre of the shifting sports media landscape.
The series examines how sport is packaged, produced, consumed, distributed, and monetised.
The third episode in the series features Gary Hughes, Sky Sports’ Head of Football who oversees football production across all Sky Sports platforms. He joined the broadcasting giant in 1995 as a producer on Sky News, before moving across to Sky Sports News, where he led a production team for ten years. He ran Sky’s Champions League coverage for 5 years before taking the Head of Football role in 2014.
This conversation was held a few days after the opening weekend of the new WSL season, the first match week of a new rights cycle that has seen Sky and the BBC sign a landmark deal to broadcast the league that has been reported as the richest in domestic women’s football. Gary covers the tone and texture of the coverage, and the importance of the marketing push behind it.
To join over over 1,000 other sports industry leaders at Leaders Week from 5th to 7th October, visit www.leadersinsport.com.
Going inside ‘the full Sky Sports treatment’| Innovation in sports broadcasting | The commercialisation of the Women’s Super League
Appointment to View is a series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features conversations with rights owners, broadcasters, creators and innovators at the epicentre of the shifting sports media landscape.
The series examines how sport is packaged, produced, consumed, distributed, and monetised.
The third episode in the series features Gary Hughes, Sky Sports’ Head of Football who oversees football production across all Sky Sports platforms. He joined the broadcasting giant in 1995 as a producer on Sky News, before moving across to Sky Sports News, where he led a production team for ten years. He ran Sky’s Champions League coverage for 5 years before taking the Head of Football role in 2014.
This conversation was held a few days after the opening weekend of the new WSL season, the first match week of a new rights cycle that has seen Sky and the BBC sign a landmark deal to broadcast the league that has been reported as the richest in domestic women’s football. Gary covers the tone and texture of the coverage, and the importance of the marketing push behind it.
To join over over 1,000 other sports industry leaders at Leaders Week from 5th to 7th October, visit www.leadersinsport.com.
The pressures of leading one of the most historic sports bodies in the world | Rights re-packaging for new consumption habits| Adapting to the challenges that came with the pandemic.
Appointment to View is a series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features conversations with rights owners, broadcasters, creators and innovators at the epicentre of the shifting sports media landscape.
The series will examine how sport is packaged, produced, consumed, distributed, and monetised.
In the first episode, we heard from Bo Han, the US-based media entrepreneur and former Twitter executive who is reimagining search and discovery for sport with his new notification-based streaming app Buzzer.
This week, our guest is the chief executive of one of the most historic and preeminent rights owner organisations in sport, the FA.
Mark Bullingham succeeded Martin Glenn in the role of CEO at English football’s governing body in July 2019, having served as Glenn’s Chief Commercial Officer since joining the FA in 2016. He was recruited to the FA following five successful years as CEO of the Fuse Sport + Entertainment agency.
Bullingham spoke to Leaders founder and chair Jimmy Worrall a few weeks before the start of this summer’s European Championship. The conversation covers Bullingham’s career journey and his rise to one of the top jobs in world sport, touching on his evolving leadership philosophy, the challenge of growing into the role during the pandemic.
The FA has been developing its own D2C media offering for some time, and this year made headlines with eye-catching rights deals in women’s football: signing the richest rights deal in domestic women’s football for the WSL with Sky and the BBC, and signing up ITV to broadcast England women’s national games from this year.
Bullingham is a shrewd commercial operator and his views on market consolidation, rights re-packaging for new consumption habits, and monetising media in non-traditional ways are required listening.
To join CEOs like Bullingham and over 1,000 other sports industry leaders at Leaders Week from 5th to 7th October, visit www.leadersinsport.com.
The man behind the hottest new app in sports media | Notifications, micropayments, and additional audiences | Building a sports media business from scratch.
Appointment to View is a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features conversations with rights owners, broadcasters, creators and innovators at the epicentre of the shifting sports media landscape.
The series will examine how sport is packaged, produced, consumed, distributed, and monetised.
The first episode is with Bo Han, the former Director of Live Content at Twitter, who spent three years building out the live sports proposition at that platform, before leaving in 2019 to found his new business, Buzzer, which launched in January 2020.
Buzzer is a notification-based platform that alerts fans to when key moments are happening across a number of sporting properties before directing them to live coverage. It already has a number of major rights owners - including the NBA, the NHL and the PGA Tour - onboard and is monetising via a number of methods including micropayments.
Bo Han will be speaking at Leaders in London, from 5-7 October at Twickenham. To join him and 1,000 sports industry leaders, visit www.leadersinsport.com.
In conversation with the man who brought Brighton back from the brink.
One Careful Owner is a series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features exclusive conversations with the people who invest billions into teams. Who have a unique handle on where the industry is going. On media rights. On globalisation. On asset creation. On trading players. On the risks, rewards and the pitfalls. On the pressures and demands. The unique challenges and often downright weird situations that only sports owners have experienced. And all while they’re doing their day job.
Our guest today is Tony Bloom, the man from the south coast of England who made his money as a professional gambler – betting on sport and at poker tables around the world – before investing in his home town football club, Brighton & Hove Albion, and leading them to the top tier division after 34 years away from it and numerous failures along the way.
Tony is a rare breed of modern sports owner. His family have always been fans of the club – and so has he. He’s put hundreds of millions of his own money into Brighton since he became chairman in 2009, and taken not a penny out. He’s been patient and he understands the fabric of the club. For him, a return is not about ROI, but creation of a legacy, and leaving the club in much better place than he found it.
It was rare and candid interview which we recorded soon after Brighton had secured another season of Premier League football earlier in the summer. We talk about how ownership has changed and how it will in the future; investing in a football club; what he’s most proud of; his ambitions for the club – which have evolved and grown as the club has; how much time he spends on the club and who he trusts within it; and of course, what he thinks of the attempted breakaway to form a European Super League.
England Men's Football Head Coach Gareth Southgate joins Leaders Founder and Chair Jimmy Worrall for a special episode of Rules of the Game to go in depth on an intangible but imperative leadership characteristic: resilience.
Released on the eve of European Championship Final at Wembley - England's first appearance in a major final for over 50 years - and recorded as Southgate was putting the final touches to his preparations for the tournament, this episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast unpacks what it means to have resilience - as a leader, and as a team.
On the agenda:
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The skill of resilience: what it is and what it does for you;
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How to develop resilience in yourself and in diverse teams;
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Channeling failure into growth experiences: the penalty miss and relegation with Middlesbrough;
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Growth mindset: analysis, reflection and review;
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Handling pressure, handling criticism, handling scrutiny.
For more on Leaders podcasts and its regular series of global sports industry events, visit leadersinsport.com.
And if you're looking to keep pace with an ever-changing high performance landscape, enquire now to become a member of the Leaders Performance Institute – the world's elite high performance community that challenges thinking and shares insights, spanning all sports and all aspects of performance.
Billy Beane, Barry Hearn, Michele Roberts, and Jonathan Barnett join Leaders Founder and Chair Jimmy Worrall to discuss the art of negotiation.
In the second episode of Rules of the Game, Leaders Founder and Chair Jimmy Worrall explores the art of negotiation and what it takes to do it effectively. He sets out his five golden rules to follow, and offers a practical set of tips to reinforce your own negotiating style.
To unpack this fundamental skill, he's joined by four of the finest exponents of deal-making from across the world of sport:
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Oakland A's EVP of Baseball Operations Billy Beane - Mr 'Moneyball' himself - who pioneered data analysis in baseball to gain an edge in player trade negotiations;
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Serial sports promoter Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport and one of the most successful all-round commercial operators in any number of sports and across any number of revenue streams;
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NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, who has spearheaded several rounds of successful negotiations between the NBA and its players, and was a key factor in the league's ability to come back from the pandemic to complete its season in the Disney 'bubble'.
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'Super agent' Jonathan Barnett, Founder and Chairman of Stellar Group and the architect of some of world football's most eye-catching deals, including Gareth Bale's 100 million euro transfer from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.
In conversation with the billionaire co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
One Careful Owner is a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that features exclusive conversations with the people who invest billions into teams. Who have a unique handle on where the industry is going. On media rights. On globalisation. On asset creation. On trading players. On the risks, rewards and the pitfalls. On the pressures and demands. The unique challenges and often downright weird situations that only sports owners have experienced. And all while they’re doing their day job.
Our first guest on One Careful Owner is Marc Lasry. In 2014, Marc bought the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise from long-time owner Herb Kohl. Kohl had paid $18 million for the team when he bought it in 1985. Marc – alongside his partners Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan – paid $550 million for it. According to the latest Forbes list, the franchise is worth $1.6 billion today.
Marc founded Avenue Capital Group in 1995, building the hedge fund over time to the point at which it now has $11 billion under management. He lives in New York with his wife Cathy and they have five children. Leaders Chair Jimmy Worrall spoke to Marc towards the back end of 2020, with the NBA having just completed its truncated 2019/20 season.
One-on-one with video monetisation guru Yoav Arnstein | Olympics in peril | First thoughts on Clubhouse.
Episode 104 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees us delve deep into the mechanics of Facebook's monetisation machine with the social giant's Director of Product Management Yoav Arnstein (conversation starts at 15:30).
Video monetisation is arguably the top priority for any of the major sports publishers - including rights holders across the sporting spectrum - on Facebook, and Arnstein leads the development and roll out of the monetisation tools that the platform provides. He is one of the key internal stakeholders informing - and being informed by - the sports strategy that Peter Hutton and his team have been developing as Facebook has evolved its formal relationship with sport.
On the conversational agenda:
- The role video plays in fostering community; and the role community plays in monetisation strategies;
- How Facebook currently monetises video, and why in-stream ads and pay-per-view are about to get big on the platform in 2021;
- How the product roadmap is developed and implemented at Facebook, and the reason that traditional sports media products might not yet have been developed;
- Arnstein's view on the video monetisation strategies in play at Amazon, YouTube and Facebook's other major competitors;
- How Facebook attempts to find the balance between commercialisation and positive user experience.
Leaders Founder and Chair Jimmy Worrall introduces the pilot edition of Rules of the Game, a new series unpacking the skills required to be an effective leader in 2021.
In this edition, Jimmy explores the art of networking, identifying and explaining the keys to doing it well, adding value and forging connections that turn into longstanding relationships.
Through extended conversations over several months with some of sport’s leading figures and expert networkers, and Jimmy’s own personal experiences with Leaders in Sport over the past 12 years, this is the ultimate practical guide to how to build and nurture your professional network – quick-fire tips and golden rules to network by.
You’ll hear from:
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Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Scott O’Neil on asking questions, surrounding yourself with smart people and helping others to connect.
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Kathy Carter, Chief Revenue Officer at LA 2028, on finding commonality, building trust and earning respect.
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Former UK Sports Minister Tracey Crouch on treating everyone with respect and finding the right relaxing networking environment.
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FA and Premier League ambassador David Dein on sticking your neck out, the importance of humour and how relationships were at the heart of the formation of the Premier League.
Presented by Jimmy Worrall
Produced by James Emmett
Edited by Danny Garlick
Music by Wataboi and lrobinson_sds (via Pixabay)
The trading card ecosystem and its rapid growth | How team and player licensing agreements work | Working with athletes and maximising their value
Episode 102 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast lifts the lid on the inner workings of trading card licensing agreements, featuring conversations with Panini America’s VP of Sales and Product Development DJ Kazmierczak (starts at 1.55) and Malaika Underwood, SVP of Licensing at OneTeam Partners, the organisation that helps the likes of the NFL Players’ Association and other player unions maximise the value of athletes’ names and images (starts at 24.30).
On the conversation agenda:
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How licensing agreements between teams/athletes and companies like Panini actually work;
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The growth of the trading card ecosystem and the emergence of breaking;
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The biggest challenge for licensees like Panini;
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The importance of rookie cards;
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Panini's production decisions around high value cards;
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How OneTeam Partners is aiming to build more comprehensive partnerships and unlock new revenue streams for the player unions it works with;
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What athletes want from licensing agreements;
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The trading card from 2020 you ought to have in your collection.
Making a brand impact with Arsenal and Manchester United | Using influencers to authenticate and embody your brand | Breaking through the noise in a busy 2021.
Episode 101 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Adidas VP of Brand for North Europe, Chris Walsh (starts at 2:41). Working across product range planning, brand marketing, advertising, creative and retail marketing, Walsh plays a key role in bringing the sportswear giant's sports and culture partnerships to life, chief among them the global deals with Arsenal and Manchester United, and new local partnerships with Glasgow Celtic and Leeds United.
The episode also includes a brief discussion with Andy Childs (starts at 16.27), who leads 'connection planning' for Facebook in Europe, consulting with the top 100 brands on the platform on how to use digital marketing to drive business growth.
On the conversation agenda:
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The three pillars supporting all Adidas partnership marketing efforts;
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The 18-month design-to-sales lifecycle of a 21st Century football kit;
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How Adidas works with influencers to embody and authenticate the brand;
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Andy Childs' tips for using digital marketing to break through the clutter in 2021;
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Building Arsenal campaigns around the strengths and skillsets of Ian Wright;
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Lessons in marketing from a tumultuous 2020.
The man writing the NFL's business playbook | The 'sportification' of political media coverage | How the biggest get bigger and what growth will look like for the NFL.
Episode 100 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with NFL Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Chris Halpin (starts at 12:24).
Halpin joined the league in 2013, making the move from the private equity world and his job as MD of Providence Equity Partners. Although he has held a number of roles since that point, strategy has always been a key focus, and Halpin has become a pivotal influence on the business of the league as it strives to achieve its much-vaunted target of $25 billion in revenues by 2027.
Halpin was promoted to his current role in 2018 and has established himself as cornerstone member of the league's C-Suite. When Mark Waller left his role running the league's international business after the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, it was Halpin who took on his responsibilities. His purview is now as wide as it is long term and bears some breaking down:
Halpin's responsibilities as Chief Strategy Officer
- Innovation
- Driving fan acquisition
- Maximising fan engagement
- Using data and analytics to propel all the above
Halpin's responsibilities as Chief Growth Officer
- International
- Football development and play pathways
- Media distribution and digital engagement
- Legalised sports betting
- New markets and 'owner development'
On the conversational agenda:
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‘Positive vigilance vs optimistic paranoia’ - the mood inside the NFL offices;
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The processes and people Halpin relies on to keep on top of all of his objectives;
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Where the NFL's next billion dollar revenue rise is coming from;
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The link between private equity and sport and why Halpin's watching CVC's rugby play with interest;
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How to be interested in things that matter: have a set of ‘virtual advisors whose insights you steal and morph into your own’
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Roger Goodell’s secret to success
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How to present to a boardroom of 32 billionaires that make up the NFL ownership group.
How sponsorship in official groups can work | Community management | Partner make-goods | Unique content campaigns.
Episode 99 of the podcast looks at how some sports rights holders are using Facebook groups to commercialise relationships with brands. We’ll hear from two experts in the field. First, Nick Marquez. He’s Facebook’s North American Sports Teams Partnerships Lead – and he works closely with a select band of major league franchises to maximise value through Facebook’s various functions and platforms. What that means in practice is a focus on four key areas, namely audience development, sponsorship and branded content; commerce and conversion; and direct revenue-generating products.
One of the teams Nick works most closely with is the LA Clippers in the NBA. We’ll be hearing from the Clippers’ Executive Director of Digital Media and Content, Charlie Widdoes, and we’ll be homing in on the work that Charlie and his team have been doing on building and managing a community within the Clippers official Facebook Group, and looking at how they’ve already managed to commercialise that with their partners at Red Bull.
