Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Running Wimbledon | Broadcasting the Women's World Cup | Not broadcasting the Cricket World Cup. Philip Brook (conversation begins at 19.27)  is the Chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, host of the annual Wimbledon tennis championships. Brook will leave his position, one of the most influential in world tennis, after nine and half years as chairman after this year's championships this summer. In episode 58 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, Brook welcomes James Emmett to the boardroom at the AELTC for a discussion on the milestone moments of his tenure, what comes next for him, for the club and the tournament, and the state of world tennis. On the conversational agenda: - Why, with the tournament two weeks away, he's not very busy at all; - The new roof on number one court - what, why, how, and who it will benefit; and what else is new for this year; - The 50 other weeks of the Wimbledon year; - 73 acres of new land - what to do with it, and why the journey to the tennis club is likely to change in the future; - How the £63.75m Wimbledon Park Golf Club deal was done; - What he believes his legacy to the club, and to grass court tennis will be; - The regrets of his tenure, and why he thinks tennis isn't necessarily better off on a global level than when he started; - What needs to happen for the major stakeholders in tennis to work together with greater cohesion; - Hosting the Royal Box; how to keep the great and the good in check.  

Val Ackerman has been the Commissioner of the Big East college conference since 2013. In episode 57 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, she gives Leaders Editor-at-Large James Emmett her College Sports 101, before discussing: - The hows and whys of schools moving from one conference to another; - The compensation debate, its fragility and complexity; why college athletes aren't paid; and why we could be a few years away from major change; - The Big East revenues - where they come from, and where they go; - The growth of women's sport - Male-to-female mentorship and David Stern's ongoing influence on Ackerman's career; and why men have such an important role to play in the development of women's careers in the sports industry; - How to learn from other leaders' style, without being imitative; - The many ways of being a mentor; - Why young sports executives need to be aggressive but patient.

Monumental by name, monumental by nature | NHL vs NBA ownership | esports | gaming | the family business | new OTT models | sports betting | international acquisitions. Zach Leonsis (interview starts at 7.59) is SVP of Strategic Initiatives and GM of Monumental Sports Network, and his influence and interest extends across the group's growing suite of assets, which includes the Washington Wizards NBA team, the Washington Capitals NHL team, the Washington Wizards WNBA team, and Capital One Arena. The group, owned and helmed by Zach's father Ted, also has interests in esports, American football, and broadcast media, and it is on the development of these new, growing businesses that Leonsis junior aims most of his focus. In 2016, Leonsis spearheaded the transformation of Monumental Sports Network, the regional network co-owned by Monumental and NBC, from an ad-based blogging platform into a subscription model direct-to-consumer comprehensive broadcast product. A huge investment in programming has led to significant uptick in subscriptions. Leonsis sat down with Leaders at SBJ's CAA World Congress of Sport, at which he was picking up a 40 Under 40 award, earlier this month. On the conversational agenda: - The breadth and scale of the work he's involved in at Monumental; - Winning the Stanley Cup for the first time with the Wizards last year; - The differences between operating NBA and NHL franchises; - The 'wild journey' he's on with Monumental's investments in esports - including Fortnite publisher Epic Games; - Unorthodox subscription bundles and the new OTT models esports is inspiring; - Sports betting, the opportunity, the challenges, and the misconceptions; - His experience working alongside Owner, CEO and father, Ted Leonsis; - His thoughts on sports ownership, and the chance of a Monumental acquisition outside the US.  

From Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to Real Madrid | The challenges of change management | Staffing out, staffing up, and building agency capability | The scope of 6-star experiences and a rethink on ticket prices Episode 55 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Real Madrid Global Head of Partnerships David Hopkinson (starts at 9:40). The Canadian joined the Spanish footballing giants from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in the summer of 2018, having spent almost 25 years at his hometown sports organisation, latterly as Chief Commercial Officer. Appointed to lead the Real Madrid commercial team into a new era, Tim Leiweke, under whom Hopkinson had worked at MLSE, had the following words to say upon Hopkinson's move to Europe: "Seldom in your life do you run across someone as bright, vibrant, energetic and entrepreneurial as [Hopkinson]. He has a personality that doesn’t just light up a room. He can set a room on fire. “Real Madrid is as big a brand as there is in our industry. Normally you’d have a hard time finding someone who could make it better. They just did.” On the conversational agenda: - From Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to Real Madrid - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unexpected; - The challenges of change management at one of Europe's traditional sporting giants; - Selling partnerships with no Ronaldo and no silverware; - Partner acquisition approaches: shotgun style vs rifle shot; - Building agency capability into the Real Madrid commercial team; - Partner access and working with player agents; - The trend for 6-star in-stadium experiences and why the Bernabeu's €550 million renovation provides a huge opportunity.

Why Chris Kermode's position is up for grabs at the ATP | Sport's most innovative hospitality experiences | MD Steve Elworthy (19.50) on preparing for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 | How to motivate an events team to peak for delivery | Dealing with conflicting stakeholder interests. Episode 54 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett examine the ATP's player-driven decision not to extend Chris Kermode's tenure as Executive Chairman, before a discussion on the new Formula E race in London breaks out into some thoughts and examples of the best and most innovative hospitality experiences in sport. Later, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Managing Director Steve Elworthy (19.50) joins James for a conversation on his preparations for the upcoming tournament. A former international cricketer for South Africa, Elworthy joined sport's executive ranks not long after hanging up his playing boots. The upcoming competition, which will take place in England and Wales from 30th May to 14th July, is the sixth major cricket tournament Elworthy has been involved in running. On the conversational agenda: - How Elworthy went from competing in major tournaments to running them; - The mistakes he's made along the way and how they've informed his management style; - Moving his team from planning to delivery mode and how he motivates them to peak when it matters; - Organisational structure and how to hit deadlines in a coordinated manner; - Dealing with the conflicting demands of various stakeholder.  

