Built especially for the Summit in a new home outside Chelsea FC, this brand new stage is for the biggest and best names in the business.
Chief Executive Officer
Sir Martin Sorrell is an English businessman and the Chief Executive Officer of WPP Group. He has served in that role since he started the company. WPP is regarded as the driving force for the period of consolidation which has been going on within the communications industry for the last ten to fifteen years. His WPP group has amassed the largest media buying group in the world, GroupM. Together with the creative agency networks, JWT, Ogilvy and Mather, Young & Rubicam and Grey, WPP is one of the three major players in the global advertising market.
Chief Brand Officer
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.
President
In April of 2007, Rich Gotham was promoted to team President of Boston Celtics. In his role, Gotham is responsible for all aspects of the Celtics business operations. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in North America. As a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues. In June of 2006, Gotham was named Chief Operating Officer for the Boston Celtics. From April 2003 through June 2006, Gotham served as Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Corporate Development for the Celtics.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Gene McCarthy is a distinguished and well known veteran of the Athletic and Outdoor Footwear and Apparel industries. In October of 2015 Mr. McCarthy was appointed President and CEO of Asics Americas Group which includes the United States with subsidiaries in Canada, Mexico, Brazil along with distributors throughout Latin America. Prior to that he was President of the Merrell Brand, a division of Wolverine WorldWide. Before then he was the SVP of Footwear at Under Armour where he oversaw the entire footwear organisation including design, development, merchandising and strategic planning. He also managed all financial accounts and directed the brand’s footwear distribution strategy.
Global Agency Lead
The Sport Business Summit Spotify: Striking the Right Note - Bringing Consumers & Brands Closer Together
Dylan Pugh is a Digital Media Executive, having worked with Zynga, PlayStation and now Spotify. Prior to working in media, Pugh had a professional rugby career at Bath, Neath and London Welsh.
President
Sebastian Coe is President of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Executive Chairman of CSM Sport and Entertainment and one of the world’s most high profile sportsmen having been a competitor, sports administrator, event organiser, campaigner, media commentator, and a life-long sports fan. He was Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, having previously been Chairman of the London 2012 bid company and was Chairman of the British Olympic Committee in the lead up to and during the unprecedented medal success of Team GB at the Rio Olympic Games.
Seb set 12 world records during his athletic career and at the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 he won Gold in the 1500m and Silver in the 800m a feat that he repeated in Los Angeles in 1984.
Seb retired from competitive athletics in 1990 and became a conservative MP and Private Secretary to William Hague. In 2002 he was made a Peer. He received a Knighthood in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List and received a Companion of Honour in the 2013 New Year’s Honours List.
In addition to a number of other roles in sport Seb is also Pro-Chancellor of Loughborough University where he studied as an undergraduate, a Non-Executive Director of VitalityHealth & Life Group of Companies and serves as an Ambassador for BMW. He is a Member of the Laureus World Sport Academy and a Consultant for his beloved Chelsea Football Club.
Executive Director - Global Marketing & Branding
Rahul is Executive Director of Global Marketing & Branding at Rakuten Inc. He joined in 2016 from Wipro to help build and drive Rakuten’s global brand and marketing agenda. One of his core missions is to position Rakuten as one of the world’s foremost innovative companies by bringing together the pillars of strategy, design and technology. By identifying innovative concepts and best practices that can be applied across multiple markets, Rahul is responsible for strategy and execution of marketing and branding for Rakuten’s extensive global business portfolio. He has been instrumental in negotiating and signing the FC Barcelona partnership and making Rakuten, FCB’s “Global Innovation and Entertainment” partner.
He has over 16+ years of proven experience across brand management, communications and field marketing in various industries with a focus in IT, Internet Services and Technology sector. Rahul received his Bachelor’s in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai, India.