Maquez and Widdoes – as well as many other sharp digital sports content folk – were interviewed for the latest Leaders Special Report. It’s called Activating Digital and it plots the accelerated route to digital the sports industry has now embarked on as a result of the pandemic, picking out areas of outstanding impact along the way. You can download the 24-page report for free from the Leaders website.
This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by global facilities management firm ARC. ARC is continually developing life changing solutions for the world’s ever evolving workforce because they understand the need to restructure and remain safe during these unprecedented times. Their team of specialists has devised every conceivable variation to deliver working solutions, which are equally applicable for those working from home or in the office. Visit www.e-arc.co.uk for more information.
Out of Dana White's head and onto UFC Fight Island | The logistics behind a ready-made sports bubble | the new Covid-era fan data driving sport's decision-making processes.
Episode 98 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Arc - features a conversation with UFC COO Lawrence Epstein (begins at 7:15) on the eve of the MMA promotion's latest event on 'Fight Island' in Abu Dhabi.
Epstein has been a driving force within the UFC since 2007, under the previous ownership of Zuffa and the Fertittas, and, since the $4 billion acquisition in 2016, under Endeavor.
On the conversational agenda:
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How the UFC managed to come back first with Fight Island;
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The Making of UFC Fight Island;
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The operational challenges - and efficiencies - that Covid-era, fanless fights entail;
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Why and how the UFC's media deal with ESPN has proved transformative;
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How life has changed under Endeavor;
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What the UFC knows about its fans and how it knows it;
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Dana White: the frontman, motivator, spirit and ethos.
This episode of the Leaders Sport Business podcast is supported by global Facilities management firm Arc. ARC has proudly brought some amazing imagery and stunning visual vibrancy back to the heart of London with the most incredible range of graphics. Team ARC embraced its client’s design brief and has quite literary transformed many of London’s iconic development sites into some of the most visually impacting areas in Europe. visit www.e-arc.co.uk for more information.
Transforming a football business into a media and entertainment investment firm | Buying into Leeds United | The 4-point plan driving 49ers Enterprises | Why date nights are sacrosanct in the pandemic.
Episode 97 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Arc - features a conversation with Paraag Marathe (first part begins at 05:12, second part begins at 46:21), EVP of Football Operations at the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, President of 49ers Enterprises, board member at Premier League side Leeds United, and Chairman of USA Cricket.
Having been with the 49ers since 2001, Marathe has developed into one of the most versatile and broad-minded senior executives in sport. His current responsibilities include the management of the 49ers player contracts and salary cap; the strategic direction and day-to-day oversight of 49ers Enterprises, the franchise's innovative, growth-focused investment vehicle; representing the 49ers' viewpoint on the board of Leeds United, in which the 49ers took a 10% stake in 2018; and the development of a Twenty20 cricket league in the US.
On the conversational agenda:
- Why managing an NFL salary cap is like managing an investment fund portfolio;
- The 2014 decision that transformed the 49ers from a "billion-dollar lemonade stand" to a media and entertainment juggernaut;
- The 4-point plan driving 49ers Enterprises: 1) Incubate; 2) Invest; 3) Consult; 4) Capitalise;
- The dynamics of attraction between sport and the VC world;
- Why the 49ers invested in Leeds United, and why a further investment could be around the corner;
- Switching off from work through a commitment to running and date nights.
Elsewhere in the podcast, James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on some of the key themes covered at Leaders Week Direct, including the process for preparing venues to reopen to crowds after a pause for the pandemic. They're joined for the discussion (which starts at 33:20) by Suri Suriyakumar, CEO of Arc.
ARC is at the forefront of reshaping the way the world’s businesses have remained operational with their unique range of social distancing signage, safety products and services. Their consultation and on-site and on-line survey process have transformed a complex problem into a simple solution for thousands of global clients. For more information, visit e-arc.co.uk.
We're grateful to Suri and his team for their support.
The plight of athletes in a pandemic | Building businesses off the field | The new environment for social justice campaigning in sport.
Episode 96 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features a conversation with two current NFL athletes: Michael Thomas, a safety for the Houston Texans, and Brandon Copeland, linebacker for the New England Patriots (discussion begins at 14:02). They’ve been in the league for eight and seven years respectively, and both play active leadership roles in the NFL Players union - the NFLPA. In fact, Michael and Brandon are high achieving examples of what the NFLPA calls #AthleteAnd - a programme of activity that helps NFL athletes build businesses and interests away from the field of play and to define themselves as more than an athlete. Both players have numerous business interests, charitable endeavours, and qualifications - Brandon is even a professor of financial literacy - and we delve into all of that, as well as the fight for racial justice that is playing out across the front line of sport.
Before that though, we speak to Sophie Wilkinson, partner at our partners at Onside Law, to set the scene briefly from this side of the Atlantic, to reflect on some of the major issues athletes are experiencing as sport stutters back, and to look at where flexibility and an open mindset have paid dividends.
On the conversational agenda:
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Flexibility in endorsement contract options and partnership opportunities;
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The fight for racial justice and how the mood has shifted among the players in the NFL;
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Taking the opportunities presented by the players union;
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Setting up systems to spread and filter the education and benefits that come from the NFL down through communities;
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Leveraging your status as an athlete to get calls returned, emails answered, and businesses set for the future;
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The experience of playing in front of empty stadiums;
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The biggest mistakes Michael and Brandon ever made.
Rebuilding an international race calendar through Covid | New tracks, new formats, a new future | The next set of challenges major rights holders face.
Episode 95 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features a conversation with Formula 1's Global Director of Promoters and Business Relations Chloe Targett-Adams (discussion starts at 11.50).
Having joined the global motorsports series in 2009 as a senior legal counsel, Targett-Adams has been a key part of both the 'old' and 'new' leadership teams at Formula 1. She worked closely with former CEO Bernie Ecclestone, and is now a driving force within the executive team, led by CEO Chase Carey, set up by Liberty Media, which completed its $4.4 billion acquisition of Formula 1 in 2017.
Targett-Adams is responsible for building and maintaining Formula 1's relationships with its race promoters and the government jurisdictions within which they sit. When Formula 1 was forced to break down then rebuild its season following the outbreak of the pandemic, it fell to Targett-Adams and her team to piece together a race calendar that would meet FIA specifications, hit revenue-unlocking contractual obligations, keep promoters and governments onside, and maintain safety and security.
On the conversational agenda:
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The remarkable feat of rebuilding the calendar into a workable 17-race, international schedule;
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The stresses, strains, challenges and pitfalls along the way, and the stakeholder tensions in play;
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New circuits, new formats, and the chances of taking both forward into the future;
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The return to 'normal' in 2021;
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What good leadership has looked like in 2020;
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The F1 of 2009 vs the F1 of now - a modern organisational overhaul for a 21st Century company.
Selling 750,000 tickets in a pandemic | Scenario planning and building consumer confidence | Athlete advocacy and sport as a platform for driving social change.
Episode 94 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Rugby League World Cup 2021 CEO and Customer Director Jon Dutton and Terri Lynam (begins at 18:34). With just over a year to go before the tournament - still scheduled to take place to full capacity crowds in venues across England - Dutton and Lynam look ahead to the 21st September opening of the ticket pre-sale window, and explain their strategy for shifting 750,000 tickets during a pandemic.
Before that, David Cushnan and James Emmett discuss the plans being made across the sports industry for the return of socially distanced fans to sports venues, and look into the gathering momentum behind the athlete advocacy movement, and sport's role as a platform for protest.
On the conversational agenda:
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The factors that go into designing a ticketing plan;
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How Rugby League World Cup 2021 organisers intend to hit their 'aspirational target' of 750,000 tickets sold;
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Balancing commercial imperatives with accessibility and inclusivity objectives amid the uncertainty of a new Covid events landscape;
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Scenario planning;
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Stakeholder communications and new, remote way to run major events teams.
The new Netflix CMO on the business of being badass | Leaving a big job at Endeavor for a bigger one at Netflix in the midst of a pandemic | The role of the modern marketer | The marcomms challenge in sport, who's done it best, and what comes next.
Episode 93 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with new Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John (discussion starts at 8:42). Saint John is one of the most impactful marketers in modern corporate America. Her resumé reads like a Fortune 500 roll call: leading marketing roles at the intersection between consumer goods, tech, and entertainment at Pepsi, Apple, Uber and Endeavor presaged her current job as CMO of streaming giant Netflix, a role she took up at the beginning of August, one week after recording this conversation for Leaders.
Wherever she has gone across her career, Saint John has made a deep impression, her skill for brand storytelling allied closely to her own executive boldness and sense of personal authenticity. She is currently combining her new role with continued work on a series of podcasts co-hosted with TV journalist Katie Couric - Back to Biz with Katie and Boz - and the completion of a five-week set of digital personal and professional workshops - the Badass Workshop.
On the conversational agenda:
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The 'authentic self' and how to define it; bringing it to bear every day; and how you look and how you feel play into that;
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The business of being badass - the what, why and how behind the workshops;
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The job of the marketer and how that changed - and changed again - over the course of the pandemic;
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Lessons in shutting down and starting again from Back to Biz with Katie and Boz: guests include Kara Swisher, Judd Apatow, Mary Barra, Brian Chesky, and Ashley Graham;
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Zoom fatigue and communicating in the new digital-first age, and offenders who turn off mic and camera;
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The chutzpah it takes to start a big new job during Covid;
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What great leadership looks like today.
TikTok's move into sports | The balance between commercialisation and maintaining authenticity | Benny the Bull and the Chicago Bulls' TikTok success story.
Episode 92 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Harish Sarma (discussion starts at 8:47), Global Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Development at ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, for now at least, of social platform TikTok.
TikTok is one of the fastest growing platforms in the world, with user numbers soaring over the course of the pandemic. As of June this year, TikTok's Monthly Active Users (MAUs) were estimated at 800 million.
As the political rift between the US and China has deepened, Chinese tech firms have come under pressure from US authorities, none more so, perhaps, than TikTok. Just two weeks after Sarma joined us to record this episode, a hectic weekend of rumour, statement and politicking has seen President Trump apparently threaten to ban TikTok in the US, with ByteDance countering with an offer to fully divest the management and, crucially, data storage of its US operation to a US company. Microsoft appears to be that company and it now has 45 days to get a deal done.
Sarma, who was recruited for the position at ByteDance from his role as Director of International Media Distribution at the NBA a year ago, remains focused on the development and maturation of the platform as a commercial proposition.
On the agenda:
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How TikTok went from Sarma's client at the NBA to his employer today;
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What sport means to TikTok;
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The 'show me the money' question and where TikTok could sit in the sports rights ecosystem;
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How to 'do TikTok' as a sports entity, and approaches to content marketing that are working;
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'Selling out' vs making money: the fine line that any maturing platform needs to tread;
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The trend for odd job titles at social media companies and what employee satisfaction looks like.
What 'accelerated change' actually means during Covid | Connectivity and the new matchday experience | Start-ups to keep an eye on.
Episode 91 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features two conversations on technology, innovation, and the route back from Covid for sport.
The first is with AT&T Business Solutions Marketing Director Guy Poorman (discussion starts at 8:56) and focuses on connectivity and the enhancements to remote business operations and fan safety, security and engagement it's likely to bring.
The second is with Fielding Jamieson, Strategy Director at Innovation Consultancy R/GA's Global Sports Venture Studios (discussion starts at 24:01).
On the agenda:
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The three pillars of business adaptation during Covid;
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Bringing fans back to venues by making them feel 'connected, protected and respected'.
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Is this really an era of accelerated innovation?
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What the new in-venue fan experience will look and feel like;
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The start-ups to keep an eye on into 2021.
Why digital strategy is dead | Why in-house websites are not | The long-term impacts of Covid on football.
This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by digital specialists iX.co, and as part of that support, they are giving the podcast audience an opportunity to receive a complementary Digital Maturity Audit.
This audit will analyze your systems, processes and current digital engagement and provide valuable insights for improvement and a roadmap to make better digital decisions.
This is an exclusive, limited time offer so go to https://www.ix.co/digital-maturity-audit today to request your Digital Maturity Audit.
Episode 90 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation between iX.co's Becki Civello and AS Roma's Chief Strategy Officer Paul Rogers (discussion begins at 7:57).
Rogers is based in Boston, where the Italian club’s ownership is headquartered, and is responsible for the club’s business and international strategy as well as Roma’s media department, including its award-winning digital and social media activities globally. Rogers and AS Roma have become renowned as digital innovators, setting trends that have been picked up across football and the wider sports industry through a bold approach to content output, tone, and platform choice.
On the conversational agenda:
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How the lockdown affected AS Roma and the club's overnight transformation overnight into a content company and aid agency;
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Fan engagement and how Covid has enforced the importance of online channels for fan engagement;
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Tonal shifts, content formats, and humanising athletes;
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Alignment between club strategy and digital execution and why the concept of 'the digital strategy' is dead;
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The work of Roma Cares in the community;
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Long-term impacts and reimagining the match day experience;
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Why the ‘death of the website’ has been overstated.
Behind-closed-doors broadcasting | Changes to production and to fan engagement techniques | The new rights landscape.
This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by digital specialists iX.co, and as part of that support, they are giving the podcast audience an opportunity to receive a complementary Digital Maturity Audit.
This audit will analyze your systems, processes and current digital engagement and provide valuable insights for improvement and a roadmap to make better digital decisions.
This is an exclusive, limited time offer so go to https://www.ix.co/digital-maturity-audit today to request your Digital Maturity Audit.
Episode 89 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast brings two perspectives on behind-closed-doors sports broadcasting. The rights holder view comes from LaLiga's Head of Content and Programming Roger Brosel (conversation starts at 13:36), who is in the midst of an ambitious project to broadcast every game, every day, from LaLiga's return on 11th June, to its scheduled completion on 19th July. The broadcaster view comes from Eleven Sports COO Anouk Mertens (conversation starts at 32:43), who has spearheaded a bold rights play for top tier football in her home country of Belgium during sport's enforced pause, and helped to enable new digital viewer engagement features across many of Eleven's international territories, not least in Poland, Portugal, and Belgium, where it holds premium rights.
On the conversational agenda:
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The new sports broadcasting protocols and what they mean for the onscreen product and the people working behind the camera;
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Remote production and the working practices that are here to stay;
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New camera angles, piped in audio, and virtual spectators - and why LaLiga's 'fake fans' look is deliberately inaccurate;
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'Watch together' and other digital fan engagement products;
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The Leeds United 'Take Us Home' documentary that Mertens executive produced and how to make money in sports docs;
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The creaking rights model and why it might be time to take a new approach to sharing risk.
Tennis's tumultuous route to return-to-play | US Open World and what it will mean | The possibility of consolidation among tennis's multiple stakeholder groups.
This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by digital specialists iX.co, and as part of that support, they are giving the podcast audience an opportunity to receive a complementary Digital Maturity Audit.
This audit will analyze your systems, processes and current digital engagement and provide valuable insights for improvement and a roadmap to make better digital decisions.
This is an exclusive, limited time offer so go to https://www.ix.co/digital-maturity-audit today to request your Digital Maturity Audit.
Episode 88 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with USTA Professional Tennis CEO and newly named US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster (discussion starts at 6:19). The former WTA President has had one of the most difficult jobs in sport of late (in what is, admittedly, a crowded field), as she and her team at the USTA have battled to form a workable plan to go ahead with the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in its traditional slot in early September. Against a backdrop of multiple competing interests, huge financial concerns, and a public health situation that continues to rage hard around the world but especially in the US, a plan was approved just last week.
On the conversational agenda:
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The many barriers to a return-to-play plan and how to overcome them;
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The six key questions that needed to be answered in order to create 'US Open World';
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The three tiers of exposure and the special set-up that's set to cost an extra $8 million;
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The cracks in the crust of tennis's complicated stakeholder planet;
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The Adria Tour and the personal responsibility that athletes should have;
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The enhanced collaboration with other stakeholders in tennis and beyond, and the potential for consolidation.
