Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

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.