Chief Executive Officer
Ambarish is the CEO and co-founder of Blippar, an augmented reality browser using artificial intelligence and computer vision to give people more from the world they see. Mitra was born in India and whilst working two jobs as a teenager, he won a nationwide business plan competition. The prize money helped to launch his first business, Women Infoline, which gave internet access to women earning below a certain wage. Ambarish sold the business at 21; moving to the UK and starting three business ventures over the next decade. In 2016, Ernst and Young named him UK Entrepreneur of the Year.
Chief Analytics Officer
Matthew Marolda is Chief Analytics Officer at Legendary Entertainment. He formed and runs Legendary’s Applied Analytics division, which uses data and analytics to drive strategic decisions across all aspects of the company.Prior to Legendary, Mr. Marolda founded StratBridge LLC in 1999. StratBridge had two software solutions businesses: “moneyball” player analysis software used by many organizations in the NFL, NBA, European Football and Major League Soccer (sold to XOS Digital in 2012), and dynamic pricing and revenue analysis software used by many professional sports teams (acquired by Legendary in 2014, after Mr. Marolda had joined Legendary). He earned his MBA at the Tuck School at Dartmouth where he won the Adams Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship. Mr. Marolda graduated from Bowdoin College with Honors, earning majors in economics and mathematics and a minor in art history.
Commissioner
Val Ackerman was named the fifth Commissioner of the Big East Conference on June 26, 2013. She was the founding President of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a past President of USA Basketball, which oversees the U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic basketball program. She has had a long and accomplished career in the sports industry and is one of the few sports executives who has held leadership positions in both men’s and women’s sports at the collegiate, professional, national team and international levels.
Ackerman attended the University of Virginia as one of the school’s first female student-athlete scholarship recipients. She was a four-year starter, three-time captain and two-time Academic All-American for the Cavaliers’ women’s basketball team and the first 1,000-point scorer in the program’s history. She graduated with high distinction with a degree in political and social thought in 1981 and played one year of professional basketball in France before earning a law degree from UCLA in 1985.
Chief Engagement Officer
Werner Brell joined Samsung Electronics America, as its Chief Engagement Officer. He has made a name for himself for creating world-class content and programming, and inventing new development, production, distribution and monetization strategies across all media platforms. In his current role, Werner spearheads Samsung’s passion point marketing efforts, as well as social media, to drive consumer engagement in new, innovative ways and continue to personalize and contextualize the Samsung brand in the United States.
Werner comes from Red Bull, where most recently he served as President of Red Bull Media House North America where he built and led a world-class team to develop and drive Red Bull’s successful content and digital media efforts with a coveted young audience.
Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations
The Sport Business Summit Billy Beane/Sir Dave Brailsford: Moneyball meets Marginal Gains
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 post-season 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.
Global Chief Revenue Officer
In just over two years at Bloomberg Media, Grossman has solidified his position as a vital exec in the company. In the past year alone, Grossman, 36, has received two major promotions from publisher of Bloomberg Digital and Digital Products to Head of U.S. Sales last November, and then to Global CRO in September. Thanks to his initiatives which include; building a programmatic business from scratch, launching a B2B marketing services group, selling advertisement inventory for Bloomberg’s livestreams of the presidential debates on Twitter, Bloomberg Media’s total revenue has grown 8 percent year-on-year.
Chief Executive Officer
The Sport Business Summit Martin Glenn: Growth, Development & Change - Looking Ahead at The FA
Martin Glenn joined the FA in March 2015 following a successful career at three of the largest companies in the UK. He spent 15 years at Walkers Crisps/ PepsiCo where he over saw the growth of the Walkers Crisps from a regional brand to Britain’s biggest supermarket brand. From there he moved to run two Private Equity backed companies, BirdsEye and United Biscuits. He led the latter to a successful sale at the end of 2014. In 2003 Martin was voted CEO of the year by Marketing Magazine and he was President of the Marketing Society from 2013-16. He joined the board of the Football Foundation in 2016. His involvement in football predates the FA role. He was Non- Executive director of Leicester city from 2002-06 and took his Level 1 FA Coaching badge in 2002.