The moment for seismic change in world football | Plugging the revenue gap with new tournament revenues | How private equity and new investment can reshape sport.
This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by digital specialists iX.co, and as part of that support, they are giving the podcast audience an opportunity to receive a complementary Digital Maturity Audit.
This audit will analyze your systems, processes and current digital engagement and provide valuable insights for improvement and a roadmap to make better digital decisions.
This is an exclusive, limited time offer so go to https://www.ix.co/digital-maturity-audit today to request your Digital Maturity Audit.
Episode 87 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Danny Sillman (starts at 11:22), the CEO of the Stephen Ross-owned football events and media company Relevent Sports, the promoter behind the International Champions Cup (ICC). The ICC was founded in 2013 and has evolved to become the preeminent annual friendly competition for European football clubs in North America and Asia. Earlier this year, Ross declared that competition needed to become more 'meaningful' in order to grow and, more pertinently for the short-term, guarantee his continued funding.
To that end, in early March, Relevent looked set to announce an endorsement from European football body UEFA that would have elevated the tournament to a new status. The Covid-19 crisis put paid to that announcement, but Sillman insists that the opportunity to grow the competition and reshape the football calendar not only remains, but is bigger than ever.
On the conversational agenda:
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Doubling down on positioning Relevent Sports as 'the solution' for European football clubs faced with revenue shortfalls;
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Partnering with leagues and clubs as a ‘content development partner’, not just an events organiser;
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The LaLiga JV relationship and its coming expansion, and the replication of that relationship with other leagues;
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The competitive dynamic between FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup - postponed from its launch in 2021 after UEFA's decision to move the postponed Euro 2020 to next summer - and the UEFA-backed International Champions Cup;
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Making the ICC more meaningful - more competitive, with better, more compelling storylines - and doing it with the blessing of a major governing body;
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What Sillman would do if he were made FIFA President.
Why the WNBA President became the WNBA Commissioner title a year ago | Inside the WNBA draft | The opportunity to innovate.
The new normal of sports behind closed doors presents its own set of challenges to keep fans loyal and engaged. Digital specialists iX.co can help. They're offering the Leaders Sport Business Podcast audience a personalised consulting workshop with their strategy team.
The interactive workshop will provide a complete overview of the market, the increased role that digital products are playing, and how to apply all of these trends to your business at this critical time.
This is an exclusive, limited-time offer, so go to www.ix.co/workshop today to request your custom workshop.
Episode 86 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert (begins at 04.46), recorded on 14th May, almost a year to the day that Engelbert accepted the top job at the WNBA. She become the first holder of the 'commissioner' title at the WNBA when she joined from Deloitte, where she had enjoyed a successful 33-year career, latterly as the professional services giant's first female CEO.
Later on in the podcast, David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by iX.co Chief Commercial Officer Dave Nugent (conversation begins at 18.55) to reflect on some of the most impactful pieces of digital work put out by sports organisations during the crisis, not least the WNBA's own virtual draft event.
On the conversational agenda:
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Milestone moments in Engelbert's commissionership;
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Showing the NFL the way with the WNBA virtual draft;
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The nuts and bolts of putting on live digital events;
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The opportunity to think differently, to reset, and to appeal to more fans when sport returns;
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Sport's media models and how they might shift;
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Innovation and what will stick when sport returns.
The new 'approachable' McLaren F1 | The correction coming in sports finance | The future of sports sponsorship | The Last Dance.
Episode 85 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a discussion with McLaren MD of Sales & Marketing Mark Waller (conversation begins at 20:28) from his home in Connecticut, USA. Waller joined McLaren in May last year, joining forces with his old friend Zak Brown, CEO of the Formula One team since 2018. Brown, who founded motorsport sponsorship specialist agency Just Marketing, had done plenty of business with Waller in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Waller held various marketing roles at global drinks giant Diageo.
Waller joined the NFL in 2006 as CMO, going on to become EVP of NFL International. He retains an advisory role at the league.
On the conversational agenda:
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Brown's role at McLaren, how it came about, and why it's the missing piece in his career puzzle;
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The new leadership culture being fostered at McLaren;
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The difference partnerships can make in the fabric of the sport;
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The post-pandemic future for Formula One, and for the global sports sponsorship market.
How the Jets put their NFL Draft content plan together | The enforced pause as a launchpad for radical ideas | The two-track thinking across European football.
Episode 84 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you by Onside Law. As a gesture of help, the specialist law firm is offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here.
This episode of At home with Leaders features a conversation with Chris Gargano (begins at 32:42), the VP and Executive Producer at the New York Jets. He takes us inside the content operation at the NFL franchise and reviews the recent NFL Draft, which attracted a staggering 55 million viewers over the course of its virtual broadcasts on 23rd, 24th, and 25th April. Gargano and his team produced three live shows of their own, and attempted to transpose a series of Jets draft parties into a virtual environment.
Before that conversation, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Onside Law Partner Jamie Singer to discuss the radical ideas gathering some momentum while live sport is on hiatus, and to analyse the varying approaches being taken to completing or discontinuing football seasons across Europe.
On the conversational agenda:
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The proposals for change in golf, tennis, rugby and football;
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Why it’s inevitable that some European leagues will finish, and some won’t;
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How the Jets took three draft parties online;
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What went into the planning process, content and commercial objectives, and tech platform decision;
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The learning to take forward and implement post-draft.
The difference between leadership and management | A new dawn for the DRL | Giving autonomy vs taking control in a work from home environment.
Episode 83 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you by Onside Law. As a gesture of help, the specialist law firm is offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here.
This episode of At home with Leaders features a conversation with newly installed Drone Racing League President Rachel Jacobson (conversation starts at 17:19). The former NBA SVP of Global Partnerships became one of a small number of female presidents in sport when she started the role earlier this week. Founded in 2015, the Drone Racing League now has broadcast deals with NBC, Sky, ProSeibenSat.1 and Youku, and has put on eye-catching events in venues such as Alexandra Palace in London, BMW Welt in Germany, and Chase Field in the US.
Also joining James Emmett and David Cushnan for this episode is the Leaders Performance Institute's Matthew Stone, who gives an insight into how leaders from across the sports performance world are coping with their current environments. We hear from England Rugby coach Eddie Jones, and Wall Street Journal writer and author of The Captain Class, Sam Walker (conversations start at 7:45), both of whom have been featured recently on the Leaders Performance Institute's own line of podcasts - a series of at home conversations with the biggest names from across the world of high performance.
On the conversational agenda:
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Knowing when and how to devolve organisational autonomy;
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The difference between leadership and management;
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The political leaders who have made an impact recently;
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Onboarding into a leadership role during Covid-19;
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The DRL's focus on innovation, its virtual product, and its STEM programme;
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How David Stern and Adam Silver paved the way for Rachel Jacobson.
How sponsor brands are reacting to the crisis | The deals that have been done | The business of de-organising a global activation.
Episode 82 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Onside Law. As a gesture of help, the specialist law firm is offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here.
Joining James Emmett and David Cushnan for this episode is Coca Cola's VP of Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Ricardo Fort (conversation begins at 21:04).
Fort began his marketing career at Unilever in his home country of Brazil in the early 1990s. He joined the Coca-Cola Company as a brand manager for Sprite in Brazil in 1998 before working his way up the marketing ladder. He left the company in 2011 for stints at Danone and Visa, before returning in 2016 to head up Coca-Cola's global sponsorship efforts from its headquarters in Atlanta.
On the conversational agenda:
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Scaling down or turning over marketing activity for public service messaging around the world;
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Inside the process of postponing Tokyo 2020;
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How the new Olympic deal alongside Chinese dairy brand Mengniu came about;
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The history of sports sponsorship and how Coke has been a pioneer;
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How best to approach the company with partnership ideas.
The financial imperatives for finishing league seasons | The slow return to activity in China | How to plan for a comeback.
Episode 81 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Onside Law, specialist lawyers providing solutions to the sports industry from offices in London, Geneva, and Sydney. Onside Law are conscious of the pressures many in our industry are facing and, as a gesture of help, they are offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here.
Joining David Cushnan, James Emmett, and Onside Law's Jamie Singer for this episode are football finance expert Ian Dixon (conversation begins at 22:26) and senior sports media executive Sam Li (conversation begins at 35:05).
Dixon is the former Managing Director and Analytical Head of EMEA and APAC Infrastructure & Project Finance Group at Fitch Ratings. He was worked on financing projects across top tier sport, and notably structured the stadium bond financing for Arsenal in the mid-2000s while at Ambac Assurance.
Li is Head of International Business Strategy at Sina Sports, and has been instrumental in the evolution of the Weibo-affiliated entity into one of China's most active and engaged sports events and media platforms.
On the conversational agenda:
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How and when paused sports leagues could come back;
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The legal and financial challenges associated with discontinuing;
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The slow return to activity in China's sports and events economy;
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How to plan for a comeback without knowing when that will be.
Asif Kapadia’s Diego Maradona viewed through sportsbiz goggles | The BBC’s Italia 90 semifinal coverage under the microscope | Where esports is plugging the gap left by the lack of live sport.
Episode 80 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features a conversation with Neville Upton, founder and president of esports events and production company Gfinity, and Onside Law founding partner Simon Thorp (discussion starts at 18:58).
On the conversational agenda:
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How esports is helping to plug the programming gap;
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The different approaches being taken by traditional rights holders and athletes moving into virtual sports;
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The extra activity, audience, and engagement and if, when, and how it's translating into revenue;
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The specifications and resource needed to set up virtual events;
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The short-term impact and opportunities, and the long-term legacy for esports.
The creative options for bringing live sport back | Athletes in isolation | An ecosystem built on quicksand.
Episode 79 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features conversations with Wasserman EVP Circe Wallace (discussion starts at 11:44) and Trinity Sports Management Director Andrew McQuaid (discussion starts at 28:48).
West Coast-based Wallace is one of the most influential action sports agents in the business. A former athlete herself, her client roster includes the likes of Torah Bright and Travis Rice, and she has become an increasingly prolific documentary producer.
London-based McQuaid runs Trinity Sports Management, an event management and talent representation agency. He represents the likes of Nicolas Roche and Owain Doull in cycling.
On the conversational agenda:
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How athletes are dealing with their own periods of isolation;
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The financial distress to come in cycling;
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The fate of the Tour de France this year;
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Full Catastrophe Living - the mindfulness stress reduction programme Wallace is using to mitigate the anxiety of the pandemic;
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How sports marketing will be different on the other side of the crisis;
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Why innovation will be stifled;
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Hot Nife - and how Wallace combines life as an agent with life as a California cannabis entrepreneur;
The importance of integrity, honesty and accountability in athlete representation.
The athlete sacrifice conundrum | The mechanisms protecting sports teams and leagues | When and where the goodwill will run out.
Episode 78 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features conversations with Triple S Sports and Entertainment MD Paul Stretford (discussion begins at 20:09) and Onside Law Partner Jamie Singer (discussion begins at 4:55).
Speaking just hours before the Premier League announced it would be consulting its players on a potential 30% pay cut or deferral in the face of mounting public and media pressure, Stretford, whose agency represents the likes of England footballers Wayne Rooney and Harry Maguire, was happy to address what he sees as a mishandled process and a lack of understanding of the contribution many footballers are already making.
Singer, meanwhile, gives an overview of the conversations he and his team are having with a range of rights holders looking to protect themselves in uncertain times and no clarity on when or where sports events might be able to restart.
On the conversational agenda:
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What force majeure is and how it can - and can't - protect sports organisations;
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Collaboration, practical solutions and how to protect yourself now;
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When the point is that the goodwill will wear thin;
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How a player representation business that relies on personal contact keeps going;
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The players' perspective in the argument over pay cuts.
Stay safe, keep in touch.
Building and selling a hundred million dollar company | The emotional impact of years of striving towards an exit | The responsibility and solace of sports ownership | Cost cuts and rescue packages across sport.
Episode 77 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - sees David Cushnan and James Emmett chat to Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith (conversation starts at 8:29). Paul founded and grew Repucom into one of the most trusted sports media measurement and consultancy businesses before selling it to Nielsen in a deal reportedly worth $195 million in 2016.
After returning to his homeland of Australia, he took a majority ownership stake in National Basketball League (NBL) side the Sydney Kings through his Total Sport & Entertainment (TSA) agency before taking full control in March 2019.
On the conversational agenda:
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Thrills and spills at the SportAccord Convention in Sochi in 2015;
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The journey of building Repucom into a saleable asset and the ultimate deal with Nielsen;
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The emotional cliff post-sale, and the path through it;
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Leading differently;
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What team ownership can mean for an owner;
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The Sydney Kings and the Sydney Flames and why basketball is under exploited in Australia;
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The dynamics of taking action in a vacuum of leadership;
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The end of the traditional rights model and the beginning of sport taking control of its own destiny.
Let us know what you'd like to talk about and who you'd like to hear from on At home with Leaders. @JamesEmmett and @DavidCushnan on Twitter.
Thanks again to Onside Law for their support for this podcast.
Stay safe, keep in touch.
Getting through Coronavirus | The great calendar reshuffle | The surge in live streaming | The opportunity in esports.
Episode 76 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees former BBC Sports News Correspondent Richard Conway (conversation starts at 7:41) and The Esports Observer CEO Chris Hana (26:06) talk via crystal clear internet connection to James Emmett and David Cushnan for another episode of At home with Leaders.
On the conversational agenda:
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How Richard coped with Coronavirus;
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The media coverage of the fallout;
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How sport is responding;
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The surge in live streaming and the opportunity inherent in it;
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Where the real engagement in esports is;
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How 'traditional' sports organisations should be approaching esports now;
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Do more eyeballs mean more dollars in the virtual world?
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How to get an esports grounding during Corona-lockdown.
Let us know what you'd like to talk about and who you'd like to hear from on At home with Leaders. @JamesEmmett and @DavidCushnan on Twitter.
Stay safe, keep in touch.
Sports rescue packages | Gamifying archive content | How to run an organisation remotely.
Episode 75 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees former Jockey Club CEO and current board member of the EFL and the Roundhouse Simon Bazalgette (conversation starts at 10:06) and FIFA Chief Commercial Officer Simon Thomas (conversation starts at 28:48) chat down their line to James Emmett and David Cushnan for another episode of At home with Leaders.
On the conversational agenda:
- The £50 million rescue package for the EFL;
- Advice for leaders on how to run an organisation as an abstract concept rather than a location;
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The difference between sport and arts in this crisis;
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How sports entities are mucking in to help;
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WorldCupAtHome and the challenge of carving out, packaging, and gamifying archive content;
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Managing FIFA's partners through the crisis;
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The implications of UEFA's Euro 2020 postponement.
Let us know what you'd like to talk about and who you'd like to hear from on At home with Leaders. @JamesEmmett and @DavidCushnan on Twitter.
Stay safe, keep in touch.
The greenshoots of recovery in China | Tips and insight from China's quarantined workforce | The situation in Australia | The Australian Open's bushfire relief work.
Episode 74 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees Red Lantern's Head of Content Victor Lin (conversation starts at 10:25) and the Australian Open's Head of Digital Strategy Finn Bradshaw (conversation starts at 34:04) chat down the line to James Emmett and David Cushnan for another edition of At Home with Leaders.
Based in Chengdu in China's Sichuan province, Lin leads digital media agency Red Lantern's content team, delivering services for western sports entities looking to drive engagement with Chinese consumers. Clients include Wimbledon, Formula 1 and Premier League side Liverpool.
