Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Tennis's tumultuous route to return-to-play | US Open World and what it will mean | The possibility of consolidation among tennis's multiple stakeholder groups. This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by digital specialists iX.co, and as part of that support, they are giving the podcast audience an opportunity to receive a complementary Digital Maturity Audit. This audit will analyze your systems, processes and current digital engagement and provide valuable insights for improvement and a roadmap to make better digital decisions. This is an exclusive, limited time offer so go to https://www.ix.co/digital-maturity-audit today to request your Digital Maturity Audit. Episode 88 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with USTA Professional Tennis CEO and newly named US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster (discussion starts at 6:19). The former WTA President has had one of the most difficult jobs in sport of late (in what is, admittedly, a crowded field), as she and her team at the USTA have battled to form a workable plan to go ahead with the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in its traditional slot in early September. Against a backdrop of multiple competing interests, huge financial concerns, and a public health situation that continues to rage hard around the world but especially in the US, a plan was approved just last week. On the conversational agenda: - The many barriers to a return-to-play plan and how to overcome them; - The six key questions that needed to be answered in order to create 'US Open World'; - The three tiers of exposure and the special set-up that's set to cost an extra $8 million; - The cracks in the crust of tennis's complicated stakeholder planet; - The Adria Tour and the personal responsibility that athletes should have; - The enhanced collaboration with other stakeholders in tennis and beyond, and the potential for consolidation.

The moment for seismic change in world football | Plugging the revenue gap with new tournament revenues | How private equity and new investment can reshape sport. This episode of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is supported by digital specialists iX.co, and as part of that support, they are giving the podcast audience an opportunity to receive a complementary Digital Maturity Audit. This audit will analyze your systems, processes and current digital engagement and provide valuable insights for improvement and a roadmap to make better digital decisions. This is an exclusive, limited time offer so go to https://www.ix.co/digital-maturity-audit today to request your Digital Maturity Audit. Episode 87 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Danny Sillman (starts at 11:22), the CEO of the Stephen Ross-owned football events and media company Relevent Sports, the promoter behind the International Champions Cup (ICC). The ICC was founded in 2013 and has evolved to become the preeminent annual friendly competition for European football clubs in North America and Asia. Earlier this year, Ross declared that competition needed to become more 'meaningful' in order to grow and, more pertinently for the short-term, guarantee his continued funding. To that end, in early March, Relevent looked set to announce an endorsement from European football body UEFA that would have elevated the tournament to a new status. The Covid-19 crisis put paid to that announcement, but Sillman insists that the opportunity to grow the competition and reshape the football calendar not only remains, but is bigger than ever. On the conversational agenda: - Doubling down on positioning Relevent Sports as 'the solution' for European football clubs faced with revenue shortfalls; - Partnering with leagues and clubs as a ‘content development partner’, not just an events organiser; - The LaLiga JV relationship and its coming expansion, and the replication of that relationship with other leagues; - The competitive dynamic between FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup - postponed from its launch in 2021 after UEFA's decision to move the postponed Euro 2020 to next summer - and the UEFA-backed International Champions Cup; - Making the ICC more meaningful - more competitive, with better, more compelling storylines - and doing it with the blessing of a major governing body; - What Sillman would do if he were made FIFA President.

Why the WNBA President became the WNBA Commissioner title a year ago | Inside the WNBA draft | The opportunity to innovate. The new normal of sports behind closed doors presents its own set of challenges to keep fans loyal and engaged. Digital specialists iX.co can help. They're offering the Leaders Sport Business Podcast audience a personalised consulting workshop with their strategy team. The interactive workshop will provide a complete overview of the market, the increased role that digital products are playing, and how to apply all of these trends to your business at this critical time. This is an exclusive, limited-time offer, so go to www.ix.co/workshop today to request your custom workshop. Episode 86 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert (begins at 04.46), recorded on 14th May, almost a year to the day that Engelbert accepted the top job at the WNBA. She become the first holder of the 'commissioner' title at the WNBA when she joined from Deloitte, where she had enjoyed a successful 33-year career, latterly as the professional services giant's first female CEO. Later on in the podcast, David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by iX.co Chief Commercial Officer Dave Nugent (conversation begins at 18.55) to reflect on some of the most impactful pieces of digital work put out by sports organisations during the crisis, not least the WNBA's own virtual draft event. On the conversational agenda: - Milestone moments in Engelbert's commissionership; - Showing the NFL the way with the WNBA virtual draft; - The nuts and bolts of putting on live digital events; - The opportunity to think differently, to reset, and to appeal to more fans when sport returns; - Sport's media models and how they might shift; - Innovation and what will stick when sport returns.

