The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Marcus Höfl, a fellow German Sports entrepreneur, for nearly three decades with his own agency MHM, representing German Icon Franz Beckenbauer and several other top sports stars.  Great stories from his time Franz Beckenbauer to many other interesting projects and lessons learned as a sports entrepreneur.

Key Highlights

1. Growing up in Herzogenaurach, the town of Adidas and Puma – great stories how this little Bavarian town operated under those two powerful brands and owners
2. Influenced by his father who was in PR in Adidas and Mum working in sports retail - and looking up to Robert Schwan (at that time Franz Beckenbauer’s manager) 
3. First client – Erdinger Weissbier – sponsorship of a second division club and continuing building relationship with Robert Schwan
4. In 2002, Robert passed away – Beckenbauer now on his own – FIFA World Cup 2006 just four years away – opportunity to become the successor of Schwan
5. Franz picked Marcus as the successor (still in his twenties) and he moved to Kitzbuehl to be closer to Beckenbauer
6. Dream to set up a business in New York with a partner, didn’t work, closed down
7. Business partnership with Franz Beckenbauer
   1. Initially just coordinating everything for Franz – especially leading up to the World Cup in Germany (Beckenbauer was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee)
   2. Buying the rights to Franz Beckenbauer’s image from Robert Schwan’s widow – story behind it
8. Franz Beckenbauer stories
   1. Visiting 31 countries who qualified for the World Cup – cris crossing the world
   2. Complimenting each other, good cop/bad cop
   3. Grew large commercial revenue around Franz Beckenbauer’s image – 8 different commercial partners at the peak
   4. Franz’ strength, his patience, treated everyone the same
   5. Also motivating him in his older days
9. Red Bull – Mateschitz and Beckenbauer – Red Bull entering Football
   1. Red Bull buying Salzburg as first team, MLS team in New York team, etc
   2. Joined board of Major League Soccer (MLS), build relationships with other owners
10. Comparing US sports vs European football structures
11. FC Augsburg – buying a piece of the team and plans to shape the team’s image – sold to David Blitzer
12. Working with other athletes and the challenges scaling it
13. Camp Beckenbauer – from Kitzbuehl to Shanghai , set up an office in Shanghai for a few years, lessons learned
14. Maria Höfl-Riesch – German top Skier – from client to wife
15. Investments – focus on fan engagement, digital, data, performance
    1. Partnering with Sports Accelerator leAD (Legacy of Adi Dassler) – fill circle to his youth

About

Marcus Höfl is a founder, investor and expert in the international sports industry.

Grown up in Herzogenaurach (Germany) - the hometown of Adidas and Puma - he has always been active in the football industry and shaped the business in various roles and positions on a global scale.

From 2003 to 2006, Marcus was closely involved in the strategy development, planning and implementation of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

From 2003 on, Marcus exclusively represented Franz Beckenbauer in all commercial matters, as he owned the football icon’s global personality rights.

As Head of Global Soccer since 2006, he has developed Red Bull’s strategy and commitment to soccer. Thereby he also acted as Member of the Board of Governors of Major League Soccer (MLS) in North America.

Marcus Höfl was also a member of the Advisory Board of DFL Sports Enterprises from 2009 – the organization responsible for the national and international licensing, sponsorship and sale of Bundesliga media rights.

Moreover, Marcus was a co-owner and shareholder of the German Bundesliga club FC Augsburg from 2016 to 2021 and was thereby a Member of the club’s Board of Directors.

He also mediates, develops and leads international sponsorship, consulting and implementation projects for global companies such as Mondelez (sponsorship with the Bundesliga/DFL since 2021), Lenovo (sponsorship with Ferrari and Ducati 2018 & 2019) or Hermes (sponsorship with Bundesliga/DFL 2012 -2017) and further leading clubs and associations from the sports sector such as FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Hertha BSC Berlin and the Bundesliga/DFL.

Marcus Höfl also managed the football World and European Champion Stefan Reuter and the German soccer player of the year 1996, Matthias Sammer as well as the he multiple Olympic Champion in swimming, Franziska van Almsick, the tennis legend Boris Becker, the former alpine skier and three-time Olympic champion Maria Höfl-Riesch (since 2009), TV presenter Andrea Kaiser (since 2012), former world class -Biathlete Simon Schempp (since 2010) and the eight-time world rally champion Sébastien Ogier (since 2015).

Since 2021 he has also represented the basketball professional, NBA player and captain of the German National Basketball team, Dennis Schröder as a manager, primarily in marketing and communication issues worldwide.

Follow us on our social sites for the latest updates Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportsentrepreneurs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcusluerpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-entrepreneurs Website: https://marcusluer.com Podcast: https://marcusluer.com/podcast

To get in touch, please email us at podcast@marcusluer.com

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Gareth Balch, from an inspiring Olympian, with a data driven approach, taking his passion to building Two Circles into one of the hottest digital sports marketing agency from the UK, conquering the world of sports.