Based in Melbourne, Bradshaw joined the Australian Open from Cricket Australia last year, and led the tennis tournament's digital department to a record year in 2020, in the midst of the wildfires that devastated swathes of the country, and just a few weeks before the global COVID-19 outbreak began to wreak its own havoc.
On the conversational agenda:
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The slow return to normality in China;
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Living and working through quarantine - how to do it;
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The social media trends from China's lockdown period and why they're not what you would have expected;
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How to drive engagement with sports fans without live product;
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Dealing with the bushfires at the Australian Open;
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Contingency planning and building up a communications ‘trust bank’;
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Muddy rain;
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Getting the tone right for the downtime.
Let us know what you'd like to talk about and who you'd like to hear from on At Home with Leaders. @JamesEmmett and @DavidCushnan on Twitter.
Stay safe, keep in touch.
The sports industry faultlines exposed by COVID-19 | Brand purpose in times of crisis | Jean-Claude Biver on passion, emotion, and status.
Episode 73 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees James Emmett and David Cushnan talk to Kate Bosomworth about the COVID-19 crisis and its ramifications on sport before introducing a recording of Kate's session with Hublot Chairman Jean-Claude Biver from the Leaders Sport Business Summit in October (session starts at 26:42).
Kate, a former Sport England board member, sports marketing agency CEO, and CMO of M&C Saatchi, helmed a typically energetic discussion with Biver, a legend in the luxury brands world and the man credited with transforming the fortunes of Tag Heuer and Hublot through a savvy and committed marketing strategy. The discussion roamed fluidly from piercing business and marketing advice, to approaches to interpersonal skills and instinct, by way of colourful anecdotes about Diego Maradona.
On the conversational agenda:
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Biver's first job as a charismatic but useless watch salesman;
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The point of passion at work;
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Why you don't buy a watch to tell the time;
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Why Diego Maradona always wears two watches;
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Sports marketing and the power of emotional connection.
Mentorship and role models | Imposter syndrome and professional confidence | The importance of reflection.
Episode 72 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features conversations from in and around the Leaders Meet: Diversity events on women in sport from 6th March with Liz Nicholl (conversation starts at 5:31), CEO of the International Netball Federation, and Becca Valle (conversation starts at 21.23), Head of Marketing at the New York Knicks.
Nicholl, speaking at the live-streamed, behind-closed-doors event in London last week, was elected as the President of the International Netball Federation last year. A former netball player herself, Nicholl had two stints as the CEO of the All England Netball Association in her early career, before joining UK Sport in 1999, and serving as CEO of the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the UK from 2010 to 2019.
Valle, speaking from her office at Madison Square Garden after the New York Leaders Meet: Diversity event was cancelled due to the coronavirus, joined the New York Knicks as Head of Marketing in 2017, having previously held executive positions at advertising giants BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather.
On the conversational agenda:
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Approaches to mentorship and role models;
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Imposter syndrome and growing confidence;
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Professional journeys;
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Asking and giving advice;
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The importance of reflection.
Under the hood of the NFL.
Episode 71 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with SportsBusiness Journal NFL reporter Ben Fischer.
On the agenda:
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The NFL's business and political wins in 2019;
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The CBA negotiations, what they mean and how they're going;
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What to expect in the year ahead;
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The XFL and its chances of success.
Under the hood of the boxing business | Manchester City's FFP penalty | Fun With Balls and squash.
Boxing business heavyweights Lou DiBella, Joe Markowski, and Stephen Espinoza were joined by FuboTV Chief Strategy Officer for a spiky panel on the state of the boxing industry at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York in May (conversation starts at 13:56).
Harvard law graduate DiBella spent 11 years building HBO into America’s go-to boxing platform before becoming an independent boxing promoter in his own right with DiBella Entertainment in 2000.
Espinoza is President of Showtime Sports. He began his career while still at law school working for renowned sports agent Leigh Steinberg. He represented Oscar de la Hoya and Mike Tyson before becoming lead counsel for Golden Boy Promotions. Since joining Showtime in 2011, Espinoza has delivered the three highest grossing pay-per-view events in TV history : Mayweather Canelo in 2013; Mayweather Pacquiao in 2015; and Mayweather McGregor in 2017.
Markowski is EVP of North America for DAZN. He led the pure-play sports streaming service’s Japan business before moving to the US in 2018 to do similar in North America. In the US, DAZN has high profile agreements with Matchroom Boxing, Canelo, and Gennadiy Golovkin and has moved into the boxing market with a subscription model and a pugnacious advertising campaign declaring that pay-per-view is dead.
On the agenda:
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Is pay-par-view dead?
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What is DAZN's boxing model in the US and can it work?
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The general health of boxing in the US;
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Wilder vs Joshua and how it might work;
Changing a culture at British Cycling | The Premier League's new £2bn, six-year Scandinavian deal | A new buzz around Wimbledon's sustainability plans.
British Cycling CEO Julie Harrington is the guest on episode 69 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast (interview starts at 8:28). Harrington joined British Cycling in May 2017, replacing Ian Drake at the helm of one of British sport's most successful National Governing Bodies, but one in need of governance reform following successive investigations into anti-doping procedure and workplace culture.
Harrington took on the role having been Group Operations Director at the FA since 2011, running both Wembley Stadium and St George's Park. Prior to working for the FA, Harrington spent nine years with the Northern Racing Group as operations director. Harrington has also worked in senior marketing roles for brands such as British Airways, Whitbread, and Carlsberg-Tetley.
Harrington sat down with Leaders during a break at Global Sports Week in Paris, where she was speaking on the subject of sport and urbanism.
On the conversational agenda:
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How Harrington has gone about building a new integrity and compliance function within British Cycling;
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"Three years of flying the plane, while trying to fix the plane;"
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The challenges she has encountered during the change process and her advice for other leaders with a mandate for reform;
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Her route into the sports industry and why working for a brewery in sports sponsorship felt like too much like hard work;
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Imposter syndrome, Gareth Southgate's killer question for Harrington on her FA recruitment panel, and her advice for how to crack an interview for a big job.
David Cushnan and James Emmett are in Abu Dhabi to wrap up two days of the Leaders Sport Business Summit in the capital of the UAE, including interviews with Sheffield United owner HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Abu Dhabi Cricket CEO Matthew Boucher, and discussion around the developing sporting investment strategies across the MENA region, innovation in golf, cricket and esports, and word of a potential new football investor taking a City Football Group-style portfolio approach to club acquisition.
More reflections on the summit can be found here.
Listen in on a conversation between Facebook and DAZN.
Facebook's Director of Global Live Sports Partnerships and Programming Peter Hutton sat down for a conversation with DAZN Executive Chairman John Skipper in front of a main stage audience at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in London in October (conversation begins at 4.28).
Unscripted, unfiltered, and unmoderated, the session provided a unique insight into the minds of two of the executives - and two of the organisations - doing most to shape the future of sports broadcasting.
The two men have had their hands at the wheel of the sports media industry through decades of unprecedented growth - Hutton in leadership positions at Eurosport, MP & Silva, Fox Sports International and ESPN Star, and Ten Sports, and Skipper through a storied career at ESPN.
They now find themselves shaping the strategy and execution of the sports broadcasting operations at two organisations that promise to change the fundamental model of sports content distribution and consumption. At Facebook, Hutton insists the sports play is as a "business solutions provide". DAZN, meanwhile, is a "pure play OTT streaming service" and Skipper says proudly that its intention is "absolutely to disrupt the current world of pay-TV hegemony over sports rights".
On the conversational agenda:
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How they find themselves in their current roles;
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The key differences between Facebook and DAZN and the 'traditional' sports broadcasters;
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The rights landscape, who's buying what, and why;
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The rise of Google, Facebook, and Amazon;
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The funding and monetisation models of the future;
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Changing consumer demands and how to meet them with new technology.
James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by SBJ Publisher and Executive Editor Abe Madkour to reflect on a busy Leaders Sport Business Summit, with discussion around John Skipper and DAZN, Peter Hutton and Facebook, sports content trends, the NFL, the latest stadium technology and other highlights. Also includes an interview with W Series driver Sarah Moore.
Everything you need to know about where to go, what to see, who to hear from, and what to do after that at day one of the Leaders Sport Business Summit, 2019, at Twickenham - 9/10/19.
Everything you need to know about where to go, what to see, who to hear from, and what to do after that at day one of the Leaders Sport Business Summit, 2019, at Twickenham - 8/10/19.
Wimbledon Head of Communications, Content, and Digital Alex Willis in conversation with her mentor, IBM Global Markets CMO Caroline Taylor.
Episode 63 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features the first instalment in a new mini-series of podcasts: Me & my mentor - a series of conversations that get to the heart of mentor-mentee relationships across the sports industry. A recurring theme in the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, mentorship is acknowledged as an increasingly effective personal and professional development, though one that is only scantly understood.
In this first episode, Wimbledon's Alex Willis talks to her mentor, Caroline Taylor OBE, CMO of Global Markets at IBM, a long-time Wimbledon sponsor (conversation begins at 13:07).
Willis is one of the leading lights in a new generation of sports industry digital and marketing specialists. She began her career as a journalist, before joining the All England Lawn Tennis Club, initially as Digital Content Editor, in 2011. Taylor is an international marketing expert, and currently looks after IBM's global marketing function. She first joined the computing giant in 1997, and has played an active role in the evolving mentoring programmes within the organisation. She currently maintains 18 formal mentorship relationships.
On the agenda:
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What mentoring means;
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How the mentoring relationship works in practice;
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The concept of reverse mentorship;
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Confidence, where it comes from, and permission to be believed in;
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The difference between mentoring men and mentoring women;
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Why your significant other isn't necessarily the most effective mentor.
*Special Offer Alert*** We're offering 19% off passes to Leaders Week to any woman who wants to attend the summit this year, as part of our commitment to championing a more inclusive sports industry. We also want to recognise male executives who share this commitment, and will extend the discount to any man who books on with a woman. Just visit https://leadersinsport.com/leaders-week-london/buy-your-pass/ and use the code LEADERSPODCAST when prompted.
Episode 62 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with M&C Saatchi CMO Kate Bosomworth (interview begins at 12:50). Bosomworth founder her own PR agency, KTB PR, in 2003 and through a growth based acquisition and merger strategy, sold the agency first to the Writtle Group in 2012 to take over Speed Communications, then for a second time to AIM listed Mission Marketing Group in November 2014, developing a strong reputation for PR and communications strategy work across rights holder organisations and FMCG brands.
A board member at Sport England from 2013 until this year, Bosomworth spearheaded the breakthrough 'This Girl Can' campaign, which launched in 2015 and is responsible for inspiring three million women and girls in the UK to take up physical activity.
She joined M&C Saatchi in January 2018, swapping the sports industry for the advertising world.
On the conversational agenda:
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The evolution of the M&C Saatchi culture and why entrepreneurs have been invited into the agency;
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Her brief as CMO: diversifying the client portfolio and confounding assumptions;
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Why the Coca-Cola Premier League campaign was ‘joyous’
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This Girl Can: the real impact of a breakthrough campaign, what it needs to do next and why it needs to keep its edge;
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The f*ck yeah-ometer and how it works;
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The surge of momentum behind women’s sport and the milestones that have marked it;
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The work that still needs to be done in the drive towards parity;
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Advertising industry vs the sports business – the parallels;
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‘Who is not in the room?’ – the question that any organisation needs to ask itself;
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Why visionary change-makers are required at the top of sports organisations;
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Motivations, role models, and mentors.
As Luck would have it: How Carabao intends to become the number one energy drinks brand in the UK | The UK launch of the Athletic and its role as a paid-content market test | Big moves for Delia Bushell, Joanna Adams, and Jaymee Messler.
Episode 61 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees James Emmett and David Cushnan discuss the UK launch of the Athletic, its role as a litmus test for non-live paid sports content; and the new roles for industry innovators Delia Bushell, Joanna Adams, and Jaymee Messler; before introducing a conversation with Intercarabao CMO John Luck (at 16:27).
Luck joined the energy drinks company in 2016, following stints in the marketing teams of Coca-Cola, Time Out, and Duchy Originals among others. Part of a small team tasked with launching the Thai brand in the UK market, Luck has overseen almost every aspect of Carabao's initial UK launch to its position, just three and a half years later, as the seventh biggest energy drinks company in the UK and stocked in every major retailer.
The brand is a giant in its native Thailand, where it is a $2 billion listed company and the market leader by some distance from Red Bull. Its ambition, which Luck is attempted to facilitate, is to become number one in every market it operates in. Part of how it intends to do that is through sports sponsorship.
On the conversational agenda:
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The process of launching an FMCG product in the UK in an ultra-competitive sector, from product through to positioning through to marketing platforms;
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Why Carabao has succeeded where the 700-plus energy drinks brands that tried to launch in the UK before it failed;
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Aed Carabao, the 'Thai Bob Marley' who founded the product;
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The nuts and bolts of Carabao's sponsorship deals with Chelsea and the EFL;
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Why the Carabao Cup draws will remain a staple of the brand's impactful activation arsenal;
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The three lessons Luck has learned about sports marketing since joining Carabao.
The Premier League in China | Tencent and PP Sports spend big on NBA and Premier League rights | Sky Sun on Fosun's ambition for Wolves | Rowan Simons on the model for growth in Chinese football | Scott O'Neil on making the most of an NBA trip to China | David Nivelle on the challenge and achievement of a FIBA World Cup in China.
The Leaders Sport Business Summit rolled into China for a third annual edition this July, hosted, for the first time, in Shanghai, and coinciding with the Premier League's Asia Trophy visit.
Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan was on hand to capture some of the sights and sounds, lining up a quartet of conversations behind the scenes of the two-day event.
On the agenda:
- Sky Sun (15:44) - The Wolverhampton Wanderers Director on ownership group Fosun International's ambitious five-year plan for the club; the launch of a new club megastore in Shanghai and 400 branded products to go with it; and the lifestyle brand vision that would put the Wolves brand alongside the likes of the New York Yankees.
- Rowan Simons (21:28) - The China ClubFootball Founder on football culture in China and the dangers of putting international brands before the growth of the game.
- Scott O'Neil (29:36) - The Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO on making the most of an executive trip to China, how to take learnings and leads back to the US; and what the remarkable offseason of NBA player movement means for the Sixers.
- David Nivelle (42:03) - The Head of FIBA Marketing on gearing up for the FIBA World Cup, the first global, multi-city event to be hosted by China.
The NFL in London | Leaders in Shanghai.
Alistair Kirkwood has been the MD of NFL UK since 2006, and was a key member of the senior executive team that brought the first league game to London in 2007.
In episode 59 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, Kirkwood reflects on the growth the league has undergone internationally over the course of his career, explains the why and how the league is launching the 'NFL Academy' in north London, and gives a firm response to the oft-repeated question: when will the NFL launch a franchise in London?
Elsewhere in the conversation:
- Inside the NFL's UK office;
- Building the calendar out into the off-season;- The NFL Academy - what, where, who, how and why - inspired by the fact that the league will be playing in Tottenham into the next decade;- Teaching NFL values, as well as American football skills'- The new Tottenham stadium and why the NFL-spec build will be transformative for the league's future visits to London'- The current thinking on the NFL's ambitions to operate a franchise from London;- NFL fandom in the UK, and why if you're over 30, you're not between the NFL's crosshairs.
Running Wimbledon | Broadcasting the Women's World Cup | Not broadcasting the Cricket World Cup.
Philip Brook (conversation begins at 19.27) is the Chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, host of the annual Wimbledon tennis championships. Brook will leave his position, one of the most influential in world tennis, after nine and half years as chairman after this year's championships this summer.
In episode 58 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, Brook welcomes James Emmett to the boardroom at the AELTC for a discussion on the milestone moments of his tenure, what comes next for him, for the club and the tournament, and the state of world tennis.
