Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Everything you need to know about where to go, what to see, who to hear from, and what to do after that at day one of the Leaders Sport Business Summit, 2019, at Twickenham - 9/10/19.

Everything you need to know about where to go, what to see, who to hear from, and what to do after that at day one of the Leaders Sport Business Summit, 2019, at Twickenham - 8/10/19.

Wimbledon Head of Communications, Content, and Digital Alex Willis in conversation with her mentor, IBM Global Markets CMO Caroline Taylor. Episode 63 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features the first instalment in a new mini-series of podcasts: Me & my mentor - a series of conversations that get to the heart of mentor-mentee relationships across the sports industry. A recurring theme in the Leaders Meet: Diversity series, mentorship is acknowledged as an increasingly effective personal and professional development, though one that is only scantly understood. In this first episode, Wimbledon's Alex Willis talks to her mentor, Caroline Taylor OBE, CMO of Global Markets at IBM, a long-time Wimbledon sponsor (conversation begins at 13:07). Willis is one of the leading lights in a new generation of sports industry digital and marketing specialists. She began her career as a journalist, before joining the All England Lawn Tennis Club, initially as Digital Content Editor, in 2011. Taylor is an international marketing expert, and currently looks after IBM's global marketing function. She first joined the computing giant in 1997, and has played an active role in the evolving mentoring programmes within the organisation. She currently maintains 18 formal mentorship relationships. On the agenda: - What mentoring means; - How the mentoring relationship works in practice; - The concept of reverse mentorship; - Confidence, where it comes from, and permission to be believed in; - The difference between mentoring men and mentoring women; - Why your significant other isn't necessarily the most effective mentor.

***Special Offer Alert*** We're offering 19% off passes to Leaders Week to any woman who wants to attend the summit this year, as part of our commitment to championing a more inclusive sports industry. We also want to recognise male executives who share this commitment, and will extend the discount to any man who books on with a woman. Just visit https://leadersinsport.com/leaders-week-london/buy-your-pass/ and use the code LEADERSPODCAST when prompted. Episode 62 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with M&C Saatchi CMO Kate Bosomworth (interview begins at 12:50). Bosomworth founder her own PR agency, KTB PR, in 2003 and through a growth based acquisition and merger strategy, sold the agency first to the Writtle Group in 2012 to take over Speed Communications, then for a second time to AIM listed Mission Marketing Group in November 2014, developing a strong reputation for PR and communications strategy work across rights holder organisations and FMCG brands. A board member at Sport England from 2013 until this year, Bosomworth spearheaded the breakthrough 'This Girl Can' campaign, which launched in 2015 and is responsible for inspiring three million women and girls in the UK to take up physical activity. She joined M&C Saatchi in January 2018, swapping the sports industry for the advertising world. On the conversational agenda: - The evolution of the M&C Saatchi culture and why entrepreneurs have been invited into the agency; - Her brief as CMO: diversifying the client portfolio and confounding assumptions; - Why the Coca-Cola Premier League campaign was ‘joyous’ - This Girl Can: the real impact of a breakthrough campaign, what it needs to do next and why it needs to keep its edge; - The f*ck yeah-ometer and how it works; - The surge of momentum behind women’s sport and the milestones that have marked it; - The work that still needs to be done in the drive towards parity; - Advertising industry vs the sports business – the parallels; - ‘Who is not in the room?’ – the question that any organisation needs to ask itself; - Why visionary change-makers are required at the top of sports organisations; - Motivations, role models, and mentors.

As Luck would have it: How Carabao intends to become the number one energy drinks brand in the UK | The UK launch of the Athletic and its role as a paid-content market test | Big moves for Delia Bushell, Joanna Adams, and Jaymee Messler. Episode 61 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast sees James Emmett and David Cushnan discuss the UK launch of the Athletic, its role as a litmus test for non-live paid sports content; and the new roles for industry innovators Delia Bushell, Joanna Adams, and Jaymee Messler; before introducing a conversation with Intercarabao CMO John Luck (at 16:27). Luck joined the energy drinks company in 2016, following stints in the marketing teams of Coca-Cola, Time Out, and Duchy Originals among others. Part of a small team tasked with launching the Thai brand in the UK market, Luck has overseen almost every aspect of Carabao's initial UK launch to its position, just three and a half years later, as the seventh biggest energy drinks company in the UK and stocked in every major retailer. The brand is a giant in its native Thailand, where it is a $2 billion listed company and the market leader by some distance from Red Bull. Its ambition, which Luck is attempted to facilitate, is to become number one in every market it operates in. Part of how it intends to do that is through sports sponsorship. On the conversational agenda: - The process of launching an FMCG product in the UK in an ultra-competitive sector, from product through to positioning through to marketing platforms; - Why Carabao has succeeded where the 700-plus energy drinks brands that tried to launch in the UK before it failed; - Aed Carabao, the 'Thai Bob Marley' who founded the product; - The nuts and bolts of Carabao's sponsorship deals with Chelsea and the EFL; - Why the Carabao Cup draws will remain a staple of the brand's impactful activation arsenal; - The three lessons Luck has learned about sports marketing since joining Carabao.    

The Premier League in China | Tencent and PP Sports spend big on NBA and Premier League rights | Sky Sun on Fosun's ambition for Wolves | Rowan Simons on the model for growth in Chinese football | Scott O'Neil on making the most of an NBA trip to China | David Nivelle on the challenge and achievement of a FIBA World Cup in China. The Leaders Sport Business Summit rolled into China for a third annual edition this July, hosted, for the first time, in Shanghai, and coinciding with the Premier League's Asia Trophy visit. Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan was on hand to capture some of the sights and sounds, lining up a quartet of conversations behind the scenes of the two-day event. On the agenda: - Sky Sun (15:44) - The Wolverhampton Wanderers Director on ownership group Fosun International's ambitious five-year plan for the club; the launch of a new club megastore in Shanghai and 400 branded products to go with it; and the lifestyle brand vision that would put the Wolves brand alongside the likes of the New York Yankees. - Rowan Simons (21:28) - The China ClubFootball Founder on football culture in China and the dangers of putting international brands before the growth of the game. - Scott O'Neil (29:36) - The Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO on making the most of an executive trip to China, how to take learnings and leads back to the US; and what the remarkable offseason of NBA player movement means for the Sixers. - David Nivelle (42:03) - The Head of FIBA Marketing on gearing up for the FIBA World Cup, the first global, multi-city event to be hosted by China.

The NFL in London | Leaders in Shanghai. Alistair Kirkwood has been the MD of NFL UK since 2006, and was a key member of the senior executive team that brought the first league game to London in 2007. In episode 59 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast, Kirkwood reflects on the growth the league has undergone internationally over the course of his career, explains the why and how the league is launching the 'NFL Academy' in north London, and gives a firm response to the oft-repeated question: when will the NFL launch a franchise in London? Elsewhere in the conversation: - Inside the NFL's UK office; - Building the calendar out into the off-season;- The NFL Academy - what, where, who, how and why - inspired by the fact that the league will be playing in Tottenham into the next decade;- Teaching NFL values, as well as American football skills'- The new Tottenham stadium and why the NFL-spec build will be transformative for the league's future visits to London'- The current thinking on the NFL's ambitions to operate a franchise from London;- NFL fandom in the UK, and why if you're over 30, you're not between the NFL's crosshairs.

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.