POPULARITY
As the Dana White-fronted Zuffa Boxing, backed by TKO and Saudi's Sela, makes its move to dethrone promotional giants Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions, James Emmett and David Cushnan consider the latest disruption in the fight game and Turki Alalshikh's role as chief string-puller. They also reflect on their conversation with Uefa Marketing Director Guy-Laurent Epstein and European Football Clubs CEO Charlie Marshall, to unpack the new commercial programme being developed by the UC3 entity, a joint venture between Uefa and EFC - and the flexibility that is being built into the media rights and sponsorship sales packages being taken to market by agency partners Relevent and Two Circles. And there's reaction to the Premier League confirmation it will launch a direct-to-consumer service in Singapore.
Over 40,000 people volunteer at Parkrun events worldwide each week, with around 20,000 in the UK alone, which prompts James Emmett and David Cushnan to discuss sport's reliance on volunteers to help run - and effectively help market - big events.They reflect on this week's podcast interview with Elizabeth Duggan, Parkrun's CEO, and on the word of mouth-driven success story it's become in the UK and further afield.Elsewhere, as Gianni Infantino celebrates his 10th anniversary as Fifa President in Instagram style, it's a timely moment to assess his front-foot approach to communications, in a week when IOC President Kirsty Coventry miscued during a press conference and a leading voice in women's football, Victoire Cogevina Reynal, stepped away from her Mercury13 multi-club investment firm.
The proposed merger between the ATP and WTA remains on the table, but as James Emmett and David Cushnan discuss, the time it's taking to finalise tells its own story. On this week's show, there's reflections on conversations with Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA, and Eno Polo, the new CEO at the ATP - and the challenges tennis faces with calendar congestion, balancing the demands of tournaments of various sizes, and player influence. There's also time to discuss Casey Wasserman's decision to sell his stake in his agency, and the possible forms the sale could take, and as the NFL hires TMRW Sports to operate its planned new flag football league, how and where rights holders can create new IP, to make a greater footprint, expand geographically or fuel player development. ---- Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.
James Emmett and David Cushnan look ahead to a new Formula 1 season and another potentially seismic shift in the sport. With significant gains in audience and commercial growth for the motorsport series in recent years, teams have felt the trickle down benefit, logging their own commercial gains. With the biggest set of rule changes for over a decade coming into force this season, the playing field - theoretically - has been levelled. At this stage, championship contention is a realistic goal for almost all the teams. One that stands a particularly realistic chance of improvement is Aston Martin, whose commercial MD Jeff Slack is the featured guest on the interview show this week. James and David reflect on Slack's comments, and take some time to look back on the Super Bowl as well as ahead to the future of the IOC's TOP sponsorship model. - -- -- -- -- Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
James Emmett in Brisbane and David Cushnan in London reflect on conversations with Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley and his top team, and explain how the expansion - outwards and upwards - of Melbourne Park hints at a new trend across sport's major events - and opens up the opportunity to create new sponsorship, entertainment and fan-friendly spaces. There's also time to look ahead to the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, which begins on Friday, and will be spread across Northern Italy - bringing with it the potential for operational and sustainability challenges, that will help determine the future of the winter Games ahead of regional editions in the French Alps (2030), Utah (2034) and, most likely, Switzerland (2038). Plus, there's a run-through of the broadcast innovations Olympic Broadcast Services are rolling out for the Games. - -- -- -- -- -- -- - Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
As the dust settles on a tournament that attracted a record 1.3 million attendees, we explore the inner workings of the Australian Open in a special episode. James Emmett spent the weekend on the ground at Melbourne Park, as Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina claimed the big prizes, to find out how the AO operates, as a tennis and social event, and a best-in-class fan experience. James sits down with Tennis Australia CEO and Tournament Director Craig Tiley, and then a trio of Tiley's key executives: Chief Content Officer, Darren Pearce; Director of Product and Customer Experience, Amanda del Prate; and Director of Partnerships, International, Roddy Campbell. They explain all aspects of how the AO does what it does: designing, developing and delivering sponsor activations, creating hospitality offerings to suit all tastes and price ranges; retail and merchandising experiences; innovative content and broadcast products; and wide-ranging entertainment programmes. - - Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