On the conversational agenda:
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Why, with the tournament two weeks away, he's not very busy at all;
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The new roof on number one court - what, why, how, and who it will benefit; and what else is new for this year;
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The 50 other weeks of the Wimbledon year;
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73 acres of new land - what to do with it, and why the journey to the tennis club is likely to change in the future;
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How the £63.75m Wimbledon Park Golf Club deal was done;
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What he believes his legacy to the club, and to grass court tennis will be;
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The regrets of his tenure, and why he thinks tennis isn't necessarily better off on a global level than when he started;
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What needs to happen for the major stakeholders in tennis to work together with greater cohesion;
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Hosting the Royal Box; how to keep the great and the good in check.
Val Ackerman has been the Commissioner of the Big East college conference since 2013. In episode 57 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, she gives Leaders Editor-at-Large James Emmett her College Sports 101, before discussing:
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The hows and whys of schools moving from one conference to another;
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The compensation debate, its fragility and complexity; why college athletes aren't paid; and why we could be a few years away from major change;
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The Big East revenues - where they come from, and where they go;
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The growth of women's sport
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Male-to-female mentorship and David Stern's ongoing influence on Ackerman's career; and why men have such an important role to play in the development of women's careers in the sports industry;
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How to learn from other leaders' style, without being imitative;
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The many ways of being a mentor;
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Why young sports executives need to be aggressive but patient.
Monumental by name, monumental by nature | NHL vs NBA ownership | esports | gaming | the family business | new OTT models | sports betting | international acquisitions.
Zach Leonsis (interview starts at 7.59) is SVP of Strategic Initiatives and GM of Monumental Sports Network, and his influence and interest extends across the group's growing suite of assets, which includes the Washington Wizards NBA team, the Washington Capitals NHL team, the Washington Wizards WNBA team, and Capital One Arena.
The group, owned and helmed by Zach's father Ted, also has interests in esports, American football, and broadcast media, and it is on the development of these new, growing businesses that Leonsis junior aims most of his focus.
In 2016, Leonsis spearheaded the transformation of Monumental Sports Network, the regional network co-owned by Monumental and NBC, from an ad-based blogging platform into a subscription model direct-to-consumer comprehensive broadcast product. A huge investment in programming has led to significant uptick in subscriptions.
Leonsis sat down with Leaders at SBJ's CAA World Congress of Sport, at which he was picking up a 40 Under 40 award, earlier this month.
On the conversational agenda:
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The breadth and scale of the work he's involved in at Monumental;
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Winning the Stanley Cup for the first time with the Wizards last year;
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The differences between operating NBA and NHL franchises;
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The 'wild journey' he's on with Monumental's investments in esports - including Fortnite publisher Epic Games;
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Unorthodox subscription bundles and the new OTT models esports is inspiring;
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Sports betting, the opportunity, the challenges, and the misconceptions;
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His experience working alongside Owner, CEO and father, Ted Leonsis;
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His thoughts on sports ownership, and the chance of a Monumental acquisition outside the US.
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From Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to Real Madrid | The challenges of change management | Staffing out, staffing up, and building agency capability | The scope of 6-star experiences and a rethink on ticket prices
Episode 55 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Real Madrid Global Head of Partnerships David Hopkinson (starts at 9:40). The Canadian joined the Spanish footballing giants from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in the summer of 2018, having spent almost 25 years at his hometown sports organisation, latterly as Chief Commercial Officer.
Appointed to lead the Real Madrid commercial team into a new era, Tim Leiweke, under whom Hopkinson had worked at MLSE, had the following words to say upon Hopkinson's move to Europe: "Seldom in your life do you run across someone as bright, vibrant, energetic and entrepreneurial as [Hopkinson]. He has a personality that doesn’t just light up a room. He can set a room on fire.
“Real Madrid is as big a brand as there is in our industry. Normally you’d have a hard time finding someone who could make it better. They just did.”
On the conversational agenda:
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From Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to Real Madrid - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unexpected;
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The challenges of change management at one of Europe's traditional sporting giants;
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Selling partnerships with no Ronaldo and no silverware;
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Partner acquisition approaches: shotgun style vs rifle shot;
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Building agency capability into the Real Madrid commercial team;
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Partner access and working with player agents;
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The trend for 6-star in-stadium experiences and why the Bernabeu's €550 million renovation provides a huge opportunity.
Why Chris Kermode's position is up for grabs at the ATP | Sport's most innovative hospitality experiences | MD Steve Elworthy (19.50) on preparing for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 | How to motivate an events team to peak for delivery | Dealing with conflicting stakeholder interests.
Episode 54 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett examine the ATP's player-driven decision not to extend Chris Kermode's tenure as Executive Chairman, before a discussion on the new Formula E race in London breaks out into some thoughts and examples of the best and most innovative hospitality experiences in sport.
Later, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Managing Director Steve Elworthy (19.50) joins James for a conversation on his preparations for the upcoming tournament. A former international cricketer for South Africa, Elworthy joined sport's executive ranks not long after hanging up his playing boots. The upcoming competition, which will take place in England and Wales from 30th May to 14th July, is the sixth major cricket tournament Elworthy has been involved in running.
On the conversational agenda:
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How Elworthy went from competing in major tournaments to running them;
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The mistakes he's made along the way and how they've informed his management style;
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Moving his team from planning to delivery mode and how he motivates them to peak when it matters;
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Organisational structure and how to hit deadlines in a coordinated manner;
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Dealing with the conflicting demands of various stakeholder.
Where have all the CEOs gone? | Recruitment and how to do it | CVC's investment in rugby | Qatar's preparations for the Fifa World Cup | Balancing innovation with heritage | How to bring about organisational change.
Episode 53 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett discuss the unprecedented number of vacancies at CEO level across key rights holder organisations in UK sport, before handing over to former AELTC and RFU CEO Ian Ritchie (at 17:43) for a more informed opinion. Searches are underway for the CEO role at the Premier League, the EFL, the FA, UK Sport, and the BOA among others.
Ritchie ran the Wimbledon tennis championships in his role as CEO of the AELTC from 2005 to 2012, and was then hired to lead the RFU as it built towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. He stepped down in 2017, and is now Chairman of Premiership Rugby, the top tier domestic rugby union league in England.
He sat down for a conversation for the podcast on a visit to Qatar, where Ritchie had been sharing his experiences of preparing for major events with a group of local executives involved with preparations for the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
On the conversational agenda:
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Qatar's preparations for 2022 and how Ritchie would handle Fifa as a stakeholder;
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The CVC-Premiership Rugby deal, how it went through, and what it will mean for the league and its teams;
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Pressure moments at the RFU, preparing for England 2015, and the process that led to Head Coach Stuart Lancaster leaving;
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Innovation vs heritage and how Wimbledon gets it right;
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Recruitment, culture, and organisational change.
Disruptive forces across sports broadcast | GB Basketball's UGC ban | ESPN & Second Spectrum's 'Full Court Press' | CBS' Super Bowl production under the microscope | Mycujoo and its founders in profile.
Episode 52 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is a sports broadcast disruption special, with David Cushnan and James Emmett analysing a handful of the issues at the top of the sports broadcast agenda before introducing a discussion (at 17.07) with Joao and Pedro Presa, the Portuguese twins who co-founded Mycujoo, a user-generated content (UGC) football streaming platform with realistic ambitions of building the single largest football community in the world.
On the conversational agenda:
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What is Mycujoo and what's in the name;
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The business model and how it's evolved;
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JustinTV, Twitch, and LinkedIn - inspirations and models;
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The journey from tech service provider to tech media company;
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Building a football community through long-tail content and what 200 million interactions a year means;
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Why Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Portugal and the US have proved the strongest markets;
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Japan's Nadeshiko League - a Mycujoo case study;
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How the twins lead together;
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How to recruit and build as a start-up, and why Amsterdam is the perfect base.
48-team World Cup | Sport as a political tool | Bringing the razzmatazz to cricket | Keith Pelley’s vision for consolidation in golf | Taking the Giro d’Italia abroad | Why Arsenal’s deal with Visit Rwanda makes sense | Digital storytelling and branded content with the ICC, Hilton, and Lewis Hamilton | Global opportunities for women’s football.
Episode 51 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on a busy two days at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi, featuring interviews with:
Paolo Bellino (19.39), CEO of RCS Sport on:
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Merging the Dubai Tour and Abu Dhabi Tour to form the UAE Tour;
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The Giro d’Italia as a destination marketing tool;
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The Giro’s visit to Israel and what it meant
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Why a potential start in Japan was ruled out at the last minute;
Peter Silverstone (33.29), Commercial Director of Arsenal FC:
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On the myths around Arsenal’s sponsorship with Visit Rwanda;
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Why the partnership is working for Rwanda already
Behind-the-scenes at Leaders Meet: Innovation | Ted Leonsis' warning on sports betting | Sheila Johnson (5.20) on diversity and the WNBA | Kristin Bernert (28.30) on enhancing the experience at MSG.
Episode 50 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast lifts back the curtain on the Leaders Meet: Innovation event at BAFTA in London on 17th January and features conversations with Monumental Sports & Entertainment Co-Owner and Vice-Chair Sheila Johnson, SBJ basketball writer John Lombardo, and Madison Square Garden Company SVP of Business Operations Kristin Bernert.
On the agenda:
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The NBA's approach to sports betting;
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Sheila Johnson on opening the doors for women and people of colour in sport;
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The future prospects of the WNBA;
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How the World's Most Famous Arena remains so famous;
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Celebrity outreach programmes for the Knicks' front row.
Meet the power-brokers behind Abu Dhabi's sports strategy | Andy Murray's retirement announcement | Champions League weekend rumours | the AFC Cup and Gulf politics in sport.
Episode 49 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on Andy Murray's retirement announcement, assess the impact of a potential move by Uefa and TEAM Marketing to shift Champions League matches to weekend slots; gauge the political environment at the AFC Cup in the UAE, and introduce a series of conversations with key figures from across Abu Dhabi's sporting landscape.
On the agenda:
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What next for Andy Murray, and what next for tennis, after Britain's greatest ever tennis player announced his retirement;
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Uefa Champions League games on weekends: could it happen, why, when, and how?
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The AFC Cup: a platform for politics beyond football in the Middle East;
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Abu Dhabi Sports Council General Secretary HE Aref Al Awani (14.20) on the city's sporting strategy;
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Acting Abu Dhabi Cricket CEO Matt Boucher (25.18) on the changing objectives for Abu Dhabi's involvement in sport;
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Special Olympics World Games 2019 Chief Strategy Officer Tala Al Ramahi (36.56) on building a legacy of inclusion;
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Abu Dhabi Golf Club GM Ed Edwards (42.51) on the development of golf in the region and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
The Leaders Sport Business Summit, Abu Dhabi, takes place on 30th and 31st January. More information on who's coming, and how you can come too, can be found here.
Genius Sports MD Steven Burton on betting, data, and the future of the US sports gaming market | Women's sport in the spotlight | DAZN and the consolidation of the OTT market | Micropayments | Tech to watch | New stuff in new markets.
David Cushnan and James Emmett bring you a bumper edition of the Leaders Sports Business Podcast to kick off 2019, as they identify ten key sports industry trends or topics to track across 2019.
Including a extended interview with Steven Burton, MD of data and integrity technology specialists Genius Sports, who makes sense of the legislative changes enabling sports betting across the US and plots out the future for the sector across US sport, the episode analyses:
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A big upcoming year for World Rugby, the IAAF, Japan, and Qatar;
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The commercial and societal momentum gathering behind women's sport;
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DAZN's 20-2020 vision and the shifts in the OTT sports broadcasting sector;
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Micropayments and innovative rights packages;
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2019 as another step in sport's path to internationalisation;
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Athlete power, Kosmos, and the Davis Cup;
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Technology adoption and a big year for mobile ticketing;
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Start-up events launching in 2019;
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Private equity money fuelling league and federation growth.
Formula 1's new race in Vietnam | The European Super League | 10 years of the O2 for the ATP Finals | Pitch International's place in the media rights landscape | The Perform journey.
David Cushnan and James Emmett have a small sit-down midway through the Leaders Sport Performance Summit to reflect on another batch of sports industry talking points, including the announcement of the first new race on the Formula 1 calendar in the Liberty Media era, some micro-analysis on the would-be European Super League in soccer, and some innovation kudos for the ATP and its twin tournaments in Milan and London.
Later, Oli Slipper (interview starts at 13.53), Executive Chairman at Pitch International, discusses his decision to re-enter the fray of the day-to-day sports business. CEO of Premium TV, and then, when it merged with Inform in 2007, co-CEO of the Perform Group, Slipper stood down from his leadership role at Perform in March 2015. In September this year, Slipper joined London-based sports rights agency Pitch International as Executive Chairman, as Trevor East, long-time Chairman, stood down to take a board role. On the conversational agenda:
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Why Slipper decided to come back;
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His investments over the past three years;
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Pitch International's scope of operation and future direction;
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Milestone moments in the development of Perform, now the DAZN Group;
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The media rights buying landscape and why it's bigger and broader than ever;
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Sports media landscape trends.
The birth of GolfTV | the death of MP & Silva | the charm of Shahid Khan | equal pay & Facebook ups and downs in surfing | the Phil Taylor-shaped hole in darts | the future of the sports consumption experience.
David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on another fortnight of change across the global sports industry, including the launch of the Discovery-PGA Tour joint venture OTT vehicle GolfTV, the final demise of rights agency MP & Silva, and Shahid Khan's withdrawn offer to buy Wembley Stadium from the FA.
Later, we hear from three CEOs with very different challenges ahead of them: Sophie Goldschmidt (starts at 14.31), the former WTA, NBA, RFU, and CSM executive who has been CEO of the World Surf League (WSL) for the past 13 months; Matt Porter (starts at 27.16), the Matchroom Sport Director who has been CEO of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since 2008; and Miheer Walavalkar, the co-founder and CEO of LiveLike, which launched in 2015 as a VR company in sport but has evolved to provide full immersive broadcast experiences without the need for headsets.
On the conversational agenda:
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Making changes at the WSL: new formats, new calendar, new broadcast products, and a new, equal pay structure;
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Working through live streaming technical challenges;
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Ten years of globalisation at the PDC;
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Why the Phil Taylor-shaped hole isn't as big as it once would have been;
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The future of sports broadcasting and media consumption and why what we have today is not sustainable.
Reflections on a monster week | the WWE's Paul Levesque (aka Triple H) | Gfinity's Garry Cook | La Liga on US games and the broadcast blackout | FIBA's Frank Leenders | Wimbledon's Mick Desmond | The Bundesliga's Robert Klein
David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on another edition of Leaders Week, tackling the talking points from a busy series of sports business events in London, before introducing a stellar line-up of backstage conversations. On the agenda:
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WWE EVP of Talent, Live Events & Creative Paul Levesque (starts at 9.06) on the launch of NXT UK; his favourite Triple H storyline; the art and mechanics of storytelling; and why Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson could be headed for politics;
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Gfinity Executive Chairman Garry Cook (starts at 27.35) on the launch of the ePremier League and the thinking behind the Gfinity studio set-up;
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La Liga Chief Communications Officer Joris Evers (starts at 39.03) on the next steps for the league's attempt to play competitive fixtures in the US this year; and its support for its UK broadcast partner Eleven as it contravenes 3pm blackout rules;
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Deltatre Chief Product Officer Carlo De Marchis (starts at 42.34) on the five things broadcasters and would-be broadcasters need to think about when going direct-to-consumer;
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FIBA Media & Marketing Director General Frank Leenders (starts at 47.35) on finding the balance between building viewership and engagement through a rights holder OTT service and being competitive with broadcast partners;
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Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein (starts at 55.49) on the league's plans for the USA, China, and India;
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Wimbledon Commercial & Media Director Mick Desmond (starts at 59.09) on the essence of the Wimbledon brand and what Amazon's entrance into tennis could mean for the property;
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Kore Planning & Insights (KPI) President Russell Scibetti (starts at 1.04.30) on what data-driven giants like Amazon can bring to the sports ecosystem.
