// CELEBRATING
WHO HAS BEEN WELCOMED INTO THE CLASS OF 2023?
For the ninth year running, we’ve helped identify and recognise the exceptional individuals who have moved the sports industry forward in the last 12 months.
View the Leaders Under 40 Class of 2023 below.
In partnership with:
Aneesh Madani
Head of Digital Partnerships and Innovation
International Olympic Committee
Arijana Demirovic
Head of Development in Women´s Football Division
FIFA
Ashley Shaner
Vice President, Strategy & Operations
Seven League / IMG
Ben Weisfeld
Founder & CEO
Ten Toes
Brent Koning
Executive Vice President, Global Gaming Lead
dentsu
Carlota Planas
Founder & CEO
Unik Sports Management, SL
Charlie Boss
Chief Commercial Officer
Southampton Football Club
Chris Davis
Chief Marketing Officer & Senior Vice President of Merchandising
New Balance
Devang Bhimjyani
Head
Reliance Sports and Lifestyle
Emil Calcano
Vice President, Chief Sports Marketing & International Patient Development Officer
Hospital for Special Surgery
Faisal Al-Raisi
Director of Digital for MENA
beIN MEDIA GROUP
Falon Fatemi
CEO & Co-Founder
Fireside
Georgina Thornton
Vice President, Head of Tennis Media
IMG
James McKeown
Chief Operating Officer
UCFB’s Global Institute of Sport
James Ruth
Chief Marketing Officer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jesley Chua
Group Chief Financial Officer
ONE Championship
Jess Smith
Head of Revenue
Angel City Football Club
Jessica Robertson
Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer
Togethxr
John Suhar
Vice President, Environmental and Social Impact
World Surf League
Justin Kenna
Chief Executive Officer
GameSquare Esports
Kahlen Macaulay
Head of International Sports Partnerships
Snap Inc.
Kaitlyn Beale
Vice President, Global Partnership Sales
City Football Group
Laura Baxter MBE
Strategic Director of Growth & Legacy
Special Olympics Great Britain
Lungi Macebo
Chief Operating Officer
Birmingham City Football Club
Matt Pound
Managing Director
World Table Tennis
Oscar Mayo Pardo
Executive Director
LaLiga
Robert Hamblin
Associate General Counsel
Chelsea Football Club
Sarah Batters
Director of Marketing & Partnerships
Southampton Football Club
Sarah Cook
Chief Executive Officer
Rowing Australia
Tom Huggins
Group Digital & Data Director
CSM Sport & Entertainment
Adam Warner
Senior Director Global Sports Marketing
PepsiCo
Akshay Khanna
Co-Founder & CEO of North America
Jackpot
Alexandra Dallas
Director of Public Relations
Premier League
Andreas Kaeshammer
Head of Football
Infront
Arkus Fredriksson
Chief Strategy Officer
Play Magnus Group
Ashley Ellefson
Chief Operating Officer
Drone Racing League
Bo Han
Founder & CEO
Buzzer
Chris Marris
Head of Kayo Sports & Flash News Products
Foxtel
Daniel Sillman
Chief Executive Officer
Relevent Sports Group
Erin Zinser
Vice President, Partnership Activation
AEG Global Partnerships
Fleur Castle
CEO and Founder
Factor 31
Holly Murdoch
General Manager, St George’s Park
The Football Association
James Pearce
Partnerships Director
Aurora Media Worldwide
Jonas Baer-Hoffmann
General Secretary
FIFPRO
Julie Garcia Sjogrim
Senior Director, Partnerships, Business Development, and Commercial Affairs
Canadian Olympic Committee
Kellen Benjamin
Executive Vice President, Talent Sales and Marketing
Wasserman
Lucinda McRoberts
Chief Administrative Officer & Executive Director of USA Swimming Foundation
USA Swimming
Matt Wolf
Head of Global Strategy & Innovation
National Basketball Association
Melody Li
Senior Director, Sales & Marketing
SPORTFIVE
Neil Saunders
Director of Football
Premier League
Nick Jackman
Co-Founder
50 Sport
Nicole Bekkers
Head of Commercial Strategy & Business Development
KNVB
Peter Burroughs
EVP Media
DAZN
Rob Pilgrim
Head of Sport, EMEA
YouTube
Robert Zitzmann
Managing Director & Partner
