The Sport Business Summit

Adam Silver was unanimously elected NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014, by the NBA Board of Governors.

Silver presides over a league that is a global leader in social responsibility, a model for international sports marketing and one of the largest providers of sports programming in the world. He is dedicated to increasing transparency, leading with integrity, and inspiring youth to live healthy lifestyles through basketball.

In 2015, Silver was named to TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People. He also earned Sports Executive of the Year honors at the 2015 Sports Business Awards and was named to Fortune’s 2015 list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. In 2014, SportsBusiness Journal ranked Silver No. 1 on its list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business and Sports Illustrated named him Executive of the Year.

As Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie McMahon is responsible for working with WWE’s business units to support key growth initiatives and represents WWE as its global brand ambassador. She is the primary spokesperson for WWE’s CSR initiatives, including Special Olympics, Susan G. Komen and Be a STAR, WWE’s anti-bullying program. In 2014, Stephanie and her husband, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, established Connor’s Cure, a fund dedicated to fighting Pediatric cancer. Stephanie is also a TV personality, appearing regularly on WWE’s flagship programming. She is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute and is also a member of the 2015 Eisenhower Fellowship class.

Prior to being named Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie was Executive Vice President, Creative and was responsible for overseeing the Digital and Creative Departments, as well as the creative development of all WWE television, pay-per-view programming, print, digital and social media content.  She has also managed WWE’s Talent Relations, Talent Brand Management and Live Events businesses.

Stephanie is a member of the Board of Directors for WWE, USO Metropolitan Washington and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. She has been recognized as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” by CableFAX magazine for the past five years. Most recently, Stephanie was recognized as a “Wonder Woman” by Multichannel News for 2016 and was named to the Variety Power of Women Impact Report. Adweek also included Stephanie in their inaugural list of the 2016 Most Powerful Women in Sports.

Beane turned the identification and recruitment of talented players into a science, famously charted in the best-selling book ‘Moneyball’ and has moulded the A’s into a perennial postseason contender whilst running the club as one of the most cost effective teams in the MLB. Throughout his career Beane has been awarded a number of prestigious honours including; The Sporting News’ Executive of the Year, MLB’s Executive of the Year, and Street & Smith’s Sport Business Journal’s “40 under 40” list. Billy Beane was drafted by the New York Mets in 1980 and spent most of the 1980s in the minor leagues. He played six seasons in the major leagues before joining the management team of the Oakland Athletics in 1990, becoming general manager in 1997. His innovative management style inspired the 2003 book Moneyball, which was made into a film in 2011, starring Brad Pitt as Beane.

Peter Moore joined Liverpool FC as Chief Executive Officer in June 2017, a role that brought the lifetime LFC supporter back to his hometown of Liverpool. Peter is responsible for all business, commercial and operational areas of the Club – reporting directly to the Club’s ownership, Fenway Sports Group.

Peter previously led EA’s Competitive Gaming Division where he brought to life new global competitions for EA franchises including FIFA, Madden NFL and Battlefield. Prior to that Peter served as Chief Operating Officer of EA, providing strategic leadership for all global operations that enabled EA to bring products to market via retail and digital direct-to-consumer channels.

He also held the position of President of EA SPORTS, overseeing the delivery of some of the top-selling sports videogames from franchises including FIFA, Madden NFL, NCAA Football and NHL.

Lisa Borders brings more than 25 years of experience in operations, marketing, government relations and public service to her most recent role of President of the WNBA. Lisa, who served most recently as Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation and Vice President, Global Community Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company, will lead the world’s premier women’s basketball league. Lisa was instrumental in bringing the WNBA to Atlanta in 2008, when she served as Vice Mayor of Atlanta and President of the City Council. As President of WNBA she will be responsible for spearheading the company’s efforts to strengthen the WNBA and accelerate its growth.

Scott O’Neil is the Chief Executive Officer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, an organization with the mission of becoming the most impactful sports and entertainment company in the world through the pursuit of innovation and performance, the industry’s most passionate and driven executives and engagement in the communities where its properties live, work, play and win. O’Neil is responsible for the organization’s leadership, strategic vision, operations and growth, including the pursuit and acquisition of sports, entertainment and consumer-facing properties.

He is the acting Chief Executive Officer over all properties within the organization’s portfolio and under the ownership of Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, including: the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), the New Jersey Devils (NHL), Prudential Center, a top five-ranked performance venue in the U.S. located in Newark, New Jersey; Team Dignitas, an internationally renowned esports team, the Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball, the GRAMMY Museum Experience Prudential Center, the Delaware 87ers (NBA G League), and the Binghamton Devils (AHL).

