Episodes

David Bruce is the Chief Business Officer at Sunderland, the North East club that's back in the Premier League after an eight year absence. Under owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who, at 28, is the youngest Chairman in the Premier League, Bruce is responsible for steering the commercial operations at Sunderland. Staying in the Premier League is the aim this year, and, quite simply, much of the resource required for putting together a team capable of doing that is being driven by Bruce and his team. ...

According to Google, that's the second most common question people ask in relation to the former FC Barcelona and Spanish international football legend. The answer may well be 'very'. Since retiring from playing in November 2022, Pique has launched himself whole-heartedly into the running of his Kosmos agency. A few short weeks after hanging up his boots, he launched Kings League, a seven-a-side football competition with unconventional rules designed to major on the entertainment side of the sp...

Raine Group Partner and Head of EMEA, Jason Schretter joins the show to explain how the England & Wales Cricket Board managed the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises - which drew significant investment from the United States and India. Raine was the lead financial advisor to the ECB on the auction process, working closely with Deloitte to achieve an overall valuation of over £975 million across the eight franchises, and a £500 million windfall for the development of English cricket. ...

Tom Jackson, Group Director, Content at the DP World Tour - once known as the European Tour - joins the podcast to share the organisation’s approach to content creation and in particular its run of viral videos featuring challenges and players. In conversation with Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Jackson explains the critical planning and process required to bring a comprehensive content strategy to life; how his team convinced players to take part; the risk and reward of humour in con...

Fresh from the Uefa Women’s Euros semi-finals, Rexona/Sure Global Brand Director Emily Heath joins Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett to examine whether women’s football sponsorship actually works. Heath shares her on-the-ground thoughts on the atmosphere around this week’s games and describes the mood in host country Switzerland, plus outlines how Unilever-brand Rexona (Sure in the UK) is approaching its Uefa and Fifa sponsorship activations across different markets. She also explains h...

Mark Goldbridge, owner and frontman of The United Stand and That’s Football, joins the podcast to explain how he’s building the biggest football content brands on YouTube, and the truth behind the viral clips they spawn. Manchester United-focused The United Stand (19 million views in June) and That's Football (9.85 million views) were the top two YouTube football channels globally for long-form views in June. In conversation with Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Goldbridge discusses ho...

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 Man...

Warrington Wolves CEO Karl Fitzpatrick joins the podcast to discuss the ways in which his team and sport are attempting to widen their appeal. In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, he reflects on the realities of running a Super League team in the north west of England, surrounded by four Premier League football clubs; how the club - a mainstay of the Super League since its formation in 1996 - is evolving; and efforts to boost the sport's profile. As a former player, Fi...

As The Championships begin, Wimbledon's Marketing and Commercial Director Usama Al-Qassab sets out what's new this year and how he's settled into his role over the past two years. In conversation with Leaders' Content Director, Al-Qassab discusses how the All England Lawn Tennis Club continues to balance history and tradition with innovation and technology; how conversations with brand and broadcast partners are changing; and how he's thinking about AI and its applications in and around The Cha...

Reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson sit down with Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett in Cannes to discuss how track and field is being - and should be - disrupted. Lyles, who claimed gold in the blue riband event at Paris 2024, discusses his deliberate approach to personal brand-building, and what he likes and doesn’t like about the current structure of the sport. Then Johnson opens up about the successes and challenges he encountered ...

Welcome to the first episode in a new series called The TikTok Gameplan. Over the course of several episodes across the year, we'll be exploring the social giant's approach to sport through the prism of some of its key executives and content creators. In this first episode of the series, we dig into TikTok's Gameplan for magnifying women's sport. To help us do that, we called upon the services of the Queen of TikTok herself, England goalkeeping legend Mary Earps, who announced her retirement ...

Katlyn Gao, CEO of LOVB (League One Volleyball) and Alex Bazzell, President and Co-Founder of Unrivaled Basketball join Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett to discuss why women’s sport was top of the agenda in Cannes this year. Gao charts the story so far for LOVB as it builds its own brand – and looks to attract brands - and considers the prominent role of the league’s athletes in its storytelling approach. Bazzell lays out the plan to build 3x3 women’s basketball property Unrivaled into...

Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dust off the mics to discuss what’s worth knowing this week in the global business of sport. They examine some of the sports organisations currently on significant recruitment drives - Relevent Football Partners, Premier League Studios, Glasgow 2026 and the Cadillac F1 team among them - and reflect on a remarkable weekend of Grand Slam tennis at Roland Garros. Plus why Fulham FC’s new Riverside Stand might be the new mod...

Outgoing Meta wearables chief Dan Reed joins the Leaders Sport Business podcast this week. Having announced his departure from the technology giant earlier this month, Reed reflects on 11 years at the helm of various departments at Facebook and then Meta. Hired out of his role as President of the NBA's G League, Reed initially joined Facebook to head up its nascent sports activity as Director of Global Sports Partnerships in 2014. Building out a crack team - which included the likes of Peter ...

Major League Baseball’s CMO and the President of the Harlem Globetrotters join Leaders Content Director David Cushnan in New York on the fringes of 4se, SBJ’s sport-meets-entertainment conference. MLB’s Uzma Rawn Dowler explains how the league’s MLB Life platform is at the heart of its growing activity on fashion, music, gaming, arts and entertainment, and how she’s managing her role as the league’s CMO and SVP, Global Partnerships. Harlem Globetrotters President Keith Dawkins shares how he’s ...

World Snooker Tour CEO Simon Brownell reflects on crowning a Chinese champion, alongside Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan. In a wide-ranging conversation just after WST's debrief of this year's tournament, Brownell discusses the plan to maximise Zhao Xintong's success at the Crucible, in China and beyond; Sheffield's future as host of the World Championships; the sport's Olympic hopes and global ambitions; and how to engage a new generation of fans.

Exploring the influence Donald Trump will exert on the 2026 Fifa men's World Cup and LA 2028 Olympics, with sports communications strategist John Zerafa. John joins Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan for a tour of global geopolitics, starting at the White House where Trump this week hosted Fifa President Gianni Infantino. They discuss the implications of Trump's Presidency and policies on the upcoming Club World Cup, from visas to tariffs to how to handl...

Following Wrexham AFC's latest promotion at the weekend, CEO Michael Williamson joins Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan. He lifts the lid on a memorable day - and night - at the Racecourse Ground, as Wrexham secured its third successive promotion, as well as early planning for life in the second-tier Championship next season. Williamson also discusses the redevelopment of the Racecourse Ground, rising expectations, English football's new independent reg...

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 ...

Snap reflections on our Leaders Meet: Innovation event this week in London, with Craig Hepburn, Art Basel's Chief Digital Officer, and former Virgin Atlantic, McLaren and Chelsea FC Chief Marketing Officer, Claire Cronin. Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are on location at 180 Studios on The Strand to reflect on two days spent with C-suite leaders from across sport, discussing the biggest global trends - artificial intelligence, the global economy and c...

Lancashire County Cricket CEO Daniel Gidney takes us inside the Hundred auction, as Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan reflect on the beginning of a new era for English cricket. Gidney has been instrumental in the sale of a 70% stake in the Manchester Originals, part of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s process to sell shares in The Hundred franchises. He explains what it was like to be in the thick of February’s auction action; the preparatory work t...

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 SB...

India's ambitions to stage the Olympic Games and become a sport-forward nation dominated conversation at last week's RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, and Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan is joined by Portas Consulting's Nic Coward to reflect on a fantastic few days in Bangalore. They consider how India's plan to host the Games in 2036 are progressing, the ways in which the plan is galvanising national and state governments, corporate brands and influential and wealthy figures acr...

With horse racing's annual Cheltenham Festival playing out in the background, Jockey Club Partnerships Director Carey Weeks takes Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett on a tour of the Orchard, the racecourse's buzzing sponsor village. The episode features on-the-ground conversations with sponsorship leaders from the likes of Brooklands Watch Company and Debenhams. Later on, we hear from Leaders Managing Director Laura McQueen as she helps to launch the new 'Be the lead' initiative at an Int...