Jung von Matt SPORTS
Ryan Thompson
Chief Production Officer and Co-Founder
Esports Engine
Shawn Doss
Chief Business Officer, International | Founder
Elevate Sports Ventures
Simon Joyce
Chief Business Officer
COPA90
Siobhan McCartan
Head of Broadcast Partnerships
Six Nations Rugby
Tom Burrows
EVP Rights
DAZN
Stephen Hutchison
Managing Director
Fuse
Michael Sutherland
Chief Transformation Officer
Real Madrid
Richard Adelsberg
Chief Executive Officer
Ear to the Ground
Aubrey Levy
Senior Vice President of Content and Marketing and Head of Esports
theScore
Hannah Gordon
Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel
San Francisco 49ers
Andrew Thompson
Chief Commercial and Financial Officer
SailGP
Kelly Hogarth
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Thelma Gwen
Katie Bynum
Chief Strategy and Growth Officer
United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
Zack Weiner
Co-Founder and President
Overtime
Edleen John
Director – International Relations, Corporate Affairs & Co-Partner for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
The Football Association
Don Dransfield
Chief Strategy Officer
City Football Group
Dino Ying
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Versus Programming Network
Andrea Marini
Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Commercial Officer
Deltatre
Lisa Pearce
Chief Executive
British Wheelchair Basketball
Megan Rose
Managing Director, Major Events
United States Tennis Association
Pedro Presa
Group Chief D2C Officer
ELEVEN
Sanjog Gupta
Head-Sports
Star and Disney India
Mamdouh Eid
Chief Executive Officer
Pyramids FC
Fatma Ali Al Nuaimi
Communications Executive Officer
Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy
Andy Meikle
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Recast
Lara Toscani Weems
Vice President of Corporate Communications
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
Abigail Weintraub
Senior Director of Brand Strategy and Management
LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games
Ben Slack
Chief Revenue and Experiential Officer
Tennis Australia
Shireen Hamdan
Senior Principal and Director
Populous
Vikram Banerjee
Director of Strategy, Insight and Business Operations
England and Wales Cricket Board
Nicolas Maurer
Chief Executive Officer
Team Vitality
Hannah Brown
Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer
Formula E
Liz Ellen
Director and Co-Founder
Livida Sport Limited
Matthew Kalish
Co-Founder and President, North America
DraftKings
Matt Chrisp
Group Director of Analytics and Research
beIN MEDIA GROUP
Tanja Olano
Chief Legal Officer
LA28
Paul Liberman
President and Co-Founder
DraftKings
Samantha Chen
Executive Vice President, Partnerships & Strategic Development, APAC
Creative Artists Agency
Jessie Giordano
Senior Vice President
GMR Marketing
Rufus Hack
Chief Executive Officer
Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd
Andrew Ryan
Managing Director
FIBA Media
Patricia Rodriguez Barrios
General Manager
Granada CF
Julian Tan
Group Director of Commerical Strategy
Flutter Entertainment Plc
Rebecca Smith
UEFA Venue Director
UEFA
Susan Williamson
Senior Vice President, Business Operations
Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment
Scott Stanchak
Vice President, Emerging Technology
National Basketball Association
Gayatri Sarkar
Managing Partner
HYPE Sports Innovation, HYPE Capital
Ari Segal
Chief Executive Officer
Immortals Gaming Club
Veronica Diquattro
Chief Revenue Officer, Europe
DAZN
Deirdre Fenton
Executive Director, Unscripted
Meadowlark Media
Echo Li
Managing Director, Greater China
Lagardere
Boris Gartner
Chief Executive Officer, LaLiga North America
LaLiga North America
Adam Fraser
Chief Executive
Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