The world's top tennis have been barred from wearing Whoop wearables at the Australian Open, reigniting a debate over who owns personal performance data.James Emmett is on the ground in Melbourne for this week's show, with David Cushnan back in the UK, to examine the various cases for ‘owning' that data.They also reflect on recent events in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Public Investment Fund's global sponsorship strategy, laid out in David's conversation with PIF's Director and Head of Sponsorship and Events, Alanoud Althonayan.And as British Cycling's Jon Dutton is appointed as the next CEO of the British Olympic Association, what will the next period of leadership look like for British Olympic sport and its many governing bodies.- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
The NBA's private event in London on Monday saw investors and other interested parties gather to learn more about the league's plans for its European league; how is the project starting to come together and what happens now? James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack the latest on a potentially game-changing project, and reflect on James' in-depth conversation with British & Irish Lions CEO Ben Calveley, touching on the upside and downside of scarcity, clarity of business models and innovation in rugby union. There's also a look at the trend for NFL stadiums to have roofs, changing the look and feel of the league, and what that might mean for stadium refurbishments and new builds in the Premier League.
Fanatics chief Michael Rubin thinks a new credit card could generate his company's next billion dollar revenue stream, but could content and his new Fanatics Studios venture also be a contender? James Emmett and David Cushnan delve into the new projects, and reflect on David's conversation with Chris Bryant, MD of Euro 2028. They also examine the raft of innovative, fan-friendly ideas the organisers of the Australian Open are serving up, and the way the Grand Slams are taking up more space in the tennis calendar. - - - Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek
David Cushnan and James Emmett of Leaders in Sport join Richard on the final podcast of the year to review the people, stories and events that mattered in 2025.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
IMG's SVP of Strategy and Growth Josh Humbler joins James Emmett in the Leaders studio in the second of a three-part series looking at how to do business around the global sports industry. After digging into the unique sports media market that is Australia, Brisbane native Humbler is joined by two Shanghai-based colleagues Ellein Cao, VP, Commercial, Greater China and Rufio Zhu, VP, Digital at what was until very recently the Mailman agency. On the agenda: how to make an impact in China and unearth the real economic opportunity ; making sense of the platforms, the numbers, and the content culture in China; tennis, soccer and the sports that are breaking through.
IMG Executive Vice President & Head of Americas, Rights, Hillary Mandel joins James Emmett in the Leaders studio in the first of a new three-part series looking at how to do business around the global sports industry.After identifying the ramifications of media fragmentation, corporate consolidation and cord cutting in the North American media market, sports media legend Mandel, who has sold billions of dollars worth of rights across a 22-year career at IMG, is joined by colleagues Evandro Figuera, VP, LATAM, Rights, who's based in Sao Paolo, and Brian Pressman, VP of Brand Partnerships based in New York.On the agenda: how to make an impact in Brazil, from the boardroom to the field play; IMG's record-breaking partnership with Conmebol; Major League Soccer, the NWSL and the gigantic opportunity that is the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
In the aftermath of Leaders Week London 2025, James Emmett and David Cushnan breakdown some of the top stories and tidbits from the biggest sports industry event of the year at Allianz Stadium, before introducing a series of conversations recorded on-stage. On the agenda:(10:42) Jeff Moorad, Co-Founder of MSP Sports Capital, talks about the art of the exit in sports investment, following MSP's recent decision to part ways with McLaren Racing after playing a key role in the team's revival. (17:23) James Foster runs marketing at HUGO Boss and has a number of top tier partnerships in sport, including with Aston Martin. He talks through the rationale behind the organisation's sponsorship activity and more broadly, how the brand thinks about cultural traction.(22:00) Foday Dumbuya, Founder and Creative Director at Labrum, on the partnership between Labrum, Arsenal and Adidas; an away kit collaboration that celebrates Arsenal's connection to its supporters from across the African diaspora.(31:00) Britt Hadris, Director of Global Women's Sport at PepsiCo, on how the brand looks at and measures sponsorships across men's and women's sport.(36:35) Mohammed AlSayyad, Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory, PIF, on the four principles that help shape how PIF think about sports investment and sponsorship.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the FA's Director of Women's and Para Football Sue Day, and CBS Creative Producer Pete Radovich are the featured guests as Leaders duo David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by Karthi Gnanasegaram to review the final day of the Summit at the 2025 edition of Leaders Week.