The new 'approachable' McLaren F1 | The correction coming in sports finance | The future of sports sponsorship | The Last Dance. Episode 85 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a discussion with McLaren MD of Sales & Marketing Mark Waller (conversation begins at 20:28) from his home in Connecticut, USA. Waller joined McLaren in May last year, joining forces with his old friend Zak Brown, CEO of the Formula One team since 2018. Brown, who founded motorsport sponsorship specialist agency Just Marketing, had done plenty of business with Waller in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Waller held various marketing roles at global drinks giant Diageo. Waller joined the NFL in 2006 as CMO, going on to become EVP of NFL International. He retains an advisory role at the league. On the conversational agenda: - Brown's role at McLaren, how it came about, and why it's the missing piece in his career puzzle; - The new leadership culture being fostered at McLaren; - The difference partnerships can make in the fabric of the sport; - The post-pandemic future for Formula One, and for the global sports sponsorship market.

How the Jets put their NFL Draft content plan together | The enforced pause as a launchpad for radical ideas | The two-track thinking across European football. Episode 84 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you by Onside Law. As a gesture of help, the specialist law firm is offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here. This episode of At home with Leaders features a conversation with Chris Gargano (begins at 32:42), the VP and Executive Producer at the New York Jets. He takes us inside the content operation at the NFL franchise and reviews the recent NFL Draft, which attracted a staggering 55 million viewers over the course of its virtual broadcasts on 23rd, 24th, and 25th April. Gargano and his team produced three live shows of their own, and attempted to transpose a series of Jets draft parties into a virtual environment. Before that conversation, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Onside Law Partner Jamie Singer to discuss the radical ideas gathering some momentum while live sport is on hiatus, and to analyse the varying approaches being taken to completing or discontinuing football seasons across Europe. On the conversational agenda: - The proposals for change in golf, tennis, rugby and football; - Why it’s inevitable that some European leagues will finish, and some won’t; - How the Jets took three draft parties online; - What went into the planning process, content and commercial objectives, and tech platform decision; - The learning to take forward and implement post-draft.  

The difference between leadership and management | A new dawn for the DRL | Giving autonomy vs taking control in a work from home environment. Episode 83 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you by Onside Law. As a gesture of help, the specialist law firm is offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here. This episode of At home with Leaders features a conversation with newly installed Drone Racing League President Rachel Jacobson (conversation starts at 17:19). The former NBA SVP of Global Partnerships became one of a small number of female presidents in sport when she started the role earlier this week. Founded in 2015, the Drone Racing League now has broadcast deals with NBC, Sky, ProSeibenSat.1 and Youku, and has put on eye-catching events in venues such as Alexandra Palace in London, BMW Welt in Germany, and Chase Field in the US. Also joining James Emmett and David Cushnan for this episode is the Leaders Performance Institute's Matthew Stone, who gives an insight into how leaders from across the sports performance world are coping with their current environments. We hear from England Rugby coach Eddie Jones, and Wall Street Journal writer and author of The Captain Class, Sam Walker (conversations start at 7:45), both of whom have been featured recently on the Leaders Performance Institute's own line of podcasts - a series of at home conversations with the biggest names from across the world of high performance. On the conversational agenda: - Knowing when and how to devolve organisational autonomy; - The difference between leadership and management; - The political leaders who have made an impact recently; - Onboarding into a leadership role during Covid-19; - The DRL's focus on innovation, its virtual product, and its STEM programme; - How David Stern and Adam Silver paved the way for Rachel Jacobson.