Since joining the FA he has undertaken a process of modernising its practices and relationships and restoring its financials to allow more investment into Football projects. The FA’s investment into the game now stands at a record high of 125 million a year.
Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Brett Yormark oversees the business enterprise that manages and controls the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center, the New York Islanders business operations, the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and the Nets’ Development League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. Yormark is a member of the Board of Advisory Directors for both the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. Alongside Charlie Walk of the Republic Group, Yormark co-founded the BSE Advisory Board, which provides strategic guidance and supports development initiatives and unique content opportunities for Barclays Center.
Owner
Eisner headed up The Walt Disney Company as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for 21 years. Prior to Disney, Eisner was President of Paramount Pictures, from 1976 to 1984, having come from working at the ABC Television Network for a decade. After leaving Disney, he set up The Tornante Company, LLC in 2005 and was one of the early investors in Netflix, as well as acquiring the trading card manufacturer Topps. Michael is understood to have previously shown an interest in acquiring a football team. In May 2017 Michael bought and took over Portsmouth FC from the Portsmouth’s supporters’ trust.
Chief Executive Officer
The Esports Forum FIFA vs Overwatch: Where Is The Money For Sports Properties?
The Sport Business Summit LaLiga/MLB: Going Global - Leagues Making a Mark Away from Home
Head of Global Sponsorship & Europe Marketing Communications
Following working in the UK for six years in various roles, Fiona Taag first joined DHL in 2005 as Marketing Manager in New Zealand, and later moved to Bahrain as Middle East & North Africa Marketing Manager. She then returned to New Zealand to manage the DHL Express global sponsorship of RWC 2011. In 2012, she joined the Deutsche Post DHL Group head office in Germany as Global Sponsorship Manager, and again had the opportunity to manage DHL’s partnership of RWC 2015. As Head of Global Sponsorship, she currently manages partnerships for DHL Express including the World Rugby Sevens Series, Manchester United, MotoGP™, Exhibitionism – The Rolling Stones, The Grand Tour and AEG, as well as assisting colleagues around the world to activate Formula 1®, Fashion, Formula E and a variety of local partnerships.
President and Chief of Branding and Strategy
Michael R. Yormark is President & Chief of Branding and Strategy for Roc Nation and responsible for marketing, branding, strategic partnerships and business development for the full-service company inclusive of artists, athletes, songwriters, music publishing, touring & merchandising, film & television, and a music label. Yormark leads the effort to create and develop optimal opportunities for the Roc Nation brand, and its roster of athletes and artists, through strategic partnerships. He is also responsible for increasing revenue and awareness for all Roc Nation brands and properties, as the company continues to set the standard for global innovation.
Michael possesses over 20 years of industry experience, most recently as President & CEO of Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, the Florida Panthers and the BB&T Center in South Florida where he was a SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 winner and brokered the most lucrative naming rights partnership in BB&T Center history.
Chief Executive Officer
John is the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Times. He was formerly Editor and Publisher of the Financial Times, Asia, as well as Chairman of Pearson in Asia. John led the launch of the Asia edition of the FT in 2003. It won the award for the best newspaper from the Society of Publishers in Asia in its launch year and received top awards for business reporting, scoops and newspaper design at the same ceremony in 2006. During his tenure, the FT has gained a wide reputation for boldness and innovation, including pioneering the metered access model.
Head of Global Sports Partnerships
The Sport Business Summit Facebook: From Pokes & Likes to Audience Spikes - Streaming on Social
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.
Co-Owner
Stephen A Kaplan was a founder of Oaktree Capital Group, LLC, and currently an Oaktree Advisory Partner having retired from day-to-day activities at the end of 2016. At Oaktree, Mr Kaplan founded and built the Global Principal Group which focuses on control investments in the United States, Europe and Asia. Over the past several years Mr. Kaplan has built a significant business in sports ownership. He is the Managing General Partner of Swansea City Football, a football team based in Wales playing in the English Premier League.
