Episodes

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, ...

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 throu...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan slip back into the studio to consider the stories of the sports industry week. As Whisper secures a big contract for host broadcast services at Roland Garros, they reflect on the changes, creativity and innovation in the sports production market - and, as Lionel Messi launches his own studio, when athletes and influencers might join the contest for big live production work. Then David plays in a couple of conversations...

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 supe...

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 supe...

Dan Rossomondo has spent over 20 years in the sports industry delivering international business strategies to accelerate growth across sponsorship, media, licensing and retail. He cut his teeth at the NBA where he helped to supercharge the organisation as a sports, entertainment and lifestyle property for over a decade. He's now bringing that experience and track record to MotoGP, where he was appointed as CCO in 2023, and is responsible for leading the media rights, global commercial partnersh...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett popped his wellies on and headed down to Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire this week to join an exclusive gathering of sports, media and entertainment leaders at the IMG x RedBird Summit. 'Raising the Game' was the theme of the event, and much of the conference content was future-focused, aimed at identifying, in RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale's words, how to 'skate to where the puck is going'. In amongst the on-stage sessions, the off-stage masterclasses, and...

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 supe...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan hit the studio again for a wander through the sports industry stories of the week. On the eve of the Uefa Champions League draw, they’re joined by Uefa Marketing Director Guy-Laurent Epstein to help explain the revamped competition format and the reasons behind the changes. Epstein also discusses partner reaction to the new-look tournament; 30 years of Champions League brand finessing; the rise of the Women’s Champions...

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 te...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan gather their thoughts and reflect on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. They discuss the broadcast coverage and tone, for the BBC, Discovery and NBC in particular; sponsor creep in the wake of LVMH and Samsung’s activity in Paris; the visual spectacle and the power of the still image; the challenges ahead for organisers of LA28; and Thomas Bach firing the gun on an IOC Presidential election next year.

Claire Nelson is in the midst of overseeing the relaunch of Netball Super League. As Managing Director, she’s plotting a 10-year path to professionalisation for the newly-restructured eight-team league and intent on growing the sport around the UK. On this edition of Leaders in Focus, she shares those plans; her approach to breaking the bad news to the existing teams that won’t be getting a place in the new league format; why working with Premier League club Nottingham Forest – which acquired o...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are reunited for a chinwag about the global business of sport. They reflect on the summer of sport and hospitality so far - from Wimbledon to the British Grand Prix - and consider the latest state of play at the NBA, as its new media deal nears completion, and the health of tennis and golf. Then, on the eve of the Olympic Games, they ponder the major storylines and pointers of Paris 2024, including the baffling logisti...

Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan rattles through the big stories of the sports industry week - media rights updates from the NBA and Ligue 1, and the IOC-Saudi deal for the Olympic Esports Games - before two more conversations recorded at last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He was joined by two athletes transitioning into executive roles, operating in growing, challenger sports in the US. Brazil’s Helio Castroneves is a four-time Indy 500 winner, who is gradua...

Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan is back with the stories of the sports industry week, while Editorial Director James Emmett chips in with two more conversations from last month’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity. England and Arsenal footballer Alessia Russo was first to drop in to the Sport Beach, hosted by Stagwell, for a chat about working with brands, and learning from the creative and marketing worlds. Then climber Alex Honnold, perhaps best known for his Free Solo film,...

Recorded at The All England Lawn Tennis Club on the eve of the 2024 Championships, Sally Bolton discusses life as Wimbledon's CEO. In a wide-ranging conversation on Leaders in Focus, in partnership with IMG, she reflects on the varying leadership styles required to manage a two-week Grand Slam, a thriving year-round club and relations with a host of partners and global tennis stakeholders. She also assesses the overall health of sport in the UK, 12 years on from London 2012 and after her exper...

Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan brings you the stories of the sports industry week, while Editorial Director James Emmett brings you a couple of heavyweight brand CMO conversations from last week's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. At the Sport Beach, hosted by Stagwell, he sat down with Don McGuire, CMO of Qualcomm, a B2B company that, through its Snapdragon brand, is about to become much more visible, as Manchester United's new front-of-shirt sponsor. Then he catches...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are out and about, sharing their sports industry week. James is in Cannes, taking in the beaches, making note of the activations and soaking up the vibes at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - and asking what sport is doing there, who it wants to meet, why so many athletes have turned up and where sport actually fits in the minds of the big brands and agencies who have decamped this week to the South...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan take an amble through the sports industry week, joined by Seven League and Rematch Founder Richard Ayers. They discuss how politics and sport are mixing during the UK General Election campaign, and as French President Emmanuel Macron calls a snap election just weeks before Paris hosts the Olympics. It’s a free-flower of a conversation, taking in evolving agency models; what Richard plans to digitally transform next; ta...

Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan is joined by Javan Odegah, for the latest on the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series. They reflect on the recent Diversity breakfast hosted at 4