$100m F1 betting deal | UEFA's OTT plans | RMC Sport's OTT snag | Tim Shriver and the Special Olympics (starts at 16.23) | Mike Davis and Abu Dhabi's sporting strategy (starts at 37.56).
Tim Shriver is the Chairman of the Special Olympics, a movement that exists to communicate as well as to play. The son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Shriver guided the movement into its 50th year in 2018.
Recorded in Abu Dhabi during the Special Olympics Regional Games in March, Shriver sets out with typical passion and articulacy the mission of the movement, which now includes over 100,000 events per year and over five million athletes.The Special Olympics will bring its flagship event, the Global Games, to Abu Dhabi again from 14th to 21st March, 2019.
Mike Davis is the Regional Director of CSM Sports & Entertainment in the Middle East and North Africa. CSM has worked closely with the local organising committee for the Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi, and Davis's experience in the region stretches back across the last decade.
On the agenda:
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The power of the Special Olympics' message during times of fear and suspicion;
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The relationship between Abu Dhabi and the Special Olympics and the expectations and objectives on both sides;
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The event-hosting philosophy of the Special Olympics;
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Abu Dhabi's considered and evolving sports and cultural events strategy.
As a FIFA World Cup summer segues into a UEFA Nations League autumn, FA CEO Martin Glenn sat down with Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall for a conversation on business, leadership, organisational culture and, of course, football. (Interview begins at 13 mins 30 seconds).
Glenn was appointed as CEO of English football's governing body in March 2015. He was hired away from United Biscuits, where he had been CEO, marshalling the McVitie's and Jacob's brands. Glenn made a name for himself in business in the 1990s while working for PepsiCo as he masterminded the reinvigoration of the Walkers crisps brand, lifting market share from the mid-20s to over 60% through product tweaks, organisational change, and brand transformation. He has held senior or leadership positions at Walkers, Birdseye, Cadbury, Mars, and Deloitte.
His appointment to the newly created role in 2015 was seen as a little left-field, but Glenn did have a background in football too, as a board member at Leicester City and having gained a coaching badge in 2003.
At the FA, Glenn oversees an organisation with varied set of responsibilities: from running all 24 England national football teams, to governance, rule-setting and policing, through to promotion and commercialisation, via the owning and running of Wembley Stadium in London.
On the conversational agenda:
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Glenn's mission to bring about transformation at the FA;
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The unique challenges of sport's stakeholder-led organisations;
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Changing things first to change perceptions second and other lessons from the business of crisps;
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The challenges associated with streamlining an organisation;
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The FA vision to unite the game to inspire the nation;
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Pressing the reset button with the media, cap accumulation, and other tactics for building resilient tournament players;
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The potential Wembley stadium sale.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred sat down with Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall ahead in a quiet nook of the Green Room at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York earlier this year.
Manfred, who gave one of the keynote interviews at the summit, became the league's tenth Commissioner in January 2015, replacing Bud Selig in the role having served for some time as the league's COO.
A lawyer by background, Manfred joined the league in the challenging position of EVP of Labour Relations in 1987.
In the midst of a period of evolution for Major League Baseball, as the league adapts to meet shifting consumer habits across the US, and puts tangible plans in place to play games in London, Manfred reflects on the personal and professional qualities needed to succeed as a leader in of one of the major leagues.
On the conversational agenda:
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Growing the game of baseball using live product;
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Playing the politics of major league ownership dynamics;
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Why and how the cable TV model will survive;
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Biggest lesson, challenge, advice and mistake;
In the second part of the podcast, Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan and Editor-at-Large James Emmett sit down with Cake Managing Partner Richard Gillis to discuss some of the patterns and trends identified in the inaugural edition of the Leaders Sport Business Forecast.
On the agenda:
1) Rights holders are positioning themselves as tech accelerators and innovation hubs
2) The gamification of the fan experience and performance data as a fan engagement tool
3) The content universe is expanding and rights holders need to be adaptable
4) Everyone’s a content producer = everyone’s a sports marketing agency
5) New methods for understanding and interpreting engagement
6) Micropayments and the fragmentation of rights
7) Ease of purchase and sport as a sales driver
8) Content owners vs. audience aggregators
9) An era of new sports formats
10) Esports – consolidation and establishment
11) The mega events keep getting bigger
12) But the world gets smaller
Just how transformative will Alibaba's Olympic deal turn out to be? Why is DDMC Fortis's capture of AFC rights a milestone moment in the evolution of the global sports industry? And how, exactly, can you shift your Chinese strategy from engagement to monetisation?
These were a few of the questions posed to the speakers at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Beijing on 25th July.
250 senior international executives gathered at Sina's headquarters in the 'Beijing Silicon Valley' in the north west of China's capital to discuss strategies for growing sport and sports businesses in China, and to forge some valuable connections along the way.
Backstage, we spoke to a selection of the speakers to get the inside track on their activity in one of the most beguiling but challenging markets in world sport.
On the podcast:
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Leon Xie (9:00) – the GM of Olympic Business at Alibaba on plans to activate the biggest deal in Olympic history; Alibaba's objectives and how it intends to measure success; and whether there are other major international sponsorship deals in the pipeline;
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Scott O’Neil (21:15) – the CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment on the Philadelphia 76ers upcoming two-game trip to China; and what teams can do for their own commercial ends within a tightly controlled league environment;
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Yu Hang (28:28) – the Executive Director of DDMC Fortis on how the deal for all AFC commercial rights from 2021 to 2028 came about; revenue targets and execution goals; why it represents a breakthrough moment for Chinese sports business; and his thoughts on international media rights values and consolidation in the Chinese market;
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Victor Cui (40:45) – the ONE Championship CEO on the series' dominance in Asia; and why a China-specific strategy is imperative for cracking the market;
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Kevin Sim (52:45) – the new Head of Asia Pacific at Bundesliga International on why China is on the verge of another huge growth cycle; and how the Bundesliga is going about trying to unearth the Yao Ming of football;
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Kylie Rogers (1:01:39) – the Commercial GM of the AFL on playing the long game in China; and plans to supercharge China's participation in contact sports;
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Alex Kaplan (1:07:21) - the President and GM of golf for Discovery on the gigantic new deal with the PGA Tour and why Asia - and China specifically - is key to its success;
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Sam Li (1:13:02) – the Head of International Business for Sina Sports on why the organisation's burgeoning offline events business is providing a valuable new revenue stream distinct from the pure advertising media model that its competitors rely on.
Don Garber has been commissioner of Major League Soccer since 1999 and it’s no exaggeration to suggest he has been fundamental to the growth of soccer across the US. (Interview begins at 10 mins 30 seconds).
The league is now a thriving 23-team entity, there’s a genuine and unique football fan culture in cities across the States, and the sport has been transformed into a commercial proposition of genuine heft and global significance.
Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall sat down with Garber at the league’s New York headquarters during Leaders Week in the Big Apple back in May, a few short weeks before the US, Mexico and Canada were awarded the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In this comprehensive discussion, Garber reflects on his near-20-year career guiding the league, from his qualifications – or lack thereof – to take the job in the first place, through the early days of trauma and struggle, to the vision, strategic approach and relationship-nurturing that have gone into building and cementing MLS as a genuine major sport.
On the conversational agenda:
- The role of a major league commissioner;
- What could have been for Garber had he not moved from the NFL to MLS in 1999;
- The league’s 10-team, 3-owner nadir and a dinner with ESPN’s John Skipper that proved to be the turning point;
- Long-term leadership lessons and the ones he wouldn’t necessarily have abided by if he had his time again;
- Why he believes the league’s USP is its young, digitally savvy staff;
- Why Gary Bettman should have a statue, and the NFL should never, ever be counted out;
- The deep sense of responsibility Garber feels to owners, fans and public-private stakeholders;
- His secret passion for R&B music and why his first job, at a gas station, was the best one he’s ever had.
Andreas Heyden is arguably the tallest man who’s ever sat down for the Leaders Podcast.
Truly a giant of the digital world, Heyden is CEO of DFL Digital Sports, the digital arm of the Bundesliga and the 36 clubs that make up the top two divisions of German soccer.
Founded in 2015, DFL Digital Sports is one of three daughter companies operating under the aegis of the DFL – the Deutsche Fussball Liga. Sitting alongside production company Sportcast and Bundesliga International, DFL Digital Sports is one of the key in-house entities that has allowed the Bundesliga to control almost every aspect of the German league football value chain.
A team of some 70 people now – mainly based in Cologne – the primary function of the organization is to support the Bundesliga’s domestic and international rights tender processes with bespoke products, and all manner of digital bells and whistles. Having spent 20 years in digital with the likes of I-D Media, Microsoft and German broadcaster RTL before starting his first job in sport in 2015, Heyden, is far better equipped to explain it than me. Which is fortunate.
Andreas and I grabbed a cappuccino during Leaders Week in New York last month. Earlier that morning, we’d been at a breakfast event to announce the opening of a new Bundesliga office in New York.
On the conversational agenda:
- In-house OTT services and whether the Bundesliga is prepared to launch one
- How digital insight and products support the league’s ambitions to win fans and business in international territories
- Why accessibility might be the best weapon in the fight against piracy
- Disruption and why the Bundesliga is working with DAZN, Eleven and Amazon as well as helping the traditional broadcasters to disrupt themselves
- Generation Twitch; AR, VR and the future of the live sports viewing experience
Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall sits down with English Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore.
In a rare and comprehensive one-on-one, Scudamore reflects on his tenure at the top of England’s biggest sports league, and arguably the country’s most visible and successful foreign export.
Since taking charge in 1999, Scudamore has spearheaded an era of unprecedented and extraordinary growth in English football, cementing and extending the Premier League’s status as the number one league in world football. Financial growth has been built largely on the back of pioneering work on the league as a broadcast product. Under Scudamore, domestic rights deals have grown from $900 million for a four-year cycle, to the current three-year domestic deals which are worth over $6.7 billion. International rights in the current cycle are worth another $5.1 billion.
Last week, shortly after concluding a game-changing deal with Amazon that will see the digital retail behemoth move into Premier League broadcasting for the first time, and having reached an agreement with the 20 Premier League teams to tweak the revenue distribution model, Scudamore announced that he would be stepping down from his role at the end of the year.
In the first of a series of conversations between Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall and the most senior figures in world sport, Scudamore sat down for a recording of the Leaders Podcast in the final week of the Premier League season, a few weeks before the announcements were made.
On the conversational agenda:
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- The future of media consumption and why ‘moderated content’ will remain compelling and valuable;
- The Premier League’s commitment to social intervention and community programming;
- The league’s ambitions in esports;
- The potential consequences of Brexit for English football;
- The skillsets required to keep 20 Premier League teams together, all ‘equally dissatisfied’;
- The benefits of government and media scrutiny;
- The leaders Scudamore most admires and his advice for his younger self.
Leaders Week New York kicked off this year with the SAP Sports Forum at the software giant's Hudson Yards HQ.
On the agenda: the technological revolution in sport and how various platforms and applications are shifting the paradigm in both sports business and sports performance.
On the podcast, a roll-call of insight from a catalogue of sports industry innovators, including:
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Alicia Tillman, CMO, SAP - on her plans to use sport to catapult SAP into the top ten most valuable brands in the world;
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Benno Ruwe, Head of Partnerships, Americas, FC Bayern Munich - on how to identify the 'golden customer';
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Fredi Bobic, Executive Board Member, Eintracht Frankfurt - on how data systems helped the club win this year's DFB Pokal;
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Sean Kundu, VP, New Ventures, San Francisco 49ers - on how data insights have saved millions of dollars at the Levi's Stadium;
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Neda Tabatabaie, VP, Business Intelligence, San Jose Sharks - on retention modelling, insight dissemination and more.
How do sports entities approach diversity and inclusion in the workplace? What's working, what isn't - and how can you prove it?
Episode 36 of the Leaders Podcast features a comprehensive discussion on diversity and inclusion across the sports, media and marketing industries.
The panel comprises three of the most sophisticated practitioners in the field:
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Oris Stuart, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the NBA, which has one of the most developed and integrated approaches to inclusivity in world sport;
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Patti Clarke, Chief Talent Officer at the Havas Group, the global marketing and communications giant that employs some 20,000 people across the globe;
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Debra Sercy, Joint-CEO of Grace Blue in the Americas, the executive search firm that specialises in marketing and advertising talent, and now has a division focused on sport.
Also on the agenda:
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What's the difference between diversity and inclusion and why is that distinction important to make?
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How do you attach business metrics to inclusivity, and how do you build those metrics into tangible processes for recruitment and development?
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How should you approach cognitive bias, and what are the best questions to ask in interviews?
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What does best practice look like, and conversely, what should you avoid?
Recorded in New York, and helmed by the Leaders Performance Institute's Saira Jahangir, Patti Clarke kicks things off with an update on a global initiative Havas is rolling out across its regional offices.
What does leadership in the sports industry of 2018 look like? How do you maintain a working culture that prizes dedication and industry but fosters creativity and a sense of flexibility too?
Joining Leaders' James Emmett and David Cushnan on the podcast this week are Wimbledon's Alex Willis and Octagon's Joel Seymour-Hyde, both previous honourees at the Leaders Under 40 Awards.
Willis is Head of Communications, Content & Digital at the AELTC, while Seymour-Hyde is Head of UK at agency giant Octagon. As well as a focus on leadership in sport - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and what the most effective modern-day working practices look like, Willis and Seymour-Hyde, give their perspectives on:
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Sports marketing and sponsorship trends and the integration of content into all manner of deals;
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Rights holders as brands, and the effort to have brand partners singing the same tune but with different voices;
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GDPR and what a new era of data protection and sensitivity means for the sports industry;
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The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia: the positioning challenges associated with hosting the tournament in the country; how to activate partnerships in a range of categories; and what Wimbledon does to respond to a World Cup year;
Nominations for the Leaders Under 40 Class of 2018 close on 25 May. Go on - get yourself a gong.
Patrick Pierce is Vice President of Marketing Partnerships at Etihad Airways, and oversees the Abu Dhabi carrier's sponsorship activities across sport, culture and entertainment.
Standout partnerships currently include deals with Manchester City, the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix, the Abu Dhabi Tour cycling race, Major League Soccer, the Special Olympics, and the Washington Wizards and Capitals NBA and NHL teams.
Chicagoan Pierce joined Etihad in 2015, having previously held sponsorship roles with McDonald's Allstate, and Aon - where he put together the high profile shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United.
On the conversational agenda:
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the differences between the marketing and partnerships approach at Manchester United and Manchester City;
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striking a balance between pursuing pure commercial objectives through partnerships and building Abu Dhabi as a global destination;
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Pierce's approach to activation tactics;
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forging a USP in a competitive regional airline market;
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the best way to approach Etihad with marketing opportunities;
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the airline's marketing obligation to the Emirate and how it makes its sponsorship decisions;
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Etihad's innovative role as both sponsor and rights holder, and the new set of rights that Pierce and his team are marketing.
Pierce is one of the industry leaders taking a role in the judging process for the Leaders Sports Awards. Categories include content creation, on-screen experience, live experience, sponsorship and innovation. Nominations close in May. Go on - get yourself a gong.
