WHAT MAKES LEADERS MEET: INNOVATION DIFFERENT?

With the 2026 programme below, tailored to the most senior executives across the sports business, here’s what makes this event unmissable for those at the heart of decision-making.

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LIMITED CAPACITY
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OUTSIDE-OF-SPORT PERSPECTIVE
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MEDIA-FREE ENVIRONMENT
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C-SUITE AUDIENCE
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PEER-TO-PEER DISCUSSIONS
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INTERACTIVE FORMATS

EXPLORE THE 2026 PROGRAMME

Wednesday 11 March 2026
9:00 – 9:45
The Studio

Leading in Sport – Women in Sport Breakfast

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Chloe Walton

Professional Leadership Coach

9:00 – 9:45
The Studio

Leading in Sport – Women in Sport Breakfast

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  • Connect and network with senior women from across the sports industry – and beyond
  • Explore further opportunity, equity and growth for C-suite women working in sport
  • An energising session on leading for the future

Chloe Walton

Professional Leadership Coach

10:00 – 10:30
The Studio

The (New) World Order: Global Trends and What They Mean for Sport

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10:00 – 10:30
The Studio

The (New) World Order: Global Trends and What They Mean for Sport

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  • Managing through turbulent times: how big political and economic shifts
  • How international businesses navigating complex geopolitics
  • Long-term societal changes: attitudes and habits under the microscope

10:00 – 10:45
The Loft

Immersive, Inventive and In-person: Turning Live Events into Truly Memorable Experiences

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Martin Green

Eurovision Song Contest

10:00 – 10:45
The Loft

Immersive, Inventive and In-person: Turning Live Events into Truly Memorable Experiences

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  • Amplifying IRL experiences with impactful digital presence
  • Making more of venues: the arena as media studio
  • Blending in partners to build more creative productions

Martin Green

Eurovision Song Contest

10:30 – 11:30
The Studio

Board Meeting: What Makes a Great Chair-CEO Relationship?

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10:30 – 11:30
The Studio

Board Meeting: What Makes a Great Chair-CEO Relationship?

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  • Investigating the best dynamics for a fruitful partnership
  • Judging the moment: when to step in and when to sit back?
  • What does a CEO need from a Chair, and what does a Chair expect from a CEO?

10:45 – 11:30
The Loft

Audience Development as an Engine for Growth: Lessons from The Guardian’s Unique Reader Revenue Model

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Liz Wynn

The Guardian

10:45 – 11:30
The Loft

Audience Development as an Engine for Growth: Lessons from The Guardian’s Unique Reader Revenue Model

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  • How The Guardian generated over £100 million in digital reader revenue through meaningful connection, careful packaging and high-value products
  • Why fuelling subscription growth through continuous evolution and refinement is the key to success
  • Driving brand connection and converting a mindset of supporting into 1.3 million digital recurring supporters

Liz Wynn

The Guardian

12:00 – 13:00
The Loft

The Ultimate Planning Session: The People, Process and Presentation of Major Infrastructure Projects

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Tim Norwood

Gatwick Airport

Collette Roche

Manchester United

12:00 – 13:00
The Loft

The Ultimate Planning Session: The People, Process and Presentation of Major Infrastructure Projects

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  • Leading teams and stakeholders through major infrastructure projects like Manchester United’s new stadium and Gatwick Airport’s transformation.
  • Pacing major projects and how to take major stakeholders – internal and external – along with you on the way.
  • Managing and prioritising through multi-year planning and delivery processes, and inspiring government, fans and partners.

Tim Norwood

Gatwick Airport

Collette Roche

Manchester United

12:00 – 13:00
The Studio

The Big Ticket Giveaway: How to Build a Stronger Ticketing Offering

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12:00 – 13:00
The Studio

The Big Ticket Giveaway: How to Build a Stronger Ticketing Offering

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  • Making sense and seizing the advantages of a tech-driven ticketing revolution
  • How an open distribution model empowers event owners and disrupt live events ticketing
  • Making ticketing work for you: real-time data and a frictionless fan experience

 

* Lunch Break *
14:30 – 15:00
The Loft

Bringing Data to Life: Learnings from the Met Police

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Darren Scates

Metropolitan Police Service

14:30 – 15:00
The Loft

Bringing Data to Life: Learnings from the Met Police

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  • Explore how the Metropolitan Police Service collect, make sense of and apply large volumes of data.
  • What leaders of organisations should know about data processes, risks and privacy.
  • Building systems – choice points and learnings on the approach to data insights and ownership.

Darren Scates

Metropolitan Police Service

14:30 – 15:30
The Studio

Getting Serious About Piracy: Can Sport Stop the Great Content Robbery?

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14:30 – 15:30
The Studio

Getting Serious About Piracy: Can Sport Stop the Great Content Robbery?

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  • Evaluating sport’s leakage problem and the motivations to tackle content theft
  • Why there needs to be an industry-wide approach to content protection
  • Unearthing tactics to identify risks, utilise technology and change habits

 

15:00 – 15:30
The Loft

Bringing Data to Life: How Transport for London Keeps the Capital Moving

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Lauren Sager Weinstein

15:00 – 15:30
The Loft

Bringing Data to Life: How Transport for London Keeps the Capital Moving

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  • Explore how the Metropolitan Police Service collect, make sense of and apply large volumes of data.
  • What leaders of organisations should know about data processes, risks and privacy.
  • Building systems – choice points and learnings on the approach to data insights and ownership.