Dan Reed is Facebook’s Head of Global Sports Partnerships, where he leads the company’s efforts to connect hundreds of millions of sports fans on Facebook and Instagram with their sports passions. In this role, Reed manages strategic partnerships with sports leagues, teams, athletes, broadcasters and publishers around the world to help these partners connect with fans, and build innovative social experiences that drive their business.

Reed joined Facebook after a 10-year career at the National Basketball Association where, as President of the NBA Development League, he led a turnaround of the NBA’s minor league into a financially valuable property and a thriving talent development system for the NBA. Under Reed’s leadership team franchise values increased twelve-fold, the number of NBA players with NBA D-League experience more than doubled, and the league expanded to an all-time high 18 teams while continually setting records in attendance, revenues from ticket sales and marketing partnerships, and media distribution via broadcast and digital outlets. While at the NBA, Reed also drove record NBA team business results as Senior Director of the NBA’s Team Marketing and Business Operations unit, where he worked closely with NBA team executives to share best practices and guide change in all aspects of team business operations. 

As Chief Marketing Officer at the LEGO Group, Julia Goldin is responsible for leading and inspiring the creation of LEGO play experiences which excite and educate kids. Julia’s talented team is at the core of the LEGO brand, developing the product portfolio and experience, as well as marketing and building of the brand to tell the stories of how millions of kids play and learn with LEGO through content, communication and digital channels.

Julia is responsible for a diverse team, including product development, marketing, research and insights, media and marketing strategy, social media, licensing, partnerships and sponsorships, and also the LEGO Group’s own creative agency.  During her time with the LEGO Group, Julia has led her team to launch the brand’s award winning safe social media platform for kids called LEGO LIFE; two highly successful movies – LEGO Batman Movie and LEGO Ninjago Movie; and new products which integrate innovative digital technology to enhance play experiences for kids, such as LEGO BOOST.

Prior to joining the LEGO Group in 2014, Julia was Global Chief Marketing Officer at Revlon. She also had a 13 year career with the Coca-Cola Company, where she held several senior global and regional marketing roles.

Before being elected FIFA President, Gianni Infantino was the UEFA General Secretary since October 2009, having joined the organisation in 2000. He led a team of over 400 staff which has helped further strengthen both national team and club football in Europe and UEFA’s role as a respected and credible international governing body.

At the helm of UEFA’s administration and together with the Executive Committee, he has intensified UEFA’s work to provide a democratic and sustainable environment for European football. This has been achieved through initiatives such as Financial Fair Play, improved commercial support and an increased role in the decision-making process for Member Associations of all sizes, and the development of UEFA’s competitions at every level of the game – including the exponential growth of the UEFA Champions League and the expansion of the UEFA European Football Championships.

Gianni led the fight against social ills and threats to the integrity of football in Europe, including all forms of racism and discrimination, violence and hooliganism, and match-fixing.

As Group Vice President of International Strategy, Lynn White is responsible for the development and implementation of the NHL’s international strategy across all business units. She has played a leading role in the management of the NHL’s international business initiatives including the execution of the NHL’s international events. A proven, respected leader who has played a critical role in the establishment and ongoing growth of the NHL’s international business, White first started at the NHL in 1995 as a Fan Development Assistant. For the past 22 years, White has worked her way up the ranks to become a principal member of the NHL’s executive team.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Brett Yormark oversees the business enterprise that manages and controls Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets, and the New York Islanders business operations, as well as the redevelopment and future operation of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Since its grand opening in September 2012, Yormark has had oversight for all facets of Barclays Center, including operations, event programming, sales, and marketing. In moving the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn, Yormark developed and transformed the team’s brand from a sports logo to a trendy lifestyle brand, revolutionizing the public appeal through marketing, partnerships, and public relations efforts.

Francesco Calvo is FC Barcelona’s new Chief Revenue Officer, having previously working as Commercial Director and Chief Revenue Officer at Juventus FC. Calvo worked for many years at the prestigious Italian club, where he has gathered in-depth knowledge of the football business, the generation of income and sponsorship deals.

Calvo was put in charge of the Juventus’ commercial plans and strategies, generation of income, financial sustainability, licenses and the implementation and development of new digital platforms. Calvo has also held managerial positions at Philip Morris International and Marlboro Motorsports Global Communication, and his representation of these companies led to his involvement in the business side of such events as the World F1 Championship and Moto GP