James Emmett, David Cushnan and Eoin Connolly reflect on a terrific opening day at The Summit from Allianz Stadium, which saw over 2,000 movers and shakers from across the global sports industry gather at the home of England Rugby.The trio discuss a range of themes and talking points from on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages. Alongside the dialogue, this episode contains short snippets of sessions and from around the venue, featuring Victor Montagliani, Sarah Massey, Mark Wilf and Susan Goodenow.
WWE President Nick Khan, Garcia Companies Founder Dany Garcia, and IMG President Adam Kelly sit down for a series of punchy conversations on Leaders Worth Knowing this week. On the eve of Leaders Week, James Emmett and David Cushnan give an inside view on what to look out for at the biggest sports industry event of the year at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham next week, before introducing a series of conversations recorded at the IMG x RedBird Summit last week. Fresh from TKO's debut boxing event in Las Vegas, WWE President Nick Khan talks ground-breaking media deals with Netlfix and ESPN, ponders the future of PPV, and explains why he won't use emojis; Dany Garcia - the woman who runs Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Promotions production company, as well as the UFL, Danimás, and a portfolio of other businesses - explains what makes a great sports film, talks bodybuilding, and finally reveals what it was that the Rock was cooking. And Adam Kelly looks back at a year of breathtaking deal-making and partnership building at IMG, and gives us a view from his front row seat overlooking the rapidly changing picture that is the macro media market.
Three stories from a week in the sports business.James Emmett comes fresh from the IMG-Redbird Summit.David Cushnan on what and who lurks behind The Enhanced Games.Richard on Jamie Redknapp and Richard Thompson's new football agency. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
The perfect weekend warm up. Richard is joined by Dave Cushnan and James Emmett from Leaders in Sport. Each picks a story of the week and asks, what just happened? Sponsored by:Women's sport at Leaders WeekLeaders in Sport connects the most influential people and the most powerful ideas in global sport to catalyse discussion, and drive the industry forward.For over a decade, Leaders has created consistent spaces to support and accelerate the growth of women's sport – while championing the people driving it forward. At Leaders Week London this year, now just 2 weeks away, the commercial growth opportunity for women's sport will be front and centre. From the headline stage to curated spaces – Leaders Week continues to offer the access, conversations and connections that move the industry forward.If women's sport is part of your growth strategy, this is where you'll find the people who can help make it happen.Visit leadersinsport.com/UP for more information and use UP15 for a 15% discount on your Summit passes.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
Richard is joined by David Cushnan and James Emmett of Leaders. Three stories from this week in the sports business.What happened, why do we care and where's it going?What does McLaren F1's valuation say about F1?Who is David 'Dave' Hopkinson and what's the job of Premier League CEO today?What's the role of the Ryder Cup in the LIV era?Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
Manchester United have remained a market leading force in commercial activity despite a run of challenging seasons for onfield performance and results. Current front-of-shirt partner Snapdragon, a mobile phone chip manufacturing brand within the Qualcomm software empire, is entering the second year of a five-year deal worth a reported $375 million. It's a top-end fee for a position at a club that finished 15th last season. On the show this week, Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire and newly installed Manchester United Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong join James Emmett to talk about how to make commercial and marketing impact through a challenging era of transition.