Can the Chinese Super League move from flashy transfer spending to sustainable investment and full-house attending? How does the league intend to play its part in youth development across Chinese soccer? And what, exactly, is holding back a nation of 1.4 billion from becoming a genuinely viable and lucrative pay-TV market? In the second of a Chinese football double-header, episode 33 of the Leaders podcast will address all of this, and more.
The Leaders Sport Business Summit will return to Beijing for its second edition on 25th and 26th July this year, and the development of the Chinese football industry, and the challenges and opportunities inherent in it, will form a key part of the agenda.
In this episode of the Leaders podcast, new Chinese Super League (CSL) GM Alex Dong, and Zhao Jun, the CEO of the CSM agency which holds the rights to China's top-tier soccer league, give their inside takes on how far the sport has come in the country, and the direction of travel it finds itself on.
The CSL is, by most objective measures, the number one soccer league in Asia, and its youthful new GM has grand plans for to propel it to a a dominant position. Zhao Jun, meanwhile, is the woman credited with catalysing a period of intense growth in CSL, having signed a deal to take five years' worth of CSL commercial rights for 8 billion Yuan ($1.2 billion) in 2015. That deal turned out to be overly ambitious, but after a period of intense renegotiation, a new agreement worth 11 billion Yuan ($1.7 billion) over ten years was reached in the off season before the current campaign.
For more details on the Leaders Sport Business Summit, visit www.leadersinsport.com
Just what exactly are the transfer rules in the Chinese Super League? Is another global player acquisition frenzy around the corner? Will others follow where Wang Jianlin has led in moving money away from foreign assets and back to domestic sports entities? Episode 32 of the Leaders podcast will have a stab at addressing all these questions, and more.
The Chinese Super League has come a long way since its foundation in 2004. With China's football reforms having called for a tangible split between commercial and logistical operations at the league and its governance overseers at the Chinese Football Association, the decision-making process across Chinese football is nevertheless still fairly labyrinthine and opaque.
In this episode of the Leaders podcast, Beijing-based journalist and presenter Mark Dreyer - the man behind the China Sports Insider sports business news and analysis site - gives his first-hand view on the development of Chinese football, and the direction of travel for sport and sports investments in China.
On the agenda:
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Wang Jianlin and Wanda's return to Dalian;
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Transfer business, player tax, and how it works;
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Decision making, and how it does and doesn't happen;
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Why Chinese players tend to be late developers;
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President Xi Jinping's move to scrap presidential term limits and what it means for sport.
The NBA is so firmly focused on innovation - in the experiences it offers to fans, in its digital engagement strategies, and in its own business practices - that in November 2017 it appointed someone specifically to oversee it.
That someone is Amy Brooks, an NBA executive since 2005, and now Chief Innovation Officer and President of the NBA's Team Marketing and Business Operations unit.
In this episode of the Leaders Podcast, Brooks discusses her role and responsibilities and pinpoints some of the most innovative practices being undertaken across the league.
Also on the agenda:
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The advance of technology and league's open-minded approach;
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Focusing on the core when it comes to new business opportunities, but why that core is not simply sports;
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Why the NBA's global fanbase requires a tech-first media and communications strategy;
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The jersey patch sponsorship inventory and how it's being used to further the fan experience;
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The NBA G-League-Twitch deal and what it might mean for the future of basketball broadcasts.
What's the biggest misconception about PyeongChang 2018? Will NBC's Total Audience Delivery revolutionise Olympic broadcast monetisation? Why have the San Francisco 49ers joined forces with HBSE and CAA to form a new agency? What distinguishes from competitors like Legends?
All these questions, plus many more besides, are tackled in the latest episode of the Leaders Podcast, a double-header featuring SportsBusiness Journal Olympics reporter Ben Fischer, and San Francisco 49ers President and Elevate Sports Ventures CEO Al Guido.
In part one, we put PyeongChang 2018 under the microscope. On the agenda:
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the key storylines to watch over the course of the Winter Olympics;
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the evolution of the IOC's TOP sponsorship programme;
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what NBC needs for these Games to count as a success;
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the Olympic Channel evaluated;
In part two, Al Guido talks us through the launch of Elevate Sports Ventures, explains why the time was right and how the offering is unique, and gives his own SWOT analysis on the agency he's just launched.
Recorded in frosty New York City during Super Bowl week, this week’s episode takes the NFL’s annual glitz and glamathon as its central theme.
Ed Horne, Executive Vice President of Endeavor Global Marketing, the cultural marketing agency that includes aspects of WME and IMG’s shared network, is a busy man this week, activating around the Super Bowl for major brand clients including Marriott, Visa and AB InBev.
Horne is not your average marketer – an ice hockey referee in the NHL and the Winter Olympics in his younger days, he got the sports marketing bug when he snuck his way into the hospitality tents at the Calgary Games in 1988 and realised that the companies he was cadging off were using sport as a genuine platform for business.
As an executive at the NFL, he negotiated the first ever halftime show sponsorship with Frito Lay, and then later, at the NHL, he was central to the negotiations that saw league players allowed to compete in the Olympics.
On the agenda:
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Marriott's Super Bowl stadium-hotel experience and the evolution of experiential activation;
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Is the Super Bowl at commercial saturation point?
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Politics in sports marketing campaigns, the Pepsi protest ad, and why tackling contentious issues might not be a bad idea.
Would you trust the process behind 'Trust the Process'? If you worked with Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O'Neil and his indefatigable CMO Katie O'Reilly you would. (Arguably, you'd have no choice.)
O'Neil is one of the most forward-thinking senior leaders in sport, and he’s renowned for the inspiring working cultures he builds around him - a working culture at the 76ers that has resulted in the franchise consistently topping various NBA commercial tables even with a historically bad team on the court.
As CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), he leads the 76ers organisation in the NBA, as its Prudential Center arena, the New Jersey Devils NHL team, the new Sixers Innovation Lab, and esports outfit Team Dignitas.
On the conversational agenda:
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Onboarding and the the working culture at HBSE and the 76ers;
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The importance of language in the business of sport, 'Trust the Process', and what it means to be 'palms up';
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The nuts and bolts of an NBA international trip, and what the 76ers did with the 200 people they brought from Philadelphia to London last week;
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Building an international content plan around a cosmopolitan team that is finally coming good;
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Forging the next generation of sporting leaders;
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NBA China trivia;
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The Sixers Innovation Lab - what exactly is it?
Visit www.leadersinsport.com for the latest sports industry intelligence and the opportunity to connect with senior leaders from across the global sport business.
Giles Morgan left HSBC towards the end of 2017 and now, he says, he's free to say what he really thinks about sponsorship, about sport, about who's getting it right, and, more pertinently, who's getting it wrong.
Over his 12-year career leading HSBC's sponsorship activities, Morgan sanctioned the spend of over a billion dollars. Over Christmas biscuits and a cup of strong tea in his kitchen, our conversation covers:
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Why he left one of the best jobs in global sport;
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Storytelling and a new nomenclature for sponsorship;
- Toxic rights holders and risk assessment; golf’s issue with women and how HSBC pressed for change; British Cycling’s governance issue - and how a sponsor’s position can remain tenable in adversity;
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Why sponsors need to get edgier in their associations and talk the language of the fan;
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Iconic stadiums as marketing collateral and why some - such as the London Stadium - fail to attract the naming rights sponsorship they want;
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Why there's a lack of takers for a string of blue-riband sponsorship opportunities across British sport;
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When hospitality activation goes wrong - an episode from a Lions tour.
What better time to talk about cricket than in the bleak midwinter? Should traversability be a fundamental aspect of any cricket ground? With a new short-form competition around the corner and a significant new media rights deal in the bag, what's the future for the sport in Britain?
Surrey County Cricket Club CEO Richard Gould is the guest on this week's edition of the Leaders Podcast; the former tank commander and Bristol City commercial executive tackles the full gamut of cricket business topics, including:
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In the wake of another Ashes defeat, is the English county system fit for purpose?
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The ongoing process to revamp and grow the Kia Oval to a 40,000-capacity venue
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The sometimes challenging relationship between Surrey and the English cricket's governing body, the ECB
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Iron Maiden
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Technology in stadia
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Healthy competition with Lord's
This episode also includes a look back on 2017 and a glance ahead to 2018 with SportBusiness International Editor Ben Cronin and International Paralympic Committee Marketing Director Alexis Schaefer.
What does the next generation in-stadium experience look like? How does a tech-focused sports stadium stay ahead of the game? When will the NFL bring in jersey sponsorship patches?
These were just three of the questions put to San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido when he visited the Leaders office in London earlier this month.
At 38 years old, Guido is one of the youngest operational leaders in the NFL. Having held senior executive roles at hospitality and sales agency Legends and the Dallas Cowboys before formally joining the 49ers in 2014, Guido is already one of the most seasoned commercial thinkers operating in football today.
In the interview, which begins at 16:46, Guido covers:
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His international research into the best sporting experiences;
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Stadium tech and in-seat deliveries: the real numbers;
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Winning off the field despite losing on it;
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The next breakthrough in in-stadium revenue generation models;
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Gambling, jersey patches and future NFL revenue streams.
The interview is preceded by a Leaders Podcast debut for new Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan, who ushers in a new era with a new feature: Cushnan's Conversational Crumbs (working title). On the agenda: SBJ's 50 Most Influential list, Donald Trump's impact on the sports industry, and a word on MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
When will the Olympics reach a 50/50 gender balance? Is esports really a viable Olympic programme proposition? Can China realistically achieve its objective of introducing 300 million people to winter sports participation by 2022?
These questions, plus a fair number of others, are tackled in the latest edition of the Leaders Podcast with IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell, who spoke to James Emmett over a jasmine tea in a hotel lobby in Beijing, hours before the final round of the Infiniti 2017 Air and Style Beijing FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup event.
McConnell worked on the organising committee for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, moving to Switzerland thereafter to take a role in the sports department at the IOC. He joined rugby's global governing body, then the International Rugby Board, in 2002, and was Rugby World Cup Tournament Director for 11 years, before rejoining the IOC in 2013 as Sports Director.
McConnell is a key modernising force within the Olympic movement, tasked with integrating new, youth-oriented sports and disciplines into the programme. Golf and rugby joined the programme for the Rio Games in 2016, but there will be five new sports at Tokyo 2020, as well as host of new disciplines in existing sports, and a new mixed relay events too.
With all these snackable digital tidbits around, is there room for a full three-course content dinner? A few months into the EFL's international OTT venture, how is the new service performing? How have the Milwaukee Bucks built the fan experience into the design concept for their new arena? Why is the data on in-stadium queuing times trying to lie to you? And if the Seattle Sounders had a sound, what sound would it be?
All these questions answered, and many more besides, in this, the third and final podcast instalment from behind-the-scenes at Leaders Week.
In a series of backstage conversations recorded at the Social Fanlytics event, and the Ultimate Fan Experience, you'll hear from:
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EFL Marketing Director Drew Barrand
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Minnesota Vikings Executive Director of Digital and Innovation Scott Kegley
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Infront Sports & Media's Media and Marketing Competence Centre Director David Cipullo
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Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin
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IOC Head of Sports Partnerships and Coordination Jenny Mann
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Chicago Bulls Behavioural Scientist Kevin Brilliant
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Seattle Sounders Chief Operating Officer Bart Wiley
Subscribe to the Leaders Podcast today on iTunes, Stitcher or your chosen podcast platform for a fortnightly hit from inside the sports industry.
Why can't a pure-play OTT sports broadcast service guarantee consistent service? Where will Amazon's sports rights strategy take it and when? When will consumers reach their 'skinny bundle' price point threshold? Has sports broadcasting been disrupted?
Remarkably, all four of these questions - and many more besides - are answered in this edition of the Leaders Podcast, which takes in a series of behind-the-scenes conversations at the Broadcast Disruptors event, which kicked off Leaders Week in London in early October this year.
In this episode, you'll hear from:
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James Rushton, CEO of DAZN, who gives his honest report card on the first year of the OTT broadcaster's service, and explains why little mistakes are not the end of the world;
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Jo Binding, VP ofInternational Digital for Discovery Networks International, on Amazon's will-they-won't-they entrance into the sports broadcast world, and the difficulty of delivering OTT sports services;
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Gareth Capon, CEO of Grabyo, on producing for a multi-screen world and why consumer behaviour is driving technological delivery methods and content types.
Marketing industry bellwether Sir Martin Sorrell kicked off this year's Leaders Sport Business Summit and he kickstarted this behind-the-scenes podcast too. Nic Coward, the man tasked with interviewing Sir Martin, gives his assessment of the discussion.
This collection of conversations also includes:
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Sir Dave Brailsford on a turn as questioner rather than questioned as he reflects on a conversation with Billy Beane - very much Marginal Gains meets Moneyball.
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Rich Gotham, President of the Boston Celtics, talking about cold meets before he’s interrupted by Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil and a discussion on NBA jersey patches, dynamic ticketing and more ensues.
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Irina Pavlova, former President of Onexim Sports & Entertainment, on an intimidating run out with WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon and her plans for a new role in London.
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Reflections on monetizing digital platforms – with insight from FT CEO John Ridding, Conde Nast’s Dolly Jones and Keith Grossman from Bloomberg via Omnigon Chief Commercial Officer Dave Nugent.
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Lewis Wiltshire on Legendary Entertainment’s Matt Marolda and Moneyball for movies and the major social platforms and their likely – or unlikely - moves into sport.
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Gerry Cardinale, founder and CEO of RedBird Capital, and the man behind the creation of the YES Network and Legends Hospitality, on where to find the real value in sport.
Ever wondered why Richard Branson has such a penchant for ludicrous sportswear?
It's possible that Mary Wittenberg was thinking the same thing when she opted to leave her job as CEO of the New York City Marathon organiser the New York Road Runners (NYRR) to lead Branson's sports participation start-up Virgin Sport in 2015.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Wittenberg covers:
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Branson's pitch to her and why she left NYRR;
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The purpose-driven mission of Virgin Sport and how it's tapping into the mass participation boom;
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The commercial opportunities associated with holding 'festivals of sport' in the UK and US;
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The organisation's goal to get people active, and how it starts with number one;
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Why Airbnb is a model organisation for people in the 'experience business';
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The factors fuelling the mass-participation boom, and the practitioners and applications offering something new.
Brian Cookson has been President of the International Cycling Union (UCI) UCI since 2013. Seeking a second four-year term in office, the Englishman faces a vote at the UCI Congress on 21st September.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Cookson discusses the key battleground areas between his campaign and that of his election opponent, David Lappartient, and reviews the milestone moments of this presidency thus far, including:
- restoring the integrity of cycling
- re-establishing relations with WADA
- Undertaking and enacting the recommendations of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission
- introducing the women's WorldTour
We also touch on:
- international federations as regulators naturally opposed to monopolies and the UCI's relationship with Tour de France organiser ASO
- the ambitions of Chinese conglomerate Wanda in cycling
- new formats
- discredited people being welcomed back into the sport
- the pros and cons of taking a major sporting event to Qatar
Marc Watson is the Executive Chairman of global sports broadcast newcomer Eleven Sports.
A long-time sports media executive, Watson was the CEO of BT TV who masterminded the daring raid on the Premier League rights and BT’s subsequent entrance into the UK sports broadcast landscape in 2012. He left BT in 2014, spent some time away, before hooking up with Andrea Radrizzani – of MP & Silva fame – to take a role in his old pal’s new business empire, Aser Media.
Eleven Sports is the gleaming broadcast jewel in the Aser crown. According to Watson, it's the world's fastest growing sports network and an example of what can be achieved in this age of stripped down and nimble OTT broadcast distribution.
Launching with just three-months’ notice in 2015, the network now includes 17 services in seven markets across the world with 14 million paying customers. The network has different but significant services in the likes of Belgium, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Italy and the US and it seems like they’re doing rights deals on a regular basis, with EFL rights, MMA rights, and Drone Racing some of the latest acquisitions.