In 2012, Mr. Kaplan was part of a group of investors that purchased the Memphis Grizzlies. He currently serves as the Grizzlies Vice-Chairman and has served as an Alternate Governor on the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association. Mr. Kaplan is also an early stage investor in, and a board member of, Immortals, a leading company that owns teams competing in the emerging arena of video game competition.
Executive Vice President, Partnerships and Business Development
The Sport Business Summit The Players' Tribune: The Changing Relationship Between Athletes, Media & Fans
Raphael Poplock joined The Players’ Tribune as Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Business Development. In his role, Poplock oversees partnerships, audience development, product technology, and distribution for The Players’ Tribune. He also works closely with Jaymee Messler, President, on strategy, sales and marketing. Prior to joining The Players’ Tribune, Poplock served as Vice President of Partnerships for ESPN, where he led the global partnerships and cross-platform games businesses. Whilst at ESPN, he also oversaw audience development and new revenue-driving activities across digital media products.
Team Principal
The Sport Business Summit Billy Beane/Sir Dave Brailsford: Moneyball meets Marginal Gains
David Brailsford has been involved in cycling throughout his career and has enjoyed a number of highlights. In 2008, in his role as Performance Director at British Cycling, he led the GB Cycling Team to an unprecedented 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games. He replicated this feat in 2012, leading Team GB to another 8 gold medals at the London Olympics. In 2010 Dave joined British based professional team, Team Sky, with the aim of bringing Britain its first ever Tour De France winner. In 2012 Dave achieved this, with Bradley Wiggins winning the prestigious race. One year later, it was under Dave’s leadership again that Chris Froome won the Tour De France for Team Sky. Dave received his knighthood for services to cycling and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 28th February 2013.
Chief Communications Officer
The Sport Business Summit, London 2018
OTT vs Linear: Identifying New Global Opportunities
The Strategy Stage
Digital Content & Strategy Director
Dolly Jones is the Digital Content & Strategy Director of Condé Nast. In January 2000, she became a writer for VOGUE. COM, before being named editor in 2005. In 2015 she returned to become Digital Strategy Director, to align editorial and commercial strategies for greater user and client engagement across the portfolio. During her time at Vogue and since, she has written regularly about ethical fashion and sustainable living.
Deputy General Secretary, Director of Football
Giorgio Marchetti is UEFA’s Deputy General Secretary and Director of Football. In his current positions, he is responsible for all UEFA club and national team competitions, at senior and youth level, in addition to playing a key role in governance and commercial matters. Giorgio joined European football’s governing body in February 2004 as Director of Professional Football and Marketing and was also Director of Competitions. Prior to working at UEFA, Giorgio had been general secretary of the Italian League (Lega Calcio) for seven years between 1997 and 2004, having served as deputy secretary from 1991.
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
The Sport Business Summit Fertitta Capital/RedBird Capital Partners: Show me the Money - Getting Sports Investment Right
Nakisa is currently CEO and Co-Founder of newly launched private investment firm, Fertitta Capital, and is responsible for the deployment of the Firm’s capital. Prior to co-founding Fertitta Capital, he served as the CFO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he led the conceptualization, negotiation and execution of sale as well as previously occupying a Vice Presidency role of strategy and business ventures. Nakisa has also held positions with Accenture, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and most recently the Mubadala Development Company, a multi-million-dollar sovereign investment company of the government of Abu Dhabi, where he spearheaded their international real estate investment efforts.
Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer
After graduating with a master’s degree from University of London, Goldsmiths’ College, Paul started his career at corporate communications firm Maritz before helping to launch Shots magazine in 1990. After a spell in commercials production, Paul returned to shots and became editor in 1994. Subscriptions trebled under his tenure.
In 1998 he became Leo Burnett’s worldwide director of creative resources, based in Chicago. Paul was responsible for the agency’s Creative Exchange department and its quarterly creative councils, known as the Global Product Committee. Paul left Leo Burnett in 2004 to co-found Contagious – an editorial resource and innovation consultancy that equips marketers and agencies across the globe to navigate the immediate future.