Welcome back to another episode of the FAQs Project, today I had a chance to talk about the Supernatural Tale Bytchcraft by the late Aaron Reese who passed earlier this year after his lifelong battle with Sickle Cell Anemia. I speak with his good friend and Nubia Author Stephanie Williams as well as Senior Editor for Mad Cave Studios James Emmett.The Story focuses on a queer coven of Wytches who each powerful in their own way discover they are bound by an ancient prophecy. They are synced in cosmic guidance by an entity known to them as MTHR. There is a distinction in the tale that focuses an internal battle between Religion and the power of miracles against Spirituality and the power of the coven. Through their togetherness and friendship can they rectify a disruption in the cosmic equilibrium.Written by the Late Aaron ReeseArtwork by Lema Carrill and Bex Glendining Letters by Morgan MartinezSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-faqs-project-hosted-by-james-grandmaster-faqs-boyce/donations
LA Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker joins James Emmett and David Cushnan on the Leaders Sport Business Podcast this week. After guiding James around the Clippers' staggering new $2 billion arena, Zucker sat down to chat through the process of pioneering new tech in sports venues: the facial technology that drives new, smoother fan experiences, the halo board that delivers unprecedented AV impact inside the bowl, as well as the many challenges that come with attempting to build the best.
Philippe Moggio, Kathy Carter and Mark Bullingham are on the show this week, as Leaders duo James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on a week of soccer activity on and off the pitch in LA last month. CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio, former LA28 CEO and Soccer United Marketing President Kathy Carter, and FA CEO Mark Bullingham joined James for a series of conversations in the corridors at the inaugural Business of Soccer event in LA a few days ago. The event - put on by Leaders and SBJ in collaboration with CONCACAF and Major League Soccer - brought together all the major powerbrokers in North American soccer ahead of a pivotal 15 months as the continent prepares to host the biggest ever Fifa World Cup. On the agenda: capitalizing on the momentum the tournament will bring; building women's soccer into a commercial behemoth; oversaturation in the market; and an MLS calendar switch that could prove transformative.
James is Founder/CEO of James Emmett & Company also known as JEC. It is one of the most recognizable brands in the field of disability inclusion and is a global leader in the implementation of disability inclusion initiatives with essential businesses. James has worked with companies like Advance Auto Parts, Walgreens, Lowe's, Best Buy, and Office Depot to help plan & execute initiatives that have resulted in over 100,000 jobs for people with disabilities and has received numerous awards for innovation related to company-owned disability inclusion.
The 3 is back for a special Christmas episode, looking back at the sports business in 2024.Richard is joined by David Cushnan and James Emmett from Leaders in Sport, each of whom is tasked with revealing their most interesting story, person and sport from the year in the sports industry.What could go wrong?Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
Brett Gosper, Head of NFL Europe & Asia-Pacific, takes a quick break from a very busy month of American football to join James Emmett on this week's episode.He shares his top-line reflections from the 2024 London games, along with some impressive and record-breaking stats for the league; plus, what's immediately up next as the NFL touches down in Munich for its second foray to Germany, this weekend. Elsewhere on the show, Leaders' Strategic Account Manager Javan Odegah shares his reflections on the games, having been in attendance at Wembley when a record-breaking 86,651 crowd witnessed Jacksonville Jaguars beat the New England Patriots.
Welcome to episode two of model making, a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks whether we need a new commercial vision for sport.Are the business models that have sustained professional sport for so long at breaking point? And what are the solutions that sport's most innovative thinkers are endorsing?Big questions answered on-stage at Leaders Week London 2024 by Chicago Cubs and Marquee 360's Senior Vice President, Cale Vennum, and Viagogo's International Lead, Matt Drew. James Emmett, Leaders Editorial Director was in the moderator's chair to find out how ticketing can help unlock additional revenue streams and engagement.