Key Highlights

1. Short intro on Two Circles – help grow value of sports – data driven approach
2. Gareth early days as a young athlete – wanting to be an Olympian – short distance runner (800 m), representing Great Britain
3. Great learning at Manchester City
4. How Two Circles got started – Gareth together with Matt Rogan – founding client English Cricket Board (ECB) and Manchester City
   1. Dream Team, Claire and Matt – first employee Data Scientist
5. Data driven approach – source was First party data (from fans to organizations)
6. Harnessing data and using it to generate new revenue, solve commercial problems, change fan behavior
7. Scientific approach to sales and improving commercial revenue streams
8. Examples – from All Blacks to FIFA+, NFL+ to UEFA’s Women’s EURO 2022 – very different services for these clients
9. Thinkers and doers – strategic and executioners – from coming up with the ideas derived by the data to delivering the new revenue streams
10. Mixed remuneration models based on clients needs
11. Business plans for clients – score cards based on deep data and models
12. Live video rights – selling media rights in a new way
13. Growth story of company over the past 13 years – investors, acquisitions, offices around the world, etc
14. Starting with a clearly defined philosophy – build the sports business of our lifetime
15. Operating like an athletes as the leader of the business – detailed planning
16. Massive learning journey – never sold the business in his mind – just making it bigger and better – focus on delivering for the clients
17. Acquired five companies in last few years
18. Current focus on certain territories, regions, sports and new clients

About

Gareth co-founded Two Circles following a successful athletics career, representing Great Britain in the 800 metres.

Transferring his passion and energy to the business side of sport, Gareth’s first industry experience involved helping sports organizations such as Manchester City grow their commercial revenues, before in 2011 – at the age of 28 – he created Two Circles, an agency for the digital age, borne out of a desire to build direct relationships with sports fans using data.

In the early years of Two Circles, when Gareth was Managing Director, he led the delivery of client work and helped revolutionize the UK sports landscape through a data-driven approach – recognised in 2014 when Two Circles was named Agency of the Year at the prestigious BT Sport Industry Awards.

Since 2015 Gareth has been Chief Executive of Two Circles, his unique style of leadership and infectious enthusiasm for sport, staff and clients providing the driving force for the company’s rapid growth.

Currently Two Circles has a global network of teams working from London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Bern with a client base of over 150 of the world’s leading rights-owners including the Premier League, NFL, UEFA, Formula 1 and Wimbledon.

Follow us on our social sites for the latest updates Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportsentrepreneurs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcusluerpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-entrepreneurs Website: https://marcusluer.com Podcast: https://marcusluer.com/podcast

To get in touch, please email us at podcast@marcusluer.com

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Guy-Laurent Epstein a Football Association veteran and senior UEFA Executive for the past 20 years, shaping European football, the commercial side and beyond.  Deep dive into  UEFA’s world from Club Football, new National Team competitions, to the growth of the Women’s game and much more.  Highly educational and lots of great details you don’t want to miss.   

Key Highlights

1. How it started, from a passion for mathematics, to Arthur Andersen auditing to Sony Music
2. Commercialising the licensing rights for the FIFA World Cup in 1998 for Sony Music
3. ISL Marketing days – joining ISL in Luzern during an interesting time for the agency
4. Spending time in Asia, around the 2002 FIFA  World Cup Korea/Japan
5. ISL collapse in 2001 just before the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001, FIFA creating FIFA Marketing to take over agency role
6. Joining UEFA shortly after the 2002 FIFA World Cup  – comparing notes on the event
7. The start of a two decade adventure with UEFA in Nyon
8. No Marketing department within UEFA yet when he first joined,  developing new projects and showing value to the administrators of European Football
9. The “old” way of doing things in European National and Club competitions at the time, early 2000
10. Change of guards, EBU, mostly state controlled broadcasters vs more commercially driven free to air channels
11. Non-linear channels emerge -  Pay TV – now digitization, Amazon relationship, DAZN, Apple testing
12. US Market importance for both European Club and National team football
13. UEFA.TV -  create new content from archive, exploring new ways to invest in brand – home of Youth and Women’s football
14. Relationship between UEFA and their agencies (Team Marketing – Club competitions & CAA Eleven – National Team competitions)
15. Big changes and success stories from the CAA Eleven deal
16. UEFA Nations League – the creation and where it is now and some of the challenges
17. New UEFA Champions League format from next season explained
18. Next steps in the governance of club competitions and relationship with the European Club Association (ECA)
19. Covid impact on UEFA competitions – looking back, moving EURO 2020, etc
20. Success of Women’s EURO 2022 in England and the growth and unbundling of UEFA Women’s Football – www.weplaystrong.com
21. EURO 2024 in Germany – high hopes for another big Football Summer Festival

About

Guy-Laurent Epstein graduated from Paris IX Dauphine University with a Master in Applied Mathematics & Social Sciences in 1990, and completed his studies with a MBA at ESSEC Business School in Paris, which he obtained 2 years later.