In this conversation, Watson covers: - how to break into new markets with broadcast products; - what he expects from Amazon and the social networks in the sports broadcast market; - why he considers Perform and DAZN to be the bravest players in the sports media market today; - and why Italy and Africa are ripe with opportunity.
Leaders is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2017. In July, we threw a little party at the Getty Images Gallery in central London. We brought drinks, an ice sculpture, a magician, a caricaturist, some cupcakes and a microphone. We used the microphone to record a series of backstage interviews for this podcast.
Casting an eye back at the milestone moments across the last ten years in the sports industry, and an eye forward to what the next ten years might bring, a variety of industry figures spoke their minds.
On the podcast, you'll hear from:
Facebook's EMEA Sports Partnerships Lead Jerry Newman on: - Social VR - Being a rights holder at heart - The Facebook sports partnerships department view on Mark Zuckerberg's potential run for president
Racecourse Media Group CEO Richard FitzGerald on: - The development and maturity of the racing business - Which OTT platforms to keep an eye on in the coming years
BT Sport COO Jamie Hindhaugh on: - Why he's excited about object-based delivery
FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis on: - The new snow sports facilities in northern China and the country's chance of turning its promise to create 300 million new winter sports participants on the back of Beijing 2022 into reality
Nolan Partners Founder Paul Nolan on: - The art of networking
YouTube's EMEA Head of Sport Tomos Grace on: - esports and digital proliferation
This week’s guest is Giles Morgan, global head of sponsorship & events at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, aka’d as HSBC.
HSBC spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on sponsorship activity - and receives 11,000 sponsorship requests per year – and as you’ll hear from the first topic of conversation, we discuss how to break through the noise with your pitch to Giles and his team.
Also on the agenda: - How the HSBC sponsorship team keeps up with the bank’s business objectives – no mean feat for a global organisation of 250,000 employees; - How to deal with internal pushback on marketing decisions; - The bank’s flagship sponsorships in golf and rugby, as well as it’s fabulously successful and highly visible long-running airbridge advertising campaign – we might also find out what Giles’s favourite airport is; - The bank’s new deal with British Cycling and why cycling is increasingly appealing to the marketing teams at financial institutions; - And we find out how, working in an organisation of data-loving bankers, HSBC measures sponsorship ROI.
Enjoy the podcast – like, subscribe etc – and, actually, why not recommend the podcast to a friend or colleague.
A tale of two parks as Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett chats to Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark in London Fields before nipping across town to sit down with digital transformation specialist Luis Vicente in Wimbledon's South Park Gardens.
On the agenda with Yormark: - Year 5 in Brooklyn - Content programming across the Barclays Center, Nassau Memorial Veterans Coliseum, Webster Hall, and the Paramount - The Gatorade deal that's changed the D-League into the G-League - Suits - Fraternal competition
On the agenda with former Manchester City and Valencia exec Vicente: - Sports businesses as communities within a wider media, innovation and tech ecosystem - Facebook, and Dugout - do clubs know what they've got themselves into? - BT Sport and Eurosport - broadcast innovators - LinkedIn as thought leadership platform - Digital natives vs digital immigrants
Enjoy, like, subscribe, comment, review - you know the deal.
Beatrice Lee is CEO of BSI VR. The former MD for the Asia-Pacific region for MP & Silva, Lee was part of the senior leadership team when the media rights agency was bought by Chinese firms Baofeng and Everbright in May last year.
BSI - Baofeng Sports International - VR is a joint venture between tech giant Baofeng and Aser Media, the holding company set up by former MP & Silva boss Andrea Radrizzani for his multiple business interests.
Lee is on the Advisory Board for the Leaders Sport Business Summit in China on 21st July, so naturally the conversation dwelt on the growth of the Chinese sports industry, as well as her time in the Beijing office for Infront in the build-up to the Beijing Games in 2008.
Also on the agenda: Lee's formative years in Malaysia, studying communications at Penang University; VR and the proposition for sporting rights holders; the differences between Total Sports Asia, Infront, and MP & Silva - all former employers of Lee; and Premier League international media rights - will the bubble burst?
Tim Leiweke is probably best known as the long-time CEO of AEG, where he spent 18 years and was hailed as a visionary leader, before leaving the sports and entertainment giant suddenly in 2013, pitching up not long afterwards in Toronto as CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
Almost three years later, he was back in his adopted home of LA, this time starting his own venue specialist operation, Oak View Group – or OVG – which he launched alongside his partners music biz legend Irving Azoff and the Madison Square Garden company.
James visited Tim in his well-appointed office in Westwood, Los Angeles, on a cloudless February or March day this year.
On the conversational agenda:
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OVG: What is it? Why did he leave Toronto so quickly to launch it? And is it competing with AEG?
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The arena business in general: how to fill them, how to commercialise them, how to programme them, how to secure them, how to service them, and how to pick opportunities in the space;
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David Beckham in Miami – and why that Major League Soccer project will happen;
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a new Kevin Plank-driven arena project in Baltimore;
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why Tim would never have given the go-ahead to AEG’s O2 project in London had he had real skin in the game;
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secondary ticketing; and the next frontier for content in major global arenas.
Ioris Francini is Co-President of agency giant WME | IMG.
He joined IMG, the granddaddy of the sports agency world, in the early 2000s through its Trans World International events arm. In 2007, he was made Head of Sales for the EMEA region for IMG Media.
By 2010, he had been made a Senior Vice President and Head of Sales worldwide at IMG Media, and in 2012 he was made an Executive Vice President with the added responsibility of heading up acquisitions, a not inconsiderable show of trust given the risk inherent in rights arbitrage.
When the William Morris Endeavour (WME) agency bought IMG in December 2013, Francini was on the rise again, becoming president of IMG’s events and media division, before, last year, taking a new role as Co-President of the whole shebang.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Francini covers:
- Last year's acquisition of the UFC in a reported $4 billion deal. How will WME | IMG make a return?
- How the decision-making process works at the global agency, between himself and the organisation's other Co-President, Mark Shapiro, and its high profile Co-CEOs, Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell;
- A new method for doing business in China: WME | IMG's 2.0 approach to the region;
- OTT, Amazon, DAZN, and BAMTech; the blurring of the traditional media rights and distribution boundaries; and the unbalancing of an industry;
- How the agency is progressing with its relationships in cycling, its commercial link-up with Giro d'Italia organiser RCS Sport, and its plans to re-engineer cycling's early season spring classics;
- How WME | IMG shook up Euroleague basketball and reaped the rewards;
- The rumours that WME | IMG is heading for an IPO.
Leaders have been running exclusive, relaxed gatherings away from the quotidian mind wharp that is the modern day office environment for a number of years. This year was no different, as 50 sports industry executives - rights holders, brands and broadcasters - gathered in Lisbon for the annual Leaders Retreat.
Armed with mic and a persuasive manner, Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall and Editorial Director James Emmett wandered the room to get some hot takes on various facets of the industry.
On this episode, you'll hear from: - AEG Europe VP Yanni Andreopoulos, who delivers a tasty stat on YouTube consumption per capita – the result, so the clickbait headline would have it, will shock you.
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Next, we’ll hear from Alex Willis, Head of Comms, Content and Digital at Wimbledon, on the celebrity-driven content marketplace we operate in, and, well, grass
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Former Norwich City marketing director, current MK Dons Executive Director Andy Cullen confirms there are no skeletons in Jimmy Worrall’s cupboard, and Richard Kenyon, Director of Marketing and Comms at Everton, explains how he aims to keep things intimate if and when the Premier League side move to a spanking new stadium
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Next up, Sina Sports’ Sam Li talks China, eSports, and an exciting new event on the horizon, while Eredivisie CEO Alex Tielbeke tells it like it is on a tough time in Dutch football
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Uefa’s Head of Revenue Operations Philippe Margraff carries Jimmy’s sun cream, and gives us a glimpse into Uefa’s new sponsorship approach
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Arsenal Business Development Director Peter Silverstone looks ahead to the club’s pre-season tour, and finally ITV’s Tom Graham surveys the changing broadcast landscape and gives his thoughts on the new digital players.
Janet Evans is a Vice-Chair of Los Angeles' bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, and Chair of its Athletes' Commission.
The LA native is a three-time Olympic athlete, and four-time gold medallist, having won medals in the pool at Seoul '88 and Barcelona '92. She's a competitor to her bones, and even had a stab at the US Olympic trials for the London 2012 Games at the age of 40.
Evans sat down to record a Leaders Podcast on a beautiful mid-March day in LA at USC, her alma mater, and the home of the downtown sports park should LA win the right to host the 2024 Games.
Evans gives us a glimpse of the inner workings of an Olympic bid campaign and looks ahead to the factors that she hopes will swing it for LA when the IOC votes in Peru in September.
Peter Moore was appointed as the new CEO of Liverpool FC in late February. The Liverpudlian will take up the new role in June, joining from video games giant EA.
One of the most popular presenters at Leaders over the years, Moore has delivered various keynotes in his roles as President of EA Sports, COO of EA, and just this past October as Chief Competition Officer at EA.
Before joining EA, Moore spent 17 years in sporting goods, at Reebok, and he’s a Liverpool lad through and through.
The session you’re about to hear is Moore's keynote address from the Leaders Sport Business Summit in October 2016. The session title is ‘The Art of Competition – EA Harnessing Community Power to Drive Engagement’ – and in it, Moore details the work EA is doing in eSports – or what they prefer to call the world of competitive gaming – a growing, and as he himself admits, confusing space.
Peter Hutton joined Eurosport as CEO in 2015, shortly after the pan-European broadcaster's acquisition by Discovery.
Since that point, Hutton has overseen the continued evolution of the Eurosport brand, its transition from old world European broadcast outpost to modern, global multimedia player, its ramp-up of rights acquisitions, including a landmark deal with the International Olympic Committee, and its continued forays into cutting edge distribution methods.
A commentator and journalist in his youth, Hutton has held a variety of production and executive roles at key sports media organisations across the world, including the BBC, Sky, IMG, Ten Sports, ESPN Star Sports, Fox Sports and MP & Silva.
Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and SportsBusiness Journal Executive Editor Abe Madkour look back on the key bits of business that shaped the sporting world in 2016.
As these things so often go, they also look ahead to 2017, and what's in store for the sports industry next year.
Are the lower broadcast ratings being registered by the NFL anything to worry about?
Not according to SportsBusiness Journal Executive Editor Abe Madkour, who makes his Leaders Podcast bow direct from Charlotte, USA.
Madkour joins Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett to talk uninspiring match-ups, football fatigue, and cord-cutting, before flagging the encouraging MLB World Series ratings as an indicator that the sky is not falling in on the traditional sports broadcast model.
The pair also look forward to an exciting future for Formula One under the sports industry's finest moustache in new Chairman Chase Carey, celebrate the sweetspot that the NBA finds itself in, and re-confirm their Olympic wager in the race to host the 2024 Games.
In the second half of the podcast, KPMG's Global Head of Sport introduces his firm's new soccer clubs valuation report. The research document gives credible enterprise values to the European elite in soccer for the first time.
Sartori explains that, while Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona dominate proceedings with respective enterprise values all hovering around the 3 billion euro mark, the overall size of the European soccer industry is actually relatively small.
He also explains the reason behind the gulf opening up between the English clubs and their Italian counterparts.
Canadian Keith Pelley was hired as CEO of the European Tour in April 2015. Replacing George O'Grady in the role, Pelley joined from Rogers Media, where he was President and acquainted with the art of the multi-billion dollar rights deal.
His media background gives him a perspective on the changing nature of the way people are consuming European Tour golf.
An advocate of change, of modernisation, Pelley intends to shake up the tour with a host of new innovations.
Those innovations were very much on the table in our discussion at Wentworth in the late English summer sunshine.
Listen to the podcast to find out:
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Keith Pelley's plans for multiple new formats across the European Tour
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His thoughts on Olympic golf, the absent 'Zika boys', and the future of the movement
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His recommendations for where and how to watch hockey in the UK, and the hottest sports industry hang-outs in Virginia Water
Elkhan Mammadov is approaching his tenth year as General Secretary of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA). Taking on the role when he was just 28, Mammadov's tenure has coincided with a concerted national push not just into football, but into the the sports industry in general.
With the European Games, the Formula One European Grand Prix in Baku, four games of Uefa's Euro 2020 tournament (not to mention the Eurovision Song Contest), Azerbaijan is using sport to cement its global perception as a European nation, and to position itself as an elite, regional sporting hub.
In the podcast, we discuss:
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Mammadov's role in Baku's unsuccessful bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games and when the city might bid again.
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The structure he has put in place at the AFFA and the focus on youth and women's soccer that has seen the number of registered female players in the country rise from just 25 in 2010, to over 6,000 today. Azerbaijan's successful hosting of the 2012 Fifa Women's Under-17 World Cup was the first time a Muslim nation has hosted a Fifa women's tournament, and the step change inside the country is now evident.
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Euro 2020; the bidding process that saw Baku given its chance to host; the unique atmosphere that can be expected; and the prospect of unruly visiting fans.
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New Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin; the role the AFFA played in his election victory; and what we can expect from him in the future.
IMG Media Head of North America runs a conversational gamut with Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett.
"This was way too much fun," said Hillary Mandel, politely, as the recording of this podcast drew to a close. And she was right. Mandel is one of the most engaging agency figures in the game.
As Head of North America for IMG Media, Mandel is tasked with the marketing and distribution tens of thousands of hours of sports content every year. Our conversation took place in IMG's Hell's Kitchen office, soon to be vacated for new, combined digs in Flatiron, at the end of May this year, on the eve of the Copa America Centenario, for which IMG had distributed media rights internationally.
Her landmark deals include Wimbledon's move to ESPN in the US, and the Open Championship's tie-up with NBC.
The wide-ranging discussion covers the impact of these deals, plus:
- IMG as a content business
- The new WME ownership era
- Scandal and how to guard against malpractice
- The NHL's opportunity to catch up with its international ambitions
- Gender equality in the sports industry and the responsibility to create balanced working cultures
- The nuts and bolts of deal-making, and how to keep people onside
- New York, New York- where to go, what to eat, and who to see
Leaders Week takes place this year from 4th to 7th October at Stamford Bridge in London. The Leaders Sport Business Summit will run from 5th to 6th October, and Leaders Meet: the Game Changers takes place on 7th October. www.leadersinsport.com
From the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York this March, former Coca-Cola marketer Scott McCune helms a discussion on the merits, measurements and impacts that come with an official Olympic association.
On the panel:
- Janet Fletcher, brand director, Olympics & Sports Marketing at Proctor & Gamble
- Trudy Hardy, VP of marketing at BMW North America
- Phil Pacsi, VP consumer marketing at Bridgestone North America
- Lisa Baird, CMO, US Olympic Committee
On the agenda:
- The birth, evolution and impact of P&G's game-changing 'Thank you, Mom' campaign
- BMW's integration into the fabric of US Olympic preparation and performance
- Bridgestone's first crack at an Olympic Games: why it's activating in the US, Brazil, South Korea and Japan only this year
- The link between a US presidential election and a Summer Games, and why the American public might need a feel-good dose of healthy patriotism a little more than usual
Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett sits down with Richard Lewis, Chief Executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the Wimbledon Championships, to discuss the club's first ever integrated global marketing campaign: In pursuit of greatness.
The former player and RFL chairman also discusses:
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How he translated a career in sport to a career in sport business
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The AELTC's relationship with the LTA
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Why Rod Laver owes him his money back
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The famous Wimbledon queue and why it's one of the best marketing tools in world sport