In this episode, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by special guests, Richard Conway, Founder & Managing Partner at Spectacle Partners, and serial sports industry board member, Nic Coward, to review the action from a barnstorming return to Leaders Week London.The team touch on a number of topics from Day 2 of The Summit at Allianz Stadium as well as the on-stage sessions, which featured Nikki Doucet, Chief Executive Officer, Women's Professional Leagues Ltd; Kealan Casey, Director of Brand Marketing, North America at BBC Studios; Declan Sharkey, Global Director and Senior Principal at Populous; and Mark Ashton, Chief Executive Officer at Ipswich Town FC.
James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on a terrific opening day at The Summit from Allianz Stadium, which saw over 2,000 movers and shakers from across the global sports industry gather at the home of England Rugby.The duo discuss a range of themes and talking points from on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages. Alongside the dialogue, this episode contains short snippets of sessions and from around the venue, featuring Gerard Piqué, Kosmos; Sally Horrox, World Rugby, Mark Shapiro, Endeavor; Don Garber, Major League Soccer; Gareth Balch, Two Circles and England Cricketer Tammy Beaumont.
The 3 is a failed experiment in podcast format innovation. The 3 is a creative collaboration between Unofficial Partner and Leaders in Sport. The 3 picks three stories from the sports business week and dissects them on a Friday morning. The 3 may return, and it might not.This week Richard Gillis, David Cushnan and James Emmett pick these three stories:Will the cool kids be wearing FIFA 1904? Wither the Wimbledon line judge.What is Brand Saudi now?Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Leaders Managing Director, Laura McQueen, and Event Director, Hannah Redfern, to preview the annual sportsbiz extravaganza that is Leaders Week London. It's a week filled with forums, think tanks, Awards and social get-togethers – taking place all day, all night, all week, right across the city. The week culminates with The Summit at Allianz Stadium: a place where you'll find sport's biggest names and the most progressive ideas shaping the industry, all in the company of 2000 attendees from all corners of the globe.And ahead of all of that, the team share their top tips for maximizing on your time out of office, who to look out for on the speaker programme, and where to go if (surprisingly) you're yet to secure your event pass.
Mary Bekhait is one of the global entertainment industry's leading talent executives.As Chief Executive of YMU Group, she leads an international business representing mega stars across music, sport, entertainment, literary, social, art and business management, including: Davina McCall, Simon Cowell, Tom Daley, Clare Balding, Ant & Dec, Fred again, and many more. She joined James Emmett and David Cushnan in the Leaders studio (ahead of an important business call with Simon Cowell) to run through the inner workings of YMU Group; her top tips for building and nurturing relationships (forged from a 20-year career in talent management); how brand sports marketers can best work with and maximise athlete talent; who she enjoys managing the most and what great output looks like on LinkedIn.
Welcome to Convergence – a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It's a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand.In this series we'll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more – and it's being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering.Diane Gotua, a strategic business leader with nearly two decades of global leadership experience in strategy, operations and corporate development within sports and finance, is our guest for episode three. Diane currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategy at Fanatics, having previously worked at the NBA for 9 years in a variety of leadership and strategy roles.
Welcome to Convergence - a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It's a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand. In this series we'll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more - and it's being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering. DAZN's CEO of Growth Markets, Pete Oliver - the executive who leads the group's activities and teams in markets such as the UK, US and Canada - is our guest for episode two.
The journey to creating a ten minute podcast is not a linear one. That's fancy talk for saying that rather than cut last week's half hour episode, this one went one for 45 minutes. Three stories:James Emmett reports from IMG's breathing and finance retreat.Richard Gillis on the big agency bun fight over UEFA rights.David Cushnan on the launch of Juventus Creator Lab. An Unofficial Partner x Leaders in Sport Collaboration.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
Welcome to Convergence - a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It's a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand. In this series we'll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more - and it's being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering.
