Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan break down the stories of the sports industry week, in the company of big-time boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland. There's Lewis Hamilton's big move to Ferrari, the latest Saudi sports plays and a major deal in executive search, as Elevate acquires SRI. Then Sauerland, Global Head of Boxing at Wasserman and one of the driving forces behind crossover boxing series Misfits, takes us inside the boxing industry: Saudi Arabia's growing influence, working with KSI on Misfits and why he sold his business, Team Sauerland, to Wasserman in 2021.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan assess the stories of the sports industry week, with the help of Amanda Calder-McLaren, the new CMO of outdoor wear brand Montirex. They discuss stadium and Formula One team branding, as Levi’s renew a big deal with the San Francisco 49ers and Visa teams up with Red Bull in F1. Then Calder-McLaren explains her switch to Montirex after six years looking after The North Face’s brand and marketing activities. She outlines the challenges of building credible, meaningful partnerships with endurance/adventure events and fans; shares her perspective on the role purposes plays in modern marketing; and explains why she’s helped found Opening Up The Outdoors, a coalition of brands seeking to make outdoors spaces a more inclusive environment.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick over the stories of the sports industry week, in the company of Ladies European Tour Commercial Director, Fiona Harold.They react to Netflix’s big, bold move into live sports-entertainment with WWE and examine the latest news from Saudi Arabia, as World Snooker prepares to host its first event there and Formula E, Extreme E and E1 Series sign a sizeable partnership with the Public Investment Fund.Sticking with Saudi, Harold shares her perspective on the latest state of play in golf, the LET’s busy 2024 international schedule, and how the tour is working with and seeking to attract brand partners.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick over the big issues of the sports industry week, with the help of Veritone's Head of Sports and Entertainment, Gary Warech. They discuss AB InBev's big deal to sponsor the Olympics, the launch of Major League Soccer's Innovation Lab and the relentless wave of sports documentaries, before Warech explains when and how AI should be embraced by the sports industry; what sport's leaders need to know and the skillsets they should be looking for; and creative approaches for using AI to generate revenue.On the agenda:00:00 – 04:46: Introductory remarks04:47 – 07:28: The key weekly sports business stories reviewed (in 180 seconds)07:34 – 11:10: A welcome to Gary Warech, Veritone’s Head of Sports and Entertainment and a look at AI14:21 – 19:10: Placing sports documentaries under the microscope21:47 – 24:20: Major League Soccer’s pioneering Innovation Lab27:02 – 34:32: Major sponsorship deals dissected including AB InBev x Olympics and BYD x Euro 202434:40 – 42:45: A deeper dive on AI in 2024 with Gary Warech42:46 – 46:08: Advice to CEOs of sports organisations on using AI50:47 – 57:34: Recommendations: what to read, watch and listen to  To sign up for Leaders' weekly newsletter, Worth Knowing, visit: https://leadersinsport.com/newsletters/

IMG's digital experts discuss key digital trends in sport, including the platform sport is sleeping on, women's sport potential in 2024, making stadiums smarter for maximum impact, and the difference between 'if' and 'when' in digital trend spotting.

The CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation tackles the critics who say the Games have lost their relevance.As the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Katie Sadleir finds herself at the centre of the most critical moment in the organisation’s history.In this episode of Leaders in Focus, Sadleir offers a status report on the the Commonwealth Games, following the Australian state of Victoria’s shock decision last July to withdraw as host of the 2026 edition.Sadleir also reveals the leadership attributes she prizes the most and explains the critical importance of effective stakeholder management, as well as recalling her experiences working in sport in New Zealand and at World Rugby.

Leaders Managing Director Laura McQueen joins James Emmett and David Cushnan this week in the studio. Discussion and analysis of the latest happenings in the sports industry, hosted by Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.On the conversation agenda: Michelle Kang’s acquisition of the London City Lionesses, and the hype cycle in women’s football; the vote which may pave the way for private equity investment in Germany football; and our completely unofficial awards ceremony at the end of a busy year – including best venue, best dealmaker and best hype-person. 

New York Giants and Gotham FC royalty Carolyn Tisch Blodgett joins the show. Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan bring you the latest shifts from across global sport’s tectonic plates.New York Giants and NY/NJ Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Founder and CEO of the Next 3 investment firm, joins the show for a conversation that includes Shohei Ohtani’s remarkable new deal with the Dodgers, John Rahm’s seismic – and, arguably, sensible - decision to play on the LIV golf tour, Spotify’s latest round of layoffs, and the state of play in the NWSL. 

Amazon's European sports chief reflects on five years of Premier League coverage and building out the company's rights portfolio.*This conversation was recorded shortly before the Premier League announced its new domestic media rights deal.*Amazon's rights portfolio includes Uefa Champions League deals in Italy and Germany, plus Ligue 1 and Roland Garros in France - thanks in large part to Alex Green, Managing Director of Sport, Europe for Prime Video.On the latest edition of Leaders in Focus, Green speaks to Leaders' James Emmett and Cameron Macdonald to discuss his work at Amazon and explore his own leadership in the media sector - his tactics at the negotiating table, how he deals with setback and a customer-obsessed approach. Green also explains how Prime Video's sports team is able to draw on Amazon's vast engineering capacity and why we're simply not talking about latency in sports streaming as much any more.

At the end of a week in a country that bristles with sporting potential, Leaders’ James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect - direct from Bangalore - on the first edition of Leaders Meet India, in partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore. They’re joined by Portas Consulting’s Nic Coward - a man with considerable experience of the Indian market - to discuss the potential India bid for the 2036 Olympic Games that was the talk of the conference, the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian sports market, and the contributions made on stage by the likes of Dream11 Co-Founder Harsh Jain; IPL Chair Arun Dhumal; G20 organiser Amitabh Kant; Olympic champions Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra; Premier League Chief Commercial Officer Will Brass; and Manchester United Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Norman.