After four years working as a financial consultant for Arthur Andersen, he decided to shift his career towards sports marketing and worked for the 1998 World Cup in France. After that, he joined ISL Marketing where he was in charge of the licensing and merchandising programme for the 2002 World Cup. In 2001, Guy-Laurent joined FIFA Marketing, where he continued to oversee the good development and implementation of the Licensing programme.

He started in October 2002 at UEFA as TV& Sponsorship Manager and became Head of Marketing Activities in December 2004. In June 2005, he created the Media Rights unit which is responsible of the overall sales of the UEFA competitions TV and other media rights, which he managed till March 2010, when UEFA decided to set up a new company – UEFA Events SA - to handle all UEFA’s commercial and event operations. Consequently, Guy-Laurent was appointed Marketing Director of UEFA Events SA and as such, he is responsible for the ongoing development of the marketing and commercial activities, including media and sponsorship, across all competitions of UEFA.

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To get in touch, please email us at podcast@marcusluer.com

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Paul McVeigh, from playing professional football in the Premier League to becoming a trained psychologist, and now advising C-suites and top corporate executives. Tons of great stories and lessons from his career as a professional player and how a Tony Robbins book put him on the path to studying psychology and becoming a keynote speaker.

Key Highlights

1. Growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a rough neighborhood in the 80s – what it was like playing football with tanks driving around the streets
2. A journey from Belfast to London, getting offered a contract with Tottenham Hotspur in mid 90s and meeting football legend Jurgen Klinsmann
3. His beliefs at the time about himself and what then happened in order to make his Premier League debut
4. His football journey from Tottenham Hotspur to Norwich City, Burnley,  Luton Town and why the key was to constantly adapt his style to fit various roles for each team 
5. How to deal with winning/losing, the psychology and mindset behind it for a professional player, being relegated and achieving promotion again
6. Who is truly responsible when a team wins or loses?  Coach versus players?
7. “Awaken The Giant Within” by Tony Robbins – our stories and the impact this book had on us and how this led to a degree in Sports Science and Psychology and a career in public speaking
8. Next stops, working as pundit at Sky Sports, BBC, and giving key note speeches and running corporate leadership programs
9. His book “The Stupid Footballer Is Dead: Insights Into The Mind Of A Professional Footballer” and an understanding of the mind of an elite sportsperson
10. Concept of accountability – a pre-season story and his learning being exposed to world-class players
11. Making conscious choices
12. His current project: bringing in first-class athletes, world champions and securing them as keynote speakers to corporations, including top military, doctors, etc
13. His contacts. Website: https://paulmcveigh.com  LinkedIn:  (5) Paul McVeigh, M.Sc. | LinkedIn  Email: paul@paulmcveigh.com

About

Paul McVeigh is a Premier League football player and Performance Psychologist. Paul's credibility comes from the unique combination of reaching the pinnacle of elite sport as well as being the first Premier League footballer to qualify with a Master's Degree in Psychology. Paul specialises in implementing the psychology required to elevate the performance of leaders and teams from the financial services' industry. He has recently worked with PWC, Grant Thornton, Aviva, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Nat West, Cisco, Microsoft and many more. These lessons are even more applicable today in our remote and virtual workplaces in order to empower individuals to understand that our thinking unlocks the required behaviours that are necessary for elite performance. Paul shares his psychological framework from growing up in war torn Belfast, Ireland alongside the strategies he implemented performing under the intense scrutiny of 75,000 fans across the world. He is also an established broadcaster on TV and radio with BBC, Sky Sports, BT Sport and is also a published author of the ironically entitled book ‘The Stupid Footballer is Dead’. The insights Paul shared as a Sport Psychologist for 2 Premier League clubs have helped many players compete in, what is considered, the most prestigious and ruthless sports league in the world.

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Jerome Valcke, a true legend and also tragic figure in our industry. We are going back to his early days at Canal+/Sport+ to his amazing time as Secretary General of FIFA.  30+ years in the industry, his ups and downs and the challenges at the end of his FIFA reign and his comeback plans.    

