Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

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 Deirdre 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.