Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

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.

The athlete sacrifice conundrum | The mechanisms protecting sports teams and leagues | When and where the goodwill will run out. Episode 78 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - features conversations with Triple S Sports and Entertainment MD Paul Stretford (discussion begins at 20:09) and Onside Law Partner Jamie Singer (discussion begins at 4:55). Speaking just hours before the Premier League announced it would be consulting its players on a potential 30% pay cut or deferral in the face of mounting public and media pressure, Stretford, whose agency represents the likes of England footballers Wayne Rooney and Harry Maguire, was happy to address what he sees as a mishandled process and a lack of understanding of the contribution many footballers are already making. Singer, meanwhile, gives an overview of the conversations he and his team are having with a range of rights holders looking to protect themselves in uncertain times and no clarity on when or where sports events might be able to restart. On the conversational agenda: - What force majeure is and how it can - and can't - protect sports organisations; - Collaboration, practical solutions and how to protect yourself now; - When the point is that the goodwill will wear thin; - How a player representation business that relies on personal contact keeps going; - The players' perspective in the argument over pay cuts. Stay safe, keep in touch.

Building and selling a hundred million dollar company | The emotional impact of years of striving towards an exit | The responsibility and solace of sports ownership | Cost cuts and rescue packages across sport. Episode 77 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Onside Law - sees David Cushnan and James Emmett chat to Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith (conversation starts at 8:29). Paul founded and grew Repucom into one of the most trusted sports media measurement and consultancy businesses before selling it to Nielsen in a deal reportedly worth $195 million in 2016. After returning to his homeland of Australia, he took a majority ownership stake in National Basketball League (NBL) side the Sydney Kings through his Total Sport & Entertainment (TSA) agency before taking full control in March 2019. On the conversational agenda: - Thrills and spills at the SportAccord Convention in Sochi in 2015; - The journey of building Repucom into a saleable asset and the ultimate deal with Nielsen; - The emotional cliff post-sale, and the path through it; - Leading differently; - What team ownership can mean for an owner; - The Sydney Kings and the Sydney Flames and why basketball is under exploited in Australia; - The dynamics of taking action in a vacuum of leadership; - The end of the traditional rights model and the beginning of sport taking control of its own destiny. Let us know what you'd like to talk about and who you'd like to hear from on At home with Leaders. @JamesEmmett and @DavidCushnan on Twitter. Thanks again to Onside Law for their support for this podcast. Stay safe, keep in touch.

Getting through Coronavirus | The great calendar reshuffle | The surge in live streaming | The opportunity in esports. Episode 76 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees former BBC Sports News Correspondent Richard Conway (conversation starts at 7:41) and The Esports Observer CEO Chris Hana (26:06) talk via crystal clear internet connection to James Emmett and David Cushnan for another episode of At home with Leaders. On the conversational agenda: - How Richard coped with Coronavirus; - The media coverage of the fallout; - How sport is responding; - The surge in live streaming and the opportunity inherent in it; - Where the real engagement in esports is; - How 'traditional' sports organisations should be approaching esports now; - Do more eyeballs mean more dollars in the virtual world? - How to get an esports grounding during Corona-lockdown. Let us know what you'd like to talk about and who you'd like to hear from on At home with Leaders. @JamesEmmett and @DavidCushnan on Twitter. Stay safe, keep in touch.