Key Highlights

1. Early days of Canal+, first Pay TV operator in France - as news presenter and magazine producer (from wars to news)
2. 1991 -  getting involved in acquisition of sports rights for Canal +, dealing with Don King to David Stern
3. Forming Sport+ (internal agency of Canal+) to buy sports media rights for Canal + and sell across the world, working with other agencies around the world
4. Don King story and doing business with him (negotiation is same as war)
5. French Football League (Ligue One) and the new Pay TV money coming in to change the game forever – new production values
6. Canal+, turning channel into a 24 hrs Olympic channel for the entire two weeks of the Barcelona Olympics 92’ and Atlanta 96’
7. Merger between three agencies, JC Darmon, UFA Sport and Sport+ -  Bertelsmann (UFA), Jean-Claude Darmon and Canal+ (Sport+) merged in 2001 creating SportFive – and the rest is history with decades of changes for the agency
8. Joining FIFA in 2003 as Director of Marketing – FIFA Marketing AG – in-house agency created after the collapse of ISL Marketing (initially focused on sponsorship only -  Media rights still with Robert Louis Dreyfus (owner of Adidas, Olympique Marseille).  Jerome lobbying to bring media rights in-house too.
9. Agency offering large guarantee to FIFA – (Swiss) 1.8 billion per World Cup -  Joseph Blatter (President at the time) putting his trust in Jerome and he delivered in 2010 – close to 4 billion 
10. Changing what FIFA was delivering to broadcasters, going beyond previous offerings
11. Infront & Dentsu controlled certain territory rights in Asia, and other agencies around the world – top countries controlled by FIFA directly, FIFA signing all contracts
12. Secretary General of FIFA -  the link between the political side of the Federation with the commercial and operating side
13. Dealing with Governments and Head of States to deliver the FIFA World Cup – need to deal with politics
14. Blatter stories – his rise within FIFA, from a low level marketing role to President -  “I am FIFA, FIFA is me” 
15. Bidding process for World Cups – 2018 & 2022 – huge significance for the winners
16. World Cup Legacy – South Africa 2010 stories – falling in love with the country and more…
17. Brazil World Cup 2014 – it was complicated …….. being banned for a period of time from entering the country…..
18. Could World Cup ever be moved if the event is at risk? Legal position vs actuality/reality
19. 2018 & 2022 host country choices and his view on it
20. The different parts of FIFA, from Committees and other parts of the organization
21. Women’s Football at FIFA level – Women’s World Cup wasn’t yet able to make enough money on its own – role of FIFA to support and develop Football for everyone
22. Mastercard vs VISA and what happened on Sept 2015……. his side of the story
23. Moral vs criminal accusations –  rules of engagement – code of conduct in business

To reach Jerome Valcke - Jerome.valcke@gmx.es  (+34607937298)

About

Jérôme Valcke, born 6/10/1960 in Paris French and South African citizenships Living in Carrer Catalunya 17, 08960 Sant Just Desvern, Spain E-mail: jerome.valcke@gmx.es Mobile number: +34 607 937 298

• 1983 RMC Journalist
• 1984 to 1988 CANAL+ News Presenter
• 1988 to 1991 CANAL+ Deputy Editor in Chief Newsroom
• 1992 to 1997 CANAL+ Deputy Director Sports Division. Responsible for all international sport rights acquisitions
• 1997 to 2001 CEO Sport+, Media Group CANAL+. Sport+ was a subsidiary of the Group CANAL+ for Media and Marketing rights. Sport+ acquired the international of all major football European leagues.
• 2002 COO Sportfive. Sportfive was created by Group CANAL+, UFA- Bertelsmann and Group Jean-Claude Darmont. Sportfive was one of the leading sports agencies in the world.
• 2003 to 2006 FIFA Marketing & TV Director
• 2007 to 2015 FIFA Secretary General. CEO of the institution. My main task was the preparation, organization and delivery of the World Cups (2010 & 2014) and the preparation for WC 2028 & WC 2022. Management of a team of 500 people.

Today, owner of a winery located in Spain in the DOQ Priorat, Mas Igneus.

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To get in touch, please email us at podcast@marcusluer.com

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Alex Inglot, the Commissioner of the ESL Pro League (Esports). We discuss his legal background, his various sports roles before he entered the Esports world. Alex has been involved across multiple spectrums of the sports industry and is sharing his experiences with us before diving deep into his current role as Commissioner of the ESL Pro League (CS:GO).  Lots of great stories and learning across sports and gaming.