Paul has written numerous articles for publications including Business 2.0, The Guardian, Hollywood Reporter and M&M Europe, as well as co-editing D&AD’s The Commercials Book. He has appeared on CNN.com, ITV News, BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme and 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money. His TED Talk on Alternative Currencies has been viewed more than one million times. He is currently writing The Contagious Commandments book, to be published by Portfolio Penguin in 2018.
President
Dan Fiden is the President of Cloud9 Esports, the most watched esports organization in the Western world. Cloud9 has eleven teams competing across ten games, and owns the London franchise for Blizzard’s Overwatch League. Dan became involved in Cloud9 as an investor first, joining the Board of Directors and leading led the Seed investment round, alongside NFL legend Joe Montana, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, SpaceX and Tesla Board Member Kimbal Musk, Golden State Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya, and others.
Earlier in his career, Dan was a founding partner of Signia Venture Partners, an early stage venture fund, where he led investments in “Vainglory” creator Super Evil Megacorp, FunPlus, and early stage technology businesses. A year after investing in FunPlus, he joined the company as CSO. FunPlus was sold for over $1BN three years later. FunPlus founder Andy Zhong and Dan cofounded FunPlus Ventures. Dan serves on the Boards of Directors of Cloud9 Esports, Sirvo Studios, and Stress Level Zero, and the Game Developers Conference.
Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer
The Sport Business Summit Fertitta Capital/RedBird Capital Partners: Show me the Money - Getting Sports Investment Right
Gerry Cardinale is the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of RedBird Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm that brings together entrepreneurs and family offices to make growth equity investments in partnership with business founders who have a proven track record of success. Launched in 2013 with offices in New York and Dallas, RedBird focuses on long term capital appreciation with an emphasis on compounding equity returns over longer holding periods to maximize superior risk-adjusted returns. To date, RedBird has led over $1.5 billion of investments across its four key industry verticals – Communications; Sports, Leisure & Hospitality; Energy and Industrial Services; and Financial & Business Services.
Mr. Cardinale has had a 25-year career investing in Sports and Sports Media. Most recently, Mr. Cardinale has led RedBird’s investment in On Location Experiences, a recapitalization in partnership with the National Football League (NFL) of its global ticketing, hospitality and events business.
Prior to RedBird and during his 20-year tenure at Goldman Sachs, where he was a Partner of the firm and its Merchant Banking private equity business, Mr. Cardinale helped create two multi-billion sports-related businesses — the Yankees Entertainment & Sports (“YES”) Network, which today is the #1 Regional Sports Network in the United States; and Legends Hospitality, a premium ticketing, concessions and merchandising services company which was created in partnership with the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys.
President, Business Operations & Chief Commercial Officer
In his role as President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer, Van Stone oversees ticket sales and service, global partnerships, executive suites, marketing and retail business. Previously Van Stone was MSE’s chief revenue officer, overseeing ticket sales and service, executive suites and corporate partnerships. He joined the Capitals as Vice president of Ticket Sales and Service in 2007 before transitioning to his MSE role in 2010. Van Stone previously held senior positions with the Phoenix Coyotes and Comcast-Spectacor, working with both the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Van Stone joined Monumental, which merged Lincoln Holdings and Washington Sports & Entertainment in 2010, after serving as the Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service at the Capitals since 2007.
Prior to working with the Capitals, Jim was Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales for the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) and Arizona Sting (NLL). Previously, Jim served as Vice President of Sales for both Comcast-Spectacor sports teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers.
Vice President for Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Partnerships
Oliver Luck is the NCAA’s first executive vice president for regulatory affairs and oversees all NCAA regulatory functions – enforcement, academic and membership affairs, and the eligibility center.
He leads a team of individuals responsible for investigating potential violations involving member schools in order to uphold integrity and fair play among the NCAA membership. He is also involved in legislative interpretations, waiver requests, and academic and amateurism certification. In addition to his regulatory affairs responsibilities, he oversees football strategy, and corporate and media relationships at the NCAA.