Quashan Lockett
Global Head of Human Resources
On Location
Jon Horst
General Manager
Milwaukee Bucks
Kei Yun Wong
General Manager
New Era Cap China
Jonathan Tillman
Senior Vice President, Team Marketing u0026 Business Operations
National Basketball Association
Nana-Yaw Asamoah
Vice President, Business Development
National Football League
Eric Winston
Chief Partnerships Officer
OneTeam Partners
Mike Armstrong
Chief Marketing Officer
Juventus Football Club
Yath Gangakumaran
Commercial Director
Sky Sports
Ali Donnelly
Executive Director, Digital, Marketing & Communications
Sport England
Jo Kelly
Director, Sports and News Partnerships – EMEA
Twitter
Sam Yardley
Executive Vice President, North America
Two Circles
Moon Javaid
Chief Strategy Officer
San Francisco 49ers
Abdulaziz Bin Turki Alfaisal
President
Union of Arab National Olympic Committees
Ahmad Nassar
Chief Executive Officer
OneTeam Partners
Alex Sugarman
Executive Vice President, Business Operations and Chief Strategy Officer
Chicago Cubs
Alex Rice
Executive Vice President – Business Development
STATS Perform (UK)
Alexandra Willis
Communications u0026 Marketing Director
All England Lawn Tennis Club
Amy Gaskin
Senior Vice President Partnership Management
Oak View Group
Andrea Marini
Chief Executive Officer
Deltatre
Aykan Azar
Managing Director – Asia-Pacific, Middle East u0026 Africa
Octagon
Benny Bonsu
Director of Daily Content
Olympic Channel
Brent Schoeb
Chief Revenue Officer
San Francisco 49ers
Charlie Neiman
Head of Sports Partnerships – Amazon Prime
Amazon
Christian Volk
Director of eFootball & Gaming
FIFA
Craig Levine
Co-Chief Executive Officer
ESL Gaming
Jeff Marsilio
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Nifty’s
Jennifer Alvarez
Vice President, Creative & Digital Marketing
Miami Heat
Jeremy Loeliger
Commissioner
National Basketball League
Joseph Markowski
EVP, Global Platform & Revenue Innovation
DAZN
Josh Smith
Director of Media Rights and Content Services
Premier League
Katie O’Reilly
Chief Revenue Officer
Philadelphia 76ers
Kayleigh Grieve
Women’s Football Marketing & Sponsorship
UEFA
Khalida Popal
Commercial Coordinator
FC Nordsjaelland
Laura Louisy
Vice President
Rights Acquisition
Masanori Kawana
Managing Director of East Asia
Fanatics
Miheer Walavalkar
Chief Executive Officer
LiveLike
Ned Negus
Managing Director
Playmaker Collective
Nick Carter
Director of Legal & Business Affairs
City Football Group
Nuno Moura
Chief Marketing & Growth Officer
Portuguese Football Federation
Rhys Beer
Head of Content Strategy & Programming, International
Meta
Sabrina Buljubasic
Co-Founder
FCE Congress
Sharon Fuller
Chief Content Officer
eSkootr Championship
Adam Davis
Managing Director, North America
Two Circles
Adam Harris
Global Head, Brand Partnership Studio
Twitch
Agustin Danza
Head of Digital Accounts LATAM
Mercado Libre
Al Guido
President
San Francisco 49ers
Asma Al Thani
Director – Marketing & Communications
Qatar National Olympic Committee
Chris Park
Chief Executive Officer
GenG esports
Cynthia Mumbo
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Sports Connect Africa
Danny Menken
Group Chief Business Development Officer
Eleven Sports
Dave Pietrycha
Executive Vice President, Strategy & Business Development
NBC Universal
Dewayne Hankins
President of Business Operations
Portland Trail Blazers
Dustin Godsey
Chief Marketing Officer
Milwaukee Bucks
Evan Wasch
Executive Vice President, Basketball Strategy & Analytics
NBA
Jo Tongue
Chief Executive Officer
Tongue Tied Media
Jon Stainer
Managing Director, Americas
Nielsen Sports
Kelvin Smith
Executive Associate Commissioner and General Counsel
Big 12 Conference
Dr Laila Mintas
Board Member
SIS Ltd
Louise Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
FUSE Sport & Entertainment