Matt went to Flame Con last month and came back with interviews with Carey Pietsch (The Adventure Zone), Karen Charm, Jeremy Whitley (Navigating with You), Mad Cave Studios editor James Emmett, Molly Knox Ostertag (The Owl House), Shannon Watters (Lumberjanes) and voice actor JP Karliak (Morph from X-Men '97).
We tried to make a short form ten minute podcast and failed. It's supposed to be three stories in ten minutes. Think of this as a work-in-progress. UP's Richard Gillis is joined by James Emmett and David Cushnan from Leaders in Sport. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner' on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you're interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.
Marina Storti has spent over 20 years in the sports industry delivering strategies to accelerate commercial growth, engage diverse fans and impact positive change.And she's been bringing all of that experience and expertise to her new role as CEO of WTA Ventures – the commercial arm of the WTA – having previously earned her sporting stripes at Sky and NOW TV.One year into the role, she joined David Cushnan and James Emmett to reflect on an incredibly exciting time for women's professional tennis; the partnerships that she's overseen during her tenure so far - most notably with Saudi Arabia - and how she's planning to guide WTA Ventures in an innovative new era of the WTA.This episode is part of the Leaders in Focus series, produced in partnership with IMG.
Barbara Slater is one of the most respected figures in the sports broadcasting industry.A former international gymnast and Olympian, Barbara joined the BBC 40 years ago and is on the cusp of retiring from her current Director of Sport role. During her tenure, she's changed attitudes and enhanced perceptions of women's sport, overseen remarkable growth in BBC Sport's digital services, and cemented the BBC as the most popular broadcaster in the UK - all whilst managing the challenges that come with working for a publicly-funded broadcaster.Slater was in the hot seat for May's edition of Leaders in Focus and had a wide-ranging conversation with Leaders duo James Emmett and David Cushnan on her life at the BBC and what she leaves behind for her successor. This episode of Leaders in Focus was produced in partnership with IMG.
On this special episode of Leaders in Focus, two of IMG's digital experts, discuss and dissect some of the key digital trends in sport.As a busy new year begins, Leaders are joined by Bindi Ghai and Charlie Beall - VP of Digital Commercial and VP of Digital Strategy at global sports and culture company IMG.In conversation with Leaders' James Emmett, they reveal the platform sport is sleeping on; why 2024 is the year women's sport fulfils its potential; how to achieve maximum impact for minimum spend in making stadiums smarter; and the difference between ‘if' and ‘when' in digital trend spotting. The basis for the conversation, which was recorded in early January 2024, is IMG's annual digital trends report.Leaders in Focus is produced in partnership with IMG.
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.
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.
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin on reviewing the Rugby World Cup and running a game in the midst of change.As the tickertape settles on a record-breaking 2023 Rugby World Cup, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin reviews the tournament – the format, the performance of the Tier 2 nations, the role of technology and the experience in France – and sets out the organisation's big priorities over the next few years.In an extended conversation on Leaders in Focus, Gilpin spends time with Leaders' James Emmett and David Cushnan, at IMG's London studios, to discuss what a sustainable and smart future for women's rugby union could look like; player welfare and safety; the influence private equity money might exert over the sport in the coming years; the dynamics at play in the CEO-Chairman relationship within international federations; the boring-but-critical role of committees; and the constant evolution of sports hospitality. He also reflects on the unique way rugby stirs emotion and how he channels his own emotions as a leader.Leaders in Focus is produced by Leaders in Sport, in partnership with IMG. The full video version is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbxdPzEtr5w&t=909s