 Key Highlights

1. How it all started, studying law at Oxford, playing Volleyball at Uni to his first internship at IMG – Rugby World Cup contract work
2. A few years of commercial law at various law firms in London – looking at a way back into the industry
   • Took FIFA International Master program to bring him back into the industry
3. First job after the program, heading to Mexico working at Atlante FC (club had just moved to Cancun), establishing a new fan base and building relationship with the region
4. Couple of years at JTA – working on Manchester United Corporate Communication, working with owner Jon Tibbs, difference between legal and marketing communication principles
5. Sportradar – promoting Sportradar’s integrity services to Federations and other rights holders (as Director of Communication), later involved in the non-betting services and then the opportunities in US sports betting
6. ATP Tour – Board Director – European Player Representative -working with ATP Player Council to drive progress for the members, redistribution of prize money, etc
   • Setting up systems, processes, transparency (eliminating distrust between players and tournaments) -driven by Andrea Gaudenzi’s vision, the new Chairman of ATP Tour
   • How ATP Tour survived Covid and continued the vision of Gaudenzi – creating a JV mentality between players and events
   • During COVID, ticketing revenue, which had always been very important for tennis events now became a vulnerability
7. ATP Media – broadcast arm, bundling rights across different levels of events – aggregating media rights was key to create one stop shop for broadcasters and/or fans
8. Commissioner of ESL Pro League (CS:GO – Counter Strike – Global Offensive) – major title by Valve
   • Intro to CS:GO – history the past 10 years – one of the major FPS (First person Shooter) games, played globally
   • ESL Pro Tour – owned by ESL FACEIT Group (new entity, created through merger, owned by Savvy Gaming Group from Saudi Arabia)
   • CS:GO landscape with total Price money US$ 18 mil across all events  - players earning US$ 20-50k per month
   • Comparison with other games and economics for teams – power of Publisher
   • Louvre Agreement – distribution of money ESL makes to teams to build ecosystem – helping to sustain teams investments
   • CS 2.0 is coming later this year and how the transition will happen
   • Structure of League – 12 founding member teams – revenue share of traditional revenues such as sponsorship – guaranteed slot in Pro-League (currently 15 out of 32 team format)
   • Opportunities for sponsor by aggregation of rights, bundling is key opportunity
   • League staged in Malta – teams fly in for periods of time – Malta Gaming establishing itself as Esports/Gaming hub
9. Esports/Gaming after Covid – from red hot to current slow down, is there a “winter” or just a natural correction?
10. The fundamentals of Esports are solid and very attractive, especially anyone targeting the younger demographics (Metaverse, digital items, etc)

About

A unique strategist drawing on years of international corporate and commercial law in the City of London; nearly a decade working at the sharp end of global sports communications and public affairs; and now Commissioner of the ESL Pro League. Focused on reading the landscape, developing a direction, securing buy-in and delivering impact. Driving the new structure that sits behind the CSGO ecosystem-leading EPL to ensure optimal governance and operations, record-breaking revenues and fair distribution, and the realisation of existing and upcoming aggregation opportunities. In parallel, using the platform to break down barriers across the wider CSGO stakeholder map and to drive collaboration for ecosystem optimisation. Took a driving role in the full review and overhaul of the ATP's leadership in order to bring in new structures and dynamic individuals, to ensure the Tour can continue to grow in a fast-changing entertainment landscape. Juggled stress-testing a seismic strategic vision, defining a clear governance upgrade and adapting to the challenges of a global circuit in COVID times, all while undertaking upgraded player outreach to ensure structure and policies were effective, well understood and beneficial. Previously led the whole range of communications and public affairs activities of one of the fastest growing enterprises in the global sports technology and innovation space, promoting their full range of expertise across data, content, betting, esports, streaming and integrity. This followed a number of years as a senior PR and international relations consultant to big names in football, Olympic sports and the integrity space. Over the years, I have been a regular spokesperson across conference panels, workshops and seminars, while also guest lecturing at academic institutions across Europe and sitting on industry event and award advisory boards. Former member of the English National Mens Volleyball Team Former coach of the Swiss Cottage Ladies Volleyball Team

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To get in touch, please email us at podcast@marcusluer.com

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Misha Sher, a sports marketing veteran, author, lecturer with a unique background and great stories from working with Pele to many other big sports properties and brands. We are going deep why brands engage with sports, esports/gaming, women’s sport and how to activate it, athlete marketing and unpacking his current role as Global Head of Sport, Entertainment and Culture at MediaCom (now called EssenceMediacom and part of WPP’s GroupM). 

Key Highlights

1. Born in Ukraine, immigrating to the US at the age of 13, culture shock, didn’t speak the language.  Football/Soccer was his language and helped him to integrate
2. Dream to be a pro Footballer cut short, first job in Banking in Boston – start making a living
3. Next stop Masters Degree in Football in Liverpool – back to his passion – thesis on Premier League Clubs in North America
4. Soccerex – Director of Business Development – helping expand to Singapore and new commercial ideas, ie cities paying host fees
5. Short sting as Ranger Football Club as Global Partnership Director – some lessons from it
6. Entering MediaCom – short intro on the company being part of WPP’s GroupM – managing billions of dollars of advertising money
7. Media agency investing in traditional media channels, agency starting to offer new services to take “customers” (Brands) into sport and other entertainment spaces
8. Sports marketing agencies and Media Agencies, from partners to rivals
9. Pele – amazing opportunity to represent him for several years to help build his brand and create commercial opportunities (Pele was 72 at the time).
10. Brazil about to host the FIFA World 2014 and Olympics 2016 – most iconic Brazilian sports star – building his brand by association with other iconic brands (Coca Cola, Emirates, Hublot, Procter & Gamble, etc)
11. Amazing networking by being around him and meeting Heads of States to CEO’s  - signing multi years, multi million dollar deals for him – managing and maximizing his time
12. Some personal stories about Pele, the Legend and the man he was
13. Deploying Clients Money – over USD 1 billion in his career across B2C and B2B opportunities -  value creation is the key
14. Transactional nature of industry vs “why” would/should the fan/customer care and what is the best vehicle to achieve the client’s objectives
15. “As a brand, don’t disrupt what people love, be the thing what people love” -  Eintracht Frankfurt sponsor example (Indeed), perfect alignment with club
16. Discussion about lack of understanding and budgets beyond the initial budget to buy into a property by many brands – ratio spending on activation
17. Balancing risk factors for brands between engagement in athletes, clubs/teams and leagues, different risk vs rewards
18. Athletes and influencers becoming “media platforms”, huge social media reach and the opportunity for brands
19. Gaming/Esport/Web3, where are the opportunities for brands – examples and discussion about future growth
20. Growth of Women’s sport, the importance and opportunities for brands
21. Working on new book  – (working title) “From Athlete to Enterprise” – how to build a personal brand and build sustainable future incomes     