Malcolm Booth
Sales &Marketing Director
The R&A
Mark Gorski
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Sports Data Labs
Matthew Jafarian
Executive Vice President, Business Strategy
Miami Heat
Matthew Porter
Chief Executive Officer
Professional Darts Corporation
Megha Parekh
Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer
Jacksonville Jaguars
Nate Nanzer
VP, Global Partnerships
Epic Games
Nick Bourne
Chief Strategy Officer
ATP Media
Nina King
Vice President/Director of Athletics
Duke University
Rory Brown
Group Vice President, Content & Media
Lovevery
Stephen Farrow
Director, Tournaments, Player and International Relations
Tennis Australia
Toby Craig
Director of Corporate Affairs
City Football Group
Vanessa Shay
Chief Revenue Officer
San Diego Wave FC
Zarah Al-Kudcy
Head of Commercial Partnerships Development & Management
Formula 1
Matthew Caldwell
President and Chief Executive Officer
Florida Panthers
Nzinga Shaw
Chief Diversity, Inclusion, & Community Officer
Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena
Razvan Burleanu
President
Romanian Football Federation
Alexis Schaefer
Commercial and Marketing Director
International Paralympic Committee
Amy Starkey
Managing Director, East Region
The Jockey Club
Claire Nelson
Chief Executive Officer
Netball Scotland
Brandon Gayley
Chief Operating Officer
Spurs Sports & Entertainment
Jayar Donlan
Executive Vice President
WWE
Shaun Koiner
Chief Operating Officer
The Sporting News
Katherine Johnson
Director, Intergrated Marketing – Sports, Media, Entertainment
Google
Scott Kegley
Executive Director, Digital Media & Innovation
Minnesota Vikings
Chris Benyarko
Senior Vice President, Direct-to-Consumer
NBA
Mike Norrish
Director of Creative and Digital
BT Sport
Rob Bloom
Chief Markerting Officer
Aston Martin F1 Team
Kara Bachman
Executive Director
Chicago Sports Commission
Ben Hartman
Chief Client Officer, International
Octagon
Ashley Dabb
Head of US Operations
Red Knot Communications
Anthony DiCosmo
Vice President, Sports Marketing at Jordon Brand
Nike
Lenah Ueltzen-Gabell
Managing Director, EMEA
Wasserman
Umut Kutlu
Managing Director
BUBA Ventures
Zaileen Janmohamed
Head of Partnership Development and Innovation
US Olympic and Paralympic Properties
James Rushton
Co-Chief Executive Officer
DAZN
James Kirkham
Head of Copa90
Jeffrey Roth
Owner
Rise Sports
Michelle Walshe
Global Chief Executive Officer
Augusto
Nicholas Horbaczewski
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
Drone Racing League
Mark Loche
Chief Executive Officer
Genius Sports
Tobias Sherman
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Foundry IV
Jake Reid
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sporting Kansas City
Brent Stehlik
President and Operating Partner
RedBird Capital Partners
Menno Geelen
Chief Commercial Officer
AFC Ajax
Ian Warbrick
Executive Director Sponsorship and Licensing Sales
TEAM Marketing
Michael Zavodsky
President
Roc Nation
Benjamin Deblicker
Vice President, Sales & Sponsoring
SportFive
Jake Reynolds
President
New Jersey Devils
Chris Lendrum
Head of Professional Rugby
New Zealand Rugby Union
Sam Porter
Senior Vice President Business Legal Affairs
DC United
Frank Saviano
Partner – Corporate, Entertainment, Sports and Media
Latham &Watkins
Andrew Rogers
Salary Cap Director
Premiership Rugby
Benoit Pasquier
Attorney At Law
BP Sports Law
Jonathan Ellis
Founding Partner
Northridge
16 – 19 OCTOBER 2023
The Leaders Sports Awards will kick Leaders Week off in style, but what else is happening across the week?
From tech launchpads to masterclasses, networking breakfasts to our brand new partner village, join over 3,000 executives from across the global sport business ecosystem at Leaders Week London this October.
In partnership with: