

Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast
Leaders
The biggest names in the global business of sport sit down with Leaders Editorial Director, James Emmett, and Content Director, David Cushnan.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 18, 2024 • 58min
Drinks on the IOC; Major League Soccer launches a lab; Getting real on artificial intelligence
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 remarks04:47 – 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 AI14:21 – 19:10: Placing sports documentaries under the microscope21:47 – 24:20: Major League Soccer’s pioneering Innovation Lab27:02 – 34:32: Major sponsorship deals dissected including AB InBev x Olympics and BYD x Euro 202434:40 – 42:45: A deeper dive on AI in 2024 with Gary Warech42:46 – 46:08: Advice to CEOs of sports organisations on using AI50:47 – 57:34: Recommendations: what to read, watch and listen to To sign up for Leaders' weekly newsletter, Worth Knowing, visit: https://leadersinsport.com/newsletters/

Jan 11, 2024 • 42min
Leaders in Focus: IMG’s digital experts on what to watch for in 2024
IMG's digital experts discuss key digital trends in sport, including the platform sport is sleeping on, women's sport potential in 2024, making stadiums smarter for maximum impact, and the difference between 'if' and 'when' in digital trend spotting.

Jan 4, 2024 • 34min
Leaders in Focus: Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Katie Sadleir
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.

Dec 21, 2023 • 50min
Multi-club ownership in women’s football; the DFL votes on private equity investment; celebrating the best of the sports industry in 2023
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.

Dec 14, 2023 • 54min
Ohtani’s mega-deal; Jon Rahm’s LIV move; Carolyn Tisch Blodgett’s big Gotham FC plan
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.

Dec 7, 2023 • 31min
Leaders in Focus: Amazon's Alex Green
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.

Nov 30, 2023 • 34min
Leaders on the Ground: Bangalore edition
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.

Nov 27, 2023 • 35min
The Blueprint: Juventus’ Mike Armstrong and Manchester United’s Patrick Jenkinson
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/

Nov 23, 2023 • 46min
The Saudi boxing scene; Australia breaks a record; the NFL celebrate hip-hop
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/

Nov 16, 2023 • 50min
F1 lands in Vegas; CCO life with Tyson Henly; figuring out formats
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/