About

Senior commercial & marketing executive with more than 15 years international experience developing some of the most iconic brands, rights holders and talent. Having operated at the cross section of sport, media, tech, talent and advertising, have an intrinsic understanding of how to unlock growth to drive commercial and strategic objectives. Have advised on strategic direction, negotiation and execution of more than £1B in partnerships across sport & entertainment in more than 40 markets. Strong business leader, with track record of building and managing diverse teams while operating in a multifaceted global organization. Possess a considerable global network of C-suite executives across sport, music, brands, governments, media owners and agencies. Passionate about embracing disruption and driving industry innovation, with opinions regularly featured in major media outlets (CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sport Business Intl). Co-Author of a best-selling book, ‘Art of Branded Entertainment’, exploring the future of uninterrupted marketing. Specialties: Leadership, Strategic planning, Marketing & Brand strategy, Business growth, Commercial partnerships, Revenue generation, Sport & Entertainment strategy and activation, Public speaking, Pitching, Sales & Business Development, Talent Management, Negotiation, Brand building. Clients include: Toyota, Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Dell, Shell, indeed, Skoda, Subway, Hotels.com, BAT, Allianz, GSK, Fonterra, Sony PlayStation, Beats by Dre, Richemont, Pelé, Brian Lara, Eniola Aluko, Liverpool FC, Watford FC.

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Ben Nichols, a veteran sports communication and public relations expert with decades of experiences across the industry from WADA, Commonwealth Games Federation, Sportsradar to many other consulting jobs around the world. Listen to Ben’s unique journey around the world and his new company – Padel 22 – a dedicated communication consultancy for the world of Padel sport.

Key Highlights

1. How his career started -  combining his love for writing with sports, travelling and working around the world
2. Working in Dubai on ATP/WTA Tour stop and Emirates Dubai Rugby, next stop Lotus Renault travelling the globe and F1 circuit
3. How to differentiate one F1 team from another and how to communicate it
4. WADA  – unpacking his 4 years at the World Anti-Doping Agency – heading to Montreal, Canada – media relations and communication
5. During his period, various scandals hit the press from Lance Armstrong to Russian Doping scandals, IAAF  – his experiences
6. WADA, an “independent” body although funded by the IOC – working across all departments to assure a clear message goes out
7. Pound and McLaren reports – big global media focus
8. Athletics Integrity Unit  set up by IAAF President, Sebastian Coe – the sport working on cleaning up its act
9. Commonwealth Games Federation – Gold Coast Games in Australia – setting new standards and targets for sports from gender equality to disabled vs abled body athletes competitions
   1. From briefings at Buckingham Palace to writing opening speeches for the President    
10. Sportradar unique service– providing Anti-Doping Services to major event organizers  (intelligence investigation services, athlete performance monitoring, etc) – business development role
11. PADEL 22 – his new agency – https://www.padel-22.com
    1. What is Padel – background and difference to other similar sports (ie. tennis, pickleball, squash, etc)
    2. Dynamic, urban, cool new sports
12. Vision and mission of Padel 22 – why he set up a single focused agency – one sport, global focus
13. Padel vs Pickleball (European vs American style sports promotions) and ambitions of both sports
14. Final thoughts – opportunities around the world - “sports nomad”