Lauren Sager Weinstein

16:00 – 17:00
The Studio

Artificial Intelligence: Preparedness, Storytelling and The Future of Brand Equity

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Marco Iannone

Virgin Active

16:00 – 17:00
The Studio

Artificial Intelligence: Preparedness, Storytelling and The Future of Brand Equity

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  • An open spaces, interactive discussion designed combining expert perspective and real-life scenarios to help augment your organisation’s AI approach
  • Preparedness and operational adoption: what are leaders doing to help build habits, enhance business processes and accelerate product development?
  • Agentic AI and the future of brand equity: what does it mean for selling, marketing and the value of my brand?
  • Storytelling and commercialisation: what should my relationship be with AI’s major tech players and what should I sell or license to them, and what can sport’s role be as a showcase for what AI can do?

Marco Iannone

Virgin Active

16:00 – 17:00
The Loft

Coming Soon

16:00 – 17:00
The Loft

Coming Soon

17:00 – 19:00
Connection

Social Hour

17:00 – 19:00
Connection

Social Hour

Thursday 12 March 2026
8:45 – 9:45
The Loft

Brands Meet-Up Smart Marketing in a World of Automation

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8:45 – 9:45
The Loft

Brands Meet-Up Smart Marketing in a World of Automation

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  • A private gathering of brand-side executives designed to stimulate new ideas and raise shared challenges
  • A facilitated, off the record discussion exploring the role of AI in brand marketing
  • Unearthing ideas to help deliver tangible business impact

10:00 – 10:30
The Studio

Broadcast Briefing: Forecasting the Future of Media and Communications

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Melanie Dawes

OFCOM

10:00 – 10:30
The Studio

Broadcast Briefing: Forecasting the Future of Media and Communications

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  • How and why new media habits are being formed – and the implications for sport
  • Tactics for making sense of a rapidly evolving digital landscape
  • Online safety: how organisations should tackle new challenges around privacy and technology

Melanie Dawes

OFCOM

10:00 – 10:30
The Loft

The Road to B Corp: How to Set Your Organisation on the Right Track

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Jeff Dodds

Formula E

Chris Turner

B Lab UK

10:00 – 10:30
The Loft

The Road to B Corp: How to Set Your Organisation on the Right Track

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  • Formula E and B Corp unite to tell the story of how the motorsport series set a new global standard for sport
  • Making and measuring your contribution: How to set your ogranisation up for success and unlock previously unsee value
  • A leadership approach to prioritising profit and purpose, and how to take your team with you

Jeff Dodds

Formula E

Chris Turner

B Lab UK

10:30 – 11:00
The Loft

Brands Doing Things Brilliantly: Creative Approaches to Marketing and Connecting with Consumers

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10:30 – 11:00
The Loft

Brands Doing Things Brilliantly: Creative Approaches to Marketing and Connecting with Consumers

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  • Meet brand-side executives who have developed pioneering approaches to boost reach and relevance
  • Need-to-know tactics for sports leaders to build better relationships with brands
  • Inspiration to help tap into trends, bond with audiences and cut through the noise

10:30 – 11:00
The Studio

Leading From the Front: Staying Dynamic and Focused in Fast-Moving Industries

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Paula MacKenzie

PizzaExpress

10:30 – 11:00
The Studio

Leading From the Front: Staying Dynamic and Focused in Fast-Moving Industries

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  • Honing the skills and attributes required to manage up, down and side-to-side in fast-moving sectors like sport and hospitality.
  • Instilling a common culture across dispersed and international teams.
  • Understanding what the consumer wants and when – the story of the Pizza Express record label and knowing when to diversify revenues

Paula MacKenzie

PizzaExpress

11:30 – 12:30
The Loft

Powered by AI: How to re-engineer and re-energise your content offering

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Mario Dughi

Unilever

11:30 – 12:30
The Loft

Powered by AI: How to re-engineer and re-energise your content offering

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  • How Unilever built out and scaled up a network of AI-powered content studios
  • Hiring lessons: identifying the right skillsets to localize and personalize content with AI
  • Mixing in-house digital content capability with agency solutions – and finding the right balance

Mario Dughi

Unilever

11:30 – 12:30
The Studio

Be the Lead: Sport’s Cultural Bloom – Why Relevance is the New Reach

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11:30 – 12:30
The Studio

Be the Lead: Sport’s Cultural Bloom – Why Relevance is the New Reach

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  • What makes a true cultural partnership and how to build one
  • Why inclusion and impact are now table stakes for business credibility
  • Making the step from sponsorship to cultural co-creation

* Lunch Break *
13:30 – 14:30
The Studio

Coming Soon

13:30 – 14:30
The Studio

Coming Soon

15:00 – 16:30
The Studio

Challenger and Emerging Sports: Life in the Attention and Revenues Dogfight

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Phil Batty

Glasgow Common Wealth Games 2026

15:00 – 16:30
The Studio

Challenger and Emerging Sports: Life in the Attention and Revenues Dogfight

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  • How smaller, emerging, more resource-limited sports can survive and thrive as football squeezes the oxygen out of the industry
  • Turning problems to opportunity: creative thinking, clever collabs and upending traditional models
  • Doing more with less: working with finite resources and engaging fans with less disposable income

Phil Batty

Glasgow Common Wealth Games 2026

Apply To Attend

This is an invitation only event, with every participant approved to ensure they meet the senior leadership criteria below.

If you meet this criteria a member of the leaders team will be in touch.

Participant Criteria – to qualify for the event you must hold a current C-suite or Director level position at a team, league, brand, broadcaster, or service provider working with the sports industry.

In partnership with:

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