Where have all the CEOs gone? | Recruitment and how to do it | CVC's investment in rugby | Qatar's preparations for the Fifa World Cup | Balancing innovation with heritage | How to bring about organisational change. Episode 53 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett discuss the unprecedented number of vacancies at CEO level across key rights holder organisations in UK sport, before handing over to former AELTC and RFU CEO Ian Ritchie (at 17:43) for a more informed opinion. Searches are underway for the CEO role at the Premier League, the EFL, the FA, UK Sport, and the BOA among others. Ritchie ran the Wimbledon tennis championships in his role as CEO of the AELTC from 2005 to 2012, and was then hired to lead the RFU as it built towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. He stepped down in 2017, and is now Chairman of Premiership Rugby, the top tier domestic rugby union league in England. He sat down for a conversation for the podcast on a visit to Qatar, where Ritchie had been sharing his experiences of preparing for major events with a group of local executives involved with preparations for the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in 2022. On the conversational agenda: - Qatar's preparations for 2022 and how Ritchie would handle Fifa as a stakeholder; - The CVC-Premiership Rugby deal, how it went through, and what it will mean for the league and its teams; - Pressure moments at the RFU, preparing for England 2015, and the process that led to Head Coach Stuart Lancaster leaving; - Innovation vs heritage and how Wimbledon gets it right; - Recruitment, culture, and organisational change.

Disruptive forces across sports broadcast | GB Basketball's UGC ban | ESPN & Second Spectrum's 'Full Court Press' | CBS' Super Bowl production under the microscope | Mycujoo and its founders in profile. Episode 52 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast is a sports broadcast disruption special, with David Cushnan and James Emmett analysing a handful of the issues at the top of the sports broadcast agenda before introducing a discussion (at 17.07) with Joao and Pedro Presa, the Portuguese twins who co-founded Mycujoo, a user-generated content (UGC) football streaming platform with realistic ambitions of building the single largest football community in the world. On the conversational agenda: - What is Mycujoo and what's in the name; - The business model and how it's evolved; - JustinTV, Twitch, and LinkedIn - inspirations and models; - The journey from tech service provider to tech media company; - Building a football community through long-tail content and what 200 million interactions a year means; - Why Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Portugal and the US have proved the strongest markets; - Japan's Nadeshiko League - a Mycujoo case study; - How the twins lead together; - How to recruit and build as a start-up, and why Amsterdam is the perfect base.  

48-team World Cup | Sport as a political tool | Bringing the razzmatazz to cricket | Keith Pelley’s vision for consolidation in golf | Taking the Giro d’Italia abroad | Why Arsenal’s deal with Visit Rwanda makes sense | Digital storytelling and branded content with the ICC, Hilton, and Lewis Hamilton | Global opportunities for women’s football. Episode 51 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on a busy two days at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi, featuring interviews with: Paolo Bellino (19.39), CEO of RCS Sport on:   - Merging the Dubai Tour and Abu Dhabi Tour to form the UAE Tour;   - The Giro d’Italia as a destination marketing tool;   - The Giro’s visit to Israel and what it meant   - Why a potential start in Japan was ruled out at the last minute;   Peter Silverstone (33.29), Commercial Director of Arsenal FC:   - On the myths around Arsenal’s sponsorship with Visit Rwanda;   - Why the partnership is working for Rwanda already  

Behind-the-scenes at Leaders Meet: Innovation | Ted Leonsis' warning on sports betting | Sheila Johnson (5.20) on diversity and the WNBA | Kristin Bernert (28.30) on enhancing the experience at MSG. Episode 50 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast lifts back the curtain on the Leaders Meet: Innovation event at BAFTA in London on 17th January and features conversations with Monumental Sports & Entertainment Co-Owner and Vice-Chair Sheila Johnson, SBJ basketball writer John Lombardo, and Madison Square Garden Company SVP of Business Operations Kristin Bernert. On the agenda: - The NBA's approach to sports betting; - Sheila Johnson on opening the doors for women and people of colour in sport; - The future prospects of the WNBA; - How the World's Most Famous Arena remains so famous; - Celebrity outreach programmes for the Knicks' front row.

Meet the power-brokers behind Abu Dhabi's sports strategy | Andy Murray's retirement announcement | Champions League weekend rumours | the AFC Cup and Gulf politics in sport. Episode 49 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on Andy Murray's retirement announcement, assess the impact of a potential move by Uefa and TEAM Marketing to shift Champions League matches to weekend slots; gauge the political environment at the AFC Cup in the UAE, and introduce a series of conversations with key figures from across Abu Dhabi's sporting landscape. On the agenda: - What next for Andy Murray, and what next for tennis, after Britain's greatest ever tennis player announced his retirement; - Uefa Champions League games on weekends: could it happen, why, when, and how? - The AFC Cup: a platform for politics beyond football in the Middle East; - Abu Dhabi Sports Council General Secretary HE Aref Al Awani (14.20) on the city's sporting strategy; - Acting Abu Dhabi Cricket CEO Matt Boucher (25.18) on the changing objectives for Abu Dhabi's involvement in sport; - Special Olympics World Games 2019 Chief Strategy Officer Tala Al Ramahi (36.56) on building a legacy of inclusion; - Abu Dhabi Golf Club GM Ed Edwards (42.51) on the development of golf in the region and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. The Leaders Sport Business Summit, Abu Dhabi, takes place on 30th and 31st January. More information on who's coming, and how you can come too, can be found here.