Link: https://www.padel-22.com/

About

A leading Sports Communications, International Relations and Padel Industry professional who ran Media Relations for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) during 'the biggest sporting crisis of the 21st century' - the Russian Doping Scandal. Ben also led Communications and Public Affairs for a revitalised Commonwealth Sport movement at Gold Coast 2018, transforming the perception of the modern Commonwealth Games. Ben brings with him with 17+ years’ experience and a proven track record of success running communications for the world’s leading sports series, leagues, events, teams, leaders, athletes, brands and media. Ben is an entrepreneurial figure with expertise in Strategic and Corporate Communications, Media Relations, Public Affairs, Issues & Crisis Management, Event Operations, Speech Writing, Executive Communications Counsel, Marketing and as a Spokesperson. By 26, Ben was overseeing Communications for the award-winning ATP and WTA Dubai Tennis Championships and leading the Middle East region's Communications for the 2010 Asian Games 'Road of Asia' campaign. At F1 team Lotus Renault GP, Ben led Media activity including for drivers Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean and team sponsors. He oversaw Media Relations for WADA during a turbulent period for international sport. He was Communications Counsel for leadership; Editor of Play True Magazine; Speechwriter; and creator of widely-acclaimed interview series, WADA Talks. He executed Media Relations and Social Media for the high-profile WADA Investigation into Doping in Athletics, achieving a total US$4.60 Billion AVE in the process and resulting in #WADA becoming the World's No.1 trending topic on Twitter. As the Commonwealth Games Federation's first Director of Communications and Public Affairs, he developed and implemented the Marketing & Communications Strategy, positively shifting the public perception of what the Commonwealth Games meant worldwide. Ben ran his own Sports Communications Consultancy working with the likes of the International Padel Federation (FIP), Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), USA Weightlifting, USADA and the Athletics Integrity Unit, and also worked for global sports media and technology innovators, Sportradar, heading the Anti-Doping Services team for Europe. Today, he is working as a Strategic Communications and PR Consultant in the burgeoning sport of Padel – widely described as "the world's fastest growing sport".

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Great discussion with Professor Simon Chadwick, a highly respected academic in the world of sports, with several books and papers to his name and various successful consulting roles across the world combining academics with the real world.  We take a birds eye look at the world of sports, the hottest topics and issues out there, across Simon’s 20+ year career.

Key Highlights 

1. How it all started, growing up living across his local team, Middlesborough – passion passed down by generations
2. Premier League paper in mid 90s got the ball rolling, leading to a PhD with his thesis focused on Football Shirt deals in English Football
3. How to connect a brand to the heart of the fan through shirt sponsorship discussion
4. Working with overseas Master & PhD students to study overseas fan behavior, how do fans in China pick a “favorite club”
5. Stories – Ferran Soriano early vision at Barcelona & Manchester United Tour lessons from 2005
6. Lessons learned from trips and work IN PLACES INCLUDING THE GULF, China, Russia, - understanding the differences and impact on sports. Teaching around the world from Brazil to Japan TO THE UNITED STATES
7. Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy – work with them prior to the World Cup
8. Our discussion on “migrant worker” issues and “Sports Washing” history lessons, politics, nation branding, etc
9. China – what is happening since Covid – recent Winter Olympics, dropping the AFC Asia Cup (Football) as host (Geo political issues)
10. Public sector entrepreneur – writing books looking at Mega trends (Managing Football, Handbook of Sports Marketing, etc.  New book “The Geopolitical economy of sports” – coming out this year (Publisher: Routledge)
11. Women’s sports discussion, opportunities and challenges
12. Esports & Gaming – how countries take advantage of investments in Esports to build new industries, ie. Korea, Saudi Arabia, China
13. Sports coming out of Covid – survival of the fittest, concentration of power (industrial concentration)
14. Recession talk vs Mega Media deals globally (how to explain it) – polarization

About

Professor Simon Chadwick is a researcher, writer, academic, consultant, policy advisor, and speaker with more than twenty-five years experience in the global sport industry. His work focuses on the geopolitical economy of sport. Chadwick is Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy at Skema Business School in Paris, where he is also a member of its think tank - Publika - as well as Programme Director of Skema's Global Executive MBA in Sport. Simon previously co-founded and directed Emlyon Business School's Centre for the Eurasian Sport Industry, the University of London's Birkbeck Sports Business Centre, Coventry University's Centre for the International Business of Sport, and Salford University's Centre for Sport Business. In addition, he has worked at several of the world's most prestigious business schools, such as IESE in Spain, Otto Beisheim in Germany, Tsinghua in China, COPPEAD in Brazil and Waseda in Japan. He has written numerous articles, books and research reports for the likes of Forbes, Sloan Management Review, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Forbes, Thunderbird International Business Review, Mastercard, Newsweek, Reuters, Time, Routledge and Financial Times Prentice Hall. Chadwick has consulted for some of the biggest names in sport, such as FC Barcelona, UEFA, Adidas, the Association of Tennis Professionals, Nielsen, the European Clubs Association, Ping, Formula E, Coca Cola, and the Asian Football Confederation. Simon tweets via @Prof_Chadwick Some examples of his writing can be found via channels including: https://www.iris-france.org/geosport/ https://www.policyforum.net/authors/simon-chadwick/ https://theconversation.com/profiles/simon-chadwick-94601/articles https://www.ejinsight.com/eji/author/id/10880

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Leigh Steinberg, aka the real life Jerry Maguire, the US Super Agent goat sharing his illustrious career and accomplishments and the trials and tribulations across his 50 year career.  Enjoy the history lessons and learnings.