Luck joined the NCAA in 2014 after a successful four-year run as the director of athletics at West Virginia University. He led West Virginia into the Big 12 Conference and presided over the best fundraising year in school history (2012). In 2005, Luck was appointed the first president of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, helping the organization to a pair of MLS Cup titles in his first two years at the helm. He also served as the CEO of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority and as the President of NFL Europe.
Owner
Mr. Patrick Cryne has been Chairman of the Board and Director of Isoft Group Plc since 14 December 2004.
US Olympic Athlete
The Sport Business Summit The Players' Tribune: The Changing Relationship Between Athletes, Media & Fans
Ibtihaj Muhammad is an American sabre fencer, and a member of the United States fencing team. She is best known for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while competing for the United States in the Olympics. In individual sabre at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won her first qualifying round bout, and was defeated in the second round by Cécilia Berder of France. She earned the bronze medal as part of Team USA in the Team Sabre, becoming the first female Muslim-American athlete to earn a medal at the Olympics.
Former NBA player and Executive Producer
The Sport Business Summit The Players' Tribune: The Changing Relationship Between Athletes, Media & Fans
Jason David Williams is an American former basketball player and current college basketball analyst. He played college basketball for the Duke University Blue Devils and professionally for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. Williams works for ESPN as a college basketball analyst. He has also done motivational speaking and worked as an analyst on CBS College Sports Network during the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. He was a recruiter for sports agency Ceruzzi Sports and Entertainment from 2007–09. In 2016, Williams released his autobiography, “Life Is Not an Accident: A Memoir of Reinvention”. Presently, Williams is the Spokesperson of Visions Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Endwell, New York.
Former Professional Footballer
The Sport Business Summit Equal Game: Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Football
Kolo Abib Touré is an Ivorian former footballer. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Coast national team. On 9 August 2017, the Ivorian Football Federation announced that Touré would be part of the coaching staff for the under-23 teams. He joined Celtic’s coaching staff as a technical assistant in September 2017.
Former Professional Footballer
The Sport Business Summit Equal Game: Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Football
Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira, is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a defender. After starting out at Estoril, he went on to spend the vast majority of his 16-year professional career with Porto and Chelsea, signing with the latter in 2004 for €20 million. He won several major titles with both clubs, including two Primeira Liga titles, three Premier League trophies and the 2004 and 2012 editions of the Champions League.
Ferreira earned 62 caps for the Portugal national team between 2002 and 2010, playing at two European Championships and two World Cups and finishing as runner-up at Euro 2004. After retiring, Ferreira worked for Chelsea as an ambassador and assistant loan player technical coach.
Former Professional Footballer
The Sport Business Summit Equal Game: Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Football
Alexandra Virina Scott, MBE is an English footballer who plays as a right-back for Arsenal in the FA WSL. Scott made 140 appearances for the English national team and also represented Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. At club level Scott has had three separate spells with Arsenal, punctuated with a season at Birmingham City in 2004–05 and three years in the American Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) with Boston Breakers. She scored the winning goal for Arsenal in the 2007 UEFA Women’s Cup Final.
Professional Referee
The Sport Business Summit Equal Game: Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Football
Ryan Atkin will be the first openly gay professional referee officiating in the English Football League this season. The 32-year-old will take charges of games in the National League North and South this term as well as fourth official duties in the EFL and National League.
Ryan began refereeing in his hometown of Plymouth in 1999 and was first promoted to Football League duties as an assistant referee in 2009, running the line in various fixtures – including Championship matches – before stepping down from those duties at the end of the 2015-16 campaign in order to follow the main referee career path. By contributing to the ongoing conversations around LGBT inclusion in sport, Atkin hopes to inspire others who may fear their sexuality or gender identity is a barrier to participation, to get more involved.