On this week's show, I'm joined by James Emmett, CEO and founder of Hanover Group. Having recently interviewed Anthony Pitt, President at Hanover USA, I was really excited to welcome James, the original founder, on to the show.James started the business 27 years ago and has now grown to an organisation of over hundred people across multiple international locations including both the UK and USA.The business has not only grown organically, but also has a clear acquisition strategy too. In this episode, he talks at length about his buy and build strategy.This is going to be super important for you to listen to if you are the type of organisation that wants to grow and potentially do this through a similar method. If you're a small recruitment organisation that might actually be interested in being acquired in the future then we also cover the pros and cons to the whole process.__________________________________________Hoxo MessageAre you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition? Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.We will give you the training, support and resources to take you from what I call an offline recruiter, reliant on posting jobs and sending in emails to open up new customers, ultimately looking like every other recruiter on LinkedIn - to an online recruiter, being seen by over 25,000 relevant people driving a 200% minimum increase in engagement on your profile and seeing daily lead lists from LinkedIn that you can follow up with in six weeks time.And if you don't perform, you don't pay. How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we'll do for our clients in less than two years. We built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years. Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we'll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa__________________________________________RecruitHub MessageOver 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAEOne of them is Kyle Winterbottom, founder of Orbition Group, a niche, talent consultancy that operates exclusively in the Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence space across the UK, Europe, and USA.In just a year of trading, the company has gone on to build an impressive client base in the Data and Analytics space and has an industry-leading podcast with more than 20,000 listeners in 128 countries.Before joining RecruitHub, Kyle had spoken to other start-up support companies which either wanted him to invest a ton of money upfront, then he'd only own the percentage he'd invested against what it costs to start, or they wanted a lot of equity.For Kyle, RecruitHub was a great option – they weren't asking for money upfront to launch, they weren't taking loads of equity and they wanted to be involved; the company has been able to lean on RecruitHub quite
Premiership Rugby's CEO and Pepsi's Director of Sports Marketing (North America) and Expedia Group's Director of Football and Music Partnerships.Leaders Live, produced in partnership with IMG, is our studio talk show on hot button issues in the industry, featuring conversations with leaders from across sport.As a tumultuous Premiership Rugby season rumbles on, the league's CEO, Simon Massie-Taylor, joins the show to discuss the challenges of running a major domestic league, the future direction of the sport and his gameplan for raising rugby union's profile in England. And then from 34:47, Melissa Duhaime, Director of Sports Marketing for Pepsi in North America, and Liseli Sitali, Director of Football and Music Partnerships at Expedia Group, join our hosts James Emmett and David Cushnan to explore the sponsorship market – what's working, what's not and where's the real value to be found.You can visit https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:7039610644790157312/ to watch the broadcast in video.
Reviewing Day 2 of the Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit, brought to you in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council. Leaders on the Ground takes you behind-the-scenes at our in-person events, where our team recap the goings-on and key takeaways from the on-stage sessions.In this episode, David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by sports marketing veteran Kate Bosomworth, Founding Partner of Platform London and Chair at Onside Law, to discuss the action on Day 2 the fifth Leaders Sport Business Summit Abu Dhabi. The trio explore a variety of topics across the on-stage sessions, with interviews from the following guests:- Roy Hodgson CBE, retired football manager, England national team (32:54-48:58)- Nasser A. Al-Khori, Executive Director – Generation Amazing, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (56:40-1:07:15)*Note: This was recorded on site, so there may be some slight distortion in the audio, but this should not take away from your listening experience.*
Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the insane story of James Emmett, the Council of 50 member who started his own frontier break-off-get-back-together sect during the Mormon exodus. Show Notes: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846; Volume 1, 10 March 1844–1 March 1845-
On this week's live broadcast, we're welcoming guests James Emmett & Erica Schultz ("Deadliest Bouquet") + Glenn Head ("Chartwell Manor")! SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, ITUNES, ANDROID, SPOTIFY, STITCHER OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON. Don't forget to go to https://www.Manscaped.com and use the promo code FANSIDED20 to get 20% OFF YOUR ORDER AND FREE SHIPPING! This week's episode is also sponsored by Marvel's M.O.D.O.K., premiering May 21 on Hulu. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookclub See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.