How sponsor brands are reacting to the crisis | The deals that have been done | The business of de-organising a global activation. Episode 82 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Onside Law. As a gesture of help, the specialist law firm is offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here. Joining James Emmett and David Cushnan for this episode is Coca Cola's VP of Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Ricardo Fort (conversation begins at 21:04). Fort began his marketing career at Unilever in his home country of Brazil in the early 1990s. He joined the Coca-Cola Company as a brand manager for Sprite in Brazil in 1998 before working his way up the marketing ladder. He left the company in 2011 for stints at Danone and Visa, before returning in 2016 to head up Coca-Cola's global sponsorship efforts from its headquarters in Atlanta. On the conversational agenda: - Scaling down or turning over marketing activity for public service messaging around the world; - Inside the process of postponing Tokyo 2020; - How the new Olympic deal alongside Chinese dairy brand Mengniu came about; - The history of sports sponsorship and how Coke has been a pioneer; - How best to approach the company with partnership ideas.  

The financial imperatives for finishing league seasons | The slow return to activity in China | How to plan for a comeback. Episode 81 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Onside Law, specialist lawyers providing solutions to the sports industry from offices in London, Geneva, and Sydney. Onside Law are conscious of the pressures many in our industry are facing and, as a gesture of help, they are offering a number of free sports law clinics for those grappling with issues arising from Covid-19. Request a free session here. Joining David Cushnan, James Emmett, and Onside Law's Jamie Singer for this episode are football finance expert Ian Dixon (conversation begins at 22:26) and senior sports media executive Sam Li (conversation begins at 35:05). Dixon is the former Managing Director and Analytical Head of EMEA and APAC Infrastructure & Project Finance Group at Fitch Ratings. He was worked on financing projects across top tier sport, and notably structured the stadium bond financing for Arsenal in the mid-2000s while at Ambac Assurance. Li is Head of International Business Strategy at Sina Sports, and has been instrumental in the evolution of the Weibo-affiliated entity into one of China's most active and engaged sports events and media platforms. On the conversational agenda: - How and when paused sports leagues could come back; - The legal and financial challenges associated with discontinuing; - The slow return to activity in China's sports and events economy; - How to plan for a comeback without knowing when that will be.

Asif Kapadia’s Diego Maradona viewed through sportsbiz goggles | The BBC’s Italia 90 semifinal coverage under the microscope | Where esports is plugging the gap left by the lack of live sport. Episode 80 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features a conversation with Neville Upton, founder and president of esports events and production company Gfinity, and Onside Law founding partner Simon Thorp (discussion starts at 18:58). On the conversational agenda: - How esports is helping to plug the programming gap; - The different approaches being taken by traditional rights holders and athletes moving into virtual sports; - The extra activity, audience, and engagement and if, when, and how it's translating into revenue; - The specifications and resource needed to set up virtual events; - The short-term impact and opportunities, and the long-term legacy for esports.

The creative options for bringing live sport back | Athletes in isolation | An ecosystem built on quicksand. Episode 79 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features conversations with Wasserman EVP Circe Wallace (discussion starts at 11:44) and Trinity Sports Management Director Andrew McQuaid (discussion starts at 28:48). West Coast-based Wallace is one of the most influential action sports agents in the business. A former athlete herself, her client roster includes the likes of Torah Bright and Travis Rice, and she has become an increasingly prolific documentary producer. London-based McQuaid runs Trinity Sports Management, an event management and talent representation agency. He represents the likes of Nicolas Roche and Owain Doull in cycling. On the conversational agenda: - How athletes are dealing with their own periods of isolation; - The financial distress to come in cycling; - The fate of the Tour de France this year; - Full Catastrophe Living - the mindfulness stress reduction programme Wallace is using to mitigate the anxiety of the pandemic; - How sports marketing will be different on the other side of the crisis; - Why innovation will be stifled; - Hot Nife - and how Wallace combines life as an agent with life as a California cannabis entrepreneur; The importance of integrity, honesty and accountability in athlete representation.