KiteTalks - Sport • Insight • Inspiration: Recent Episodes
Kite Talks
Current focus:Abhinav Bindra Foundation (http://www.abhinavbindrafoundation.org/)
Past Highlights: First Indian Olympic Gold Medalist, Member of the IOC Athletes' Commission and Vice Chairman of Abhinav Futuristics Pvt. Ltd.
Expertise: Leadership, motivational speaker, entrepreneurship, sport Innovation and excellence.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinav-bindra/
Current focus: JSW Sports Pvt Ltd
Past Highlight: Mumbai City FC and LOC FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman812/
Current focus: International Institute of Sports Management
Past Highlight: International cricketer
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilesh-kulkarni-7854a8a7/
Past Highlights: FIFA and AFC.
Expertise: Consulting, football management & development and project management.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaji-prabhakaran-38bb365/
Past Highlights: ITV Sport and BBC Sport.
Expertise: Expressive style of commentary.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-drury-4952651b/
Current focus: Red Card Global & Kuvira Capital.
Past Highlights: ESPN, Star Sports and Dentsu.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-sasikumar/
Current focus:Sportcor (https://www.sportcor.com/)
Past Highlights: Sports Partnerships at Facebook and General Manager at IMG Reliance.
Expertise: Sport technology and fan engagement.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to her public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/asham/
Past Highlights: GMR Marketing and NFL.
Expertise: Fan engagement, sponsorship and business strategy.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briangainor/
Past Highlights: Facebook, La liga and Sony.
Expertise: Live sport broadcast and content creation.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manas-gera-10109a75/
Current focus: Facebook
Past Highlights: Sony Ten, Newcastle United and BBC.
Expertise: Live sport broadcast, start up operations, building teams in multicultural environments, data analysis and content creation.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjoemorrison/
Current focus: Canadian Hockey League
Past Highlights: TSN, S&B and S&E Sponsorship Group.
Expertise: Sponsorship Acquisition, Marketing and Sales.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishilalchl/
Current focus: Prime Volleyball League | Baseline Ventures (http://www.baselineventures.com/)
Past Highlights: FIFA U-17 World Cup, Kolkata Knight Riders and ESPN.
Expertise: Sports Marketing, Media, Content Creation and Execution.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joybhattacharjya/
Current focus: Dentsu Sports Vietnam
Past Highlight: Dentsu X and Dentsu Media Vietnam
Expertise: Sports Marketing
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to her public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chinara-abdykadyrova-71ab2738/
Ashok Rathod
Founder & Executive Director at OSCAR Foundation
Here is the link to Ashok’s public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashok-rathod-bb900421/
Aditya KV
Founder and CEO at UMOYA Sports
Past Highlight: PSG Football Academy India, Teach for India and TCS.
Here is the link to Aditya’s public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditya-kv-0821b531/
Recorded August 2021.
Current focus: InSport Education
Past Highlights: Altius Sports Limited, Square Mile Sport and CSM Sport.
Expertise: Revenue generation, partnership development, commercial growth, business growth and relationship development.
Recorded August 2021.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-parr-95278b2/
Ananya Sachdev
Strategist, Global Sports Business, Rakuten
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ananya-sachdev-214598149/
Anđelija Milovanović
Public Relations Manager, University Sports Federation of Belgrade
https://www.linkedin.com/in/an%C4%91elija-milovanovi%C4%87-539aa7175/
Paniz Yousefi
IOC Young Leader
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paniz-yousefi/
Current focus: Stepania & Associates LLC
Past Highlight: Played in the NBA with Seattle SuperSonics, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat & Portland Trailblazers
Expertise: Entrepreneurship & Basketball
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimir-stepania-5b373420/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (https://www.fifa.com/)
Past Highlight: 15+ years at Chinese Football Association
Expertise: Competitions Management, Leadership & Stakeholder Management
Here is a link to her public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-lu-732014138/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Soccer Starts At Home
Past Highlight: Presenting the “Tomsan's Soccer Technics” Corner on TV Tokyo's morning Show for 14 years
Expertise: Youth Football Development & Strategic Planning
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tombyer/
https://twitter.com/tomsan106
Recorded May 2020. Trailer - https://youtu.be/Iz6EKhFDmIo
Current focus: Japan Football Association (http://www.jfa.jp/eng/)
Past Highlight: First job was working in the Japan World Cup Organising Committee in 2002
Expertise: Football Competitions & Youth Development Strategy
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suminori-gokoh-61516446/
Recorded June 2020.
