What will keep Sunderland in the Premier League?

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:

- The record shirt sales achieved through partnerships with Fanatics and Hummel;

- The new need for a season-ticket waiting list for the team's 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light;

- The new premium offerings rolled out this season;

- Finding new fans, and reconnecting the club to the city and its people;

- The business and marketing lessons he learned in the US that he's trying to implement in Sunderland.