Key Highlights

1. Going way back to the 1960, height of Vietnam war and dealing with then California Governor Ronald Reagan (later US President)
2. The start of “Agents” in American Football – first deal with Steve Bartkowski in 1975 at the age of 25 straight out of Berkely Law School  
3. His passion to give back to the community and how that has driven his selection of clients
4. Growth of the company – focus on NFL Quarterbacks, expanding into other Sports – first book, adding agents
5. Helping the city of San Francisco to keep SF Giants in the city, instead of being sold to investor group.
6. Becoming a steward of sports  (being the bridge between owners vs athletes – billionaires vs millionaires – avoid strikes, etc)
7. Start of the company, key partners Jeff Moorad and later David Dunn joining and some of the challenges
8. Discussion about the pioneers of the industry, from Mark McCormack to David Falk
9. Explosion of content to drive industry – sports becoming the most popular form of television programming
10. Selling the company and what happened after and how plans changed
11. Early days of athletes content online during the dot.com boom
12. Personal struggles taking a toll and his personal crash in 2010 – recently celebrity 12 years of sobriety – starting all over
13. Lessons from that time and how others can learn from it
14. The new beginning – Steinberg Sports & Entertainment
15. Story behind Jerry Maguire and how the movie came about and a bit about “Any Given Sunday”
16. Current biggest stars on his roster,  superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes II – comparing contract numbers across sports and agent commissions
17. Endorsement deals for sports stars – big difference in sports – the billionaire sports superstars of our era
18. NIL and the impact for High School and College players – managing expectations – social media as currency
19. Athletes taking equity in businesses they promote – new form of wealth creation – agency helps to cut those deals
20. Content creation by athletes, production and social media
21. What makes a great athletes a Superstar – certain qualities required
22. His view on the future of sports and Esports and new focus on health and wellness
23. Other things that keep him busy, new book, podcast, charity to agent academy -  www.steinbergspeaks.com

About

Leigh Steinberg, premier sports agent, entrepreneur, Chairman and founder of Steinberg Sports and Entertainment, is best known for his work building athletes into stand-alone brands. He is often credited as the real-life inspiration for the Oscar-winning film Jerry Maguire. Leigh has represented many of the most successful athletes and coaches in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, golf, etc., including the number one overall pick in the NFL draft for an unprecedented eight times in conjunction with 64 total first round picks. Furthermore, Leigh has represented other notable athletes, including Oscar De La Hoya and Lennox Lewis, as well as multiple Olympians and professional teams. With an unrivaled history of record-setting contracts, Leigh has secured over $4 billion for his 300+ pro athlete clients and directed more than $800 million to various charities around the world.

Before making a name for himself in the sports industry, Leigh was born and raised in Los Angeles by his parents, a teacher and librarian. He obtained both his B.A. in political science and his J.D. from UC Berkeley, where he was student body president during each tenure. Passionate about giving back and making it his unrelenting personal goal to make the world a better place, Leigh has also distinguished himself by his dedication to philanthropy. He has received commendations from Congress, State Senate, State Legislature, the Los Angeles City Council, the Orange County Board of Supervisors, President Reagan, President Bush, and President Clinton. Leigh has been named “Man of the Year” over a dozen times by a variety of groups, including the March of Dimes, Cedars-Sinai, the Southern California Boy Scouts, the Orange County and Los Angeles Human Relations Commissions, the Orange County and Los Angeles divisions of the Anti-Defamation League, and several other professional and charitable organizations. He has also been awarded the “Keys to the City” in San Francisco, CA, Memphis, TN, Jacksonville, FL and Concord, CA and has even been honored with the declaration of “Leigh Steinberg Day” in San Francisco after his efforts to save the Giants. In 2017, Leigh was inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame.

Over the course of his career, Leigh has been featured on numerous national television programs, including 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, The Today Show, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Frontline, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and many more. He has been profiled in a host of magazines, including Business Week, Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, People, Forbes, Playboy, GQ, and FHM. Leigh has also served as a consultant on several feature films and television series, including Jerry Maguire, Any Given Sunday, For Love of the Game, and Arli$$. Additionally, he has supplied his expertise on the business of sports and athletes for The Dan Patrick Show, The Jim Rome Show, and The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and multiple other radio and TV outlets. Leigh contributes a weekly column to Forbes, HuffPost, and the Daily Pilot and is a guest columnist at The New York Times, Sporting News, and Yahoo Sports. In addition, Leigh has penned notable articles such as “The Future of Sports” for the Sports Business Journal, “Around the NFL in 80 Million Dollars” for Inside Sports Magazine, and “The Future of Sport” for the Smithsonian Magazine.

In addition to his work in the industry, Leigh is also a best-selling author. His first book, Winning with Integrity, provides insight on how to improve life through non-confrontational negotiation, and his most recent book, The Agent: My 40-Year Career of Making Deals and Changing the Game, details his decades of dominance in the sports industry and sheds light on overcoming his personal struggles to launch his comeback. Leigh has been named one of the most powerful people in the NFL by Football Digest and one of the most powerful people in sports by Sporting News. He currently resides in Newport Beach and has three children.

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