Current focus: Global Institute of Sports Business (https://gisbindia.com/)
Past Highlight: 6 years at Major League Soccer in United States
Expertise: Leadership, Youth Development & Education
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/neel-shah-63b3843/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: FIFA (https://www.fifa.com/)
Past Highlight: President’s Office at FFF and Senior Advisor to the French Prime Minister on Youth, Sport and Associations
Expertise: Strategy, Governance and International Relations
Here are the links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennyjeanmarie/
https://twitter.com/kenny_jeanmarie
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Sports Marketing & PR Roundup (https://joefavorito.com/)
Past Highlight: 5 years at New York Knicks
Expertise: Public Relations, Strategic Communication & Branding
Here are the links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joefavorito/
https://twitter.com/joefav
Recorded May 2020. Trailer - https://youtu.be/q6ZEhrAcZB4
Current focus:https://topya.in/home/ &https://nacfun.com/home/
Past Highlight: Responsible for up to $250 Million P&L
Expertise: Entrepreneurship, Business Consulting & Investing
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/faisaljsyed/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Infront Sports (https://www.infront.sport/)
Past Highlight: 8+ years at FIFA
Expertise: Marketing Operations, Sponsorship & Commercial Stakeholder Management
Here is a link to her public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-hoellerl-22305995/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: CBS360 Unwired Networks (https://www.cbssports.com/)
Past Highlight: 7+ years at WPIX-TV
Expertise: Sales & Sponsorship
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-mangan-75623b4/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Inventive Sports (https://www.inventivesports.co.uk/), Asian Football Awards (http://www.asianfootballawards.com/) & Asian Cricket Awards (http://www.asiancricketawards.co.uk/)
Expertise: Player Management
Here are the links to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/baljitrihal/
https://twitter.com/BaljitRihal
Recorded June 2020.
Current focus: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (https://twitter.com/FIFAcom)
Past Highlight: 7+ years at The Football Association
Expertise: Digital, Media & Public Relations Strategy
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-stone-49338352/
https://twitter.com/AlexStone7
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Fédération Française de Rugby (https://www.ffr.fr/)
Past Highlight: Master's degree in sports law and been working with FFR since 2006
Expertise: International Relations & Rugby Development
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilles-mege-28b30281/
https://twitter.com/gillesmege
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: University of South Carolina (https://sc.edu/study/majors_and_degrees/sport_and_entertainment_management.php)
Past Highlight: Ph.D., Recreation, Sports & Tourism from University of Illinois
Expertise: Sports Management Education & Research
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-watanabe-51303731/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Star Sports, Star TV Network (https://www.startv.com/about-us/sports/)
Past Highlight: 5+ years at Turner Broadcasting
Expertise: Broadcast Technology & Content Delivery Operations
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/khannaprashant/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: McCormack Center for Sport Research & Education (https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/centers/mccormack-center-for-sport-research-and-education)
Past Highlight: 3+ years at Stats LLC (now Stats Perform)
Expertise: Sport Management Education & Research
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/willnorton1/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Football Marketing Asia (https://footballmarketingasia.com/)
Past Highlight: 6 years at National Basketball Association in China
Expertise: Partnership Management and Marketing
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuo-chen-7632b118/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Festival International des Sports Extrêmes (https://www.fise.fr/en) & Hurricane (http://www.hurcn.com/en/)
Past Highlight: In 2002 FISE welcomes 1000 riders and 200,000 spectators
Expertise: Entrepreneurship, Events & Actions Sports
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/herv%C3%A9-andre-benoit/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Inspire Institute of Sport (https://www.inspireinstituteofsport.com/)
Past Highlight: 9 years at Swimming South Africa
Expertise: High Performance Sport & Leadership
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushdee-warley-b6847a7/
https://twitter.com/rushdee18
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Sport Innovation Society (https://www.sis.news/) & Global Sports Week (https://globalsportsweek.com/)
Past Highlight: 6+ years at Havas Sports & Entertainment
Expertise: Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnauddrijard/
https://twitter.com/ArnaudDrijard
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: LFP - League de Football Professionnel (https://www.lfp.fr/)
Past Highlight: 6+ years at Keneo (Parent organization: Dentsu Aegis Network )
Expertise: Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability
Here is the link to her public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/margot-chave-869322b/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Sports 1 Marketing (https://sports1marketing.com/) & The Playbook Podcast (https://dmeltzer.com/)
Expertise: Entrepreneurship, Business & Leadership
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeltzer2/
https://twitter.com/davidmeltzer
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: MCA Sports Law LLP (https://mcasportslaw.com/)
Past Highlight: Legal Advisor to AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 & 11+ years advising Qatar Football Association
Expertise: International Sports Law (https://mcasportslaw.com/expertise/)
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-cockburn-672174157/
Recorded May 2020.
Current focus: Open Sponsorship (https://opensponsorship.com/)
Past Highlight: Inc Top 100 Female Founder, 2019 | Forbes 30 Under 30, Sports Category
Expertise: Technology, Entrepreneurship & Athlete Marketing
Here are the links to her public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishveenanand/
https://twitter.com/IshveenAnand
Recorded April 2020.
Current focus: Consulting (http://www.d11helsinki.com/)
Past Highlight: 6+ years at National Football League in the United States handling Digital from 2000 to 2006
Expertise: Technology, Apparel & International Marketing
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikkosimon/
Recorded April 2020.
Having started off as an athlete and now working on the administrative side of college athletics, Stephen talks about his experiences and views having seen the system on both sides as well as how the structure is getting even more organised and commercial than it already is.