Head of Corporate Communications
The Sport Business Summit Equal Game: Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Football
Peter became the Head of Corporate Communications of UEFA in January 2016. His previous role was being the Communications Director of Volvo Ocean Race Sponsorship, Powerhouse, where he managed the communications and sponsorship for the Powerhouse campaign in the 2014-’15 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. He also is the Author of the management book: ‘Naar de Haaien’, leiderschapslessen uit een schipbreuk en comeback in de Volvo Ocean Race’ (UK: To Hell and Back). Before Powerhouse Peter was the Head of the Reputation Management and External Relations department of Essent Oil & Energy company.
Assistant Coach
The Sport Business Summit Equal Game: Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Football
Claude Makélélé Sinda is a French former footballer and current assistant coach at Premier League club Swansea City. In his playing career, which ended at Paris Saint-Germain, Makélélé also played for Nantes, Marseille, Celta de Vigo, Real Madrid and Chelsea. He won league titles in France, Spain and England, as well as the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League during his time with Real Madrid.
Makélélé was a French international for 13 years, and was part of the France national team which reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also represented his nation at the 2002 World Cup, two UEFA European Football Championships and the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Regarded as one of the greatest ever players in his position, Makélélé has been credited with redefining the defensive midfield role in English football, especially during the 2004–05 FA Premier League season, where he played a key role in helping Chelsea win the title with 95 points. In homage to Makélélé, many fans and pundits alike have dubbed the defensive midfield position the “Makélélé Role”.
Nielsen Sports is the leading source of sports measurement, analytics and insights around the world. With unrivaled data, products and consulting services, the company is uniquely positioned to provide leagues, teams, federations, brands and agencies with global solutions to optimize sponsorship portfolios and maximize investments in sports.
Nielsen Sports is deeply committed to developing new offerings that meet client needs, and last year launched a Nielsen Esports business vertical; created a new unified media measurement platform; and acquired artificial intelligence technology that will help shape the future of the sports business. Nielsen Sports is part of Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE:NLSN) a S&P 500 company with operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.
With SAP solutions, sports and entertainment organizations are driving world-class innovation to: Engage fans like never before, improve player and team performance, maximize revenue streams – grow existing and create new ones, help teams, leagues, and venues run simply.
SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, SAP is at the center of today’s business and technology revolution. Our innovations enable more than 291,000 customers worldwide to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively.
Company Listing:
SAP SE
Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16, 69190 Walldorf, Germany
+49 6227 7-61955
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men’s professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world. It has thirty franchised member clubs (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), and is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. NBA players are the world’s best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.
Facebook brings together the world’s largest community of sports fans.
Sports are inherently social, with the power to build and connect communities around the world. This connection happens on Facebook, where the largest real-time social media audience comes together to talk about sports’ biggest moments. On Facebook, fans discover rich and immersive video that brings them closer to the sports, athletes and teams they love. Innovations such as Facebook Live and Facebook 360 video give fans unprecedented access to the action, taking them on the field and in the locker room, inviting them to interact directly with their favourite players and enabling them to watch live games from around the world.
By leveraging Facebook, partners can reach new audiences and experiment with interactive, social and mobile-first broadcasts. Facebook also helps partners achieve their business goals by growing and engaging their fan base; supporting current revenue drivers such as tune-in, subscriptions, sponsorship and ticket and merchandise sales; and providing new revenue streams such as branded content, Instant Articles and ad breaks in live video.
UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations – is the governing body of European football. It is an association of associations, a representative democracy, and is the umbrella organisation for 55 national football associations across Europe. Its objectives are, among other things, to deal with all questions relating to European football, to promote football in a spirit of unity, solidarity, peace, understanding and fair play, without any discrimination on the part of politics, race, religion, gender or any other reason, to safeguard the values of European football, promote and protect ethical standards and good governance in European football, maintain relations with all stakeholders involved in European football, and support and safeguard its member associations for the overall well-being of the European game.
Key Information
Venue:
Chelsea FC
Stamford Bridge
Fulham Rd, London SW6 1HS