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-herishen-37749217/
Recorded April 2019.
With more than a decade with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, John talks about his experience with the organisation and the different roles he has played over the years within the legal department.
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-warren-34536436/
Recorded April 2019.
Having worked with multiple organisations like UNCTAD and FIFA, Mike brings a unique perspective that helps us understand the world of sustainable investment and governance and how the current organisation he works for helps developing countries make educated decisions using research and global case studies.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-pfister-b5356118/
Recorded May 2019.
Having worked with multiple professional teams, Joe brings a great amount of experience in partnership marketing and sponsorship and talks about his experiences at MSG as well as interesting stories and takeaways from his current role at Verizon Wireless.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-clementi-b545268/
Recorded May 2019.
Having worked for multiple years in college athletics specifically with one of the United States' oldest and most recognised institutions - Stanford University, Theo takes us through some stories and marketing activations done with fans. He also touches on his current role at Technogym, equipment providers for the Olympic Games.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/theophilusmitchell/
Recorded July 2019.
Having done his MBA from Yale and then working with the NBA helping with international business, Bruno brings a great amount of knowledge in the global content and sports rights space and talks about his experience working with Perform Group across multiple continents and now DAZN in Brasil.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brurocha/
Recorded May 2019.
With great understanding of online ad sales on both the publisher and brand side, Rob talks about his experience in the space as well as discusses stories from working in the sports digital media space with his own company.
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cressy/
https://twitter.com/robcressy
April 2019.
Data, analytics, ROI, digital reach, all words Sivaram knows too well. He talks about his time working with the National Basketball League (NBA) as well as his current role with NBCUniversal Media.
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivaramsukumar/
Recorded May 2019.
Working on the league side as well as venue side specifically in partnership marketing and sponsorship, Josh brings a unique perspective with experience working with brands like Fedex, AT&T, Barclays and others. He talks about his experience working at the Super Bowl too.
Here is a link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshpage16/
Recorded April 2019.
Helping sports businesses in the digital space for a decade, Sean takes us through his experiences with Sports Geek and also talks about how he now finds himself as an owner of an Esports team and challenges accompanied with that.
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancallanan/
https://twitter.com/seancallanan
Recorded April 2019.
With his wealth of experience consulting with organisations like FIFA, AFC, UEFA and others, Geoff gives us his views on sports business consulting and some stories working with local and global federations as well.
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffwnjwilson/
https://twitter.com/geoffwnjwilson
Recorded May 2019.
Using data and analytics at a really large scale to develop strategies and effectively reach audiences across different geographies is something Charlie has been doing for over a decade with Major League Soccer (MLS). He discusses this along with stories from his experience and talks about where football is headed in the United States. Charlie also talks about his experience as an adjunct professor at New York University.
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlieshin/
https://twitter.com/CRMinSports
Recorded April 2019.
Having worked with the NFL team New York Jets for five years and with KORE on CRM solutions for sports businesses, Russell brings a great amount of knowledge in the space and understanding of what it takes to build relationships with all stakeholders. 'Fragmentation' is the keyword to understand.
Here are links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rscibetti/
https://twitter.com/rscibetti
http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/
Recorded May 2019.
Having completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Sport Management, Brian brings an academic yet industry focussed perspective that helps us understand the environmental behaviour and attitudes of sports organisations and their sustainability initiatives using research and case studies.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpmcullough/
https://www.sportecology.org/
Recorded June 2019.
A seasoned sports marketing veteran, Ray takes us through details of some of the work his company does within the broad United States college sports landscape. He also discusses marketing, sponsorship and broadcast rights in a changing sports business media market.
Here are the links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raykatz/
https://collegiatesmg.com/
As a partnership management specialist, Jeremy talks about his experience with working with facilities like the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and his current role with a global agency like CSM. He also talks about Sports Business Education having done both his Bachelor's and Master's in the subject.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-erber-0b2a55a/
Recorded April 2019.
Having worked for almost two decades with FIFA, Tatjana has been instrumental in Women's Football Development across the globe and talks about her experience in doing so. She also talks about coming full circle with her current role since her inroads into professional sports was as a player.
Here are links to her public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatjanahaenni/
https://twitter.com/tatjanahaenni
Recorded April 2019.
With years of working as a sports consultant, Julien talks about some of his experiences working on successful Olympic bids and asking the important yet difficult 'Why' questions. He also takes us through India as a potential Olympic Games host.
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-montel-46496128/
Recorded May 2019.
As former Team Director of the Kolkata Knight Riders (two-time IPL winning team) and former Project Director of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, Joy brings a perspective like none other and talks about stories from both experiences as well as a few others.
Here are the links to his public profiles:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joybhattacharjya/
https://twitter.com/joybhattacharj
Recorded April 2019.
As a 13-time Emmy and two-time Peabody Award winning producer, Ted takes us through some interesting stories about his time at ESPN and also gives us a bit of insight into his current endeavour https://www.incourage.com/
Here is the link to his public profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tfs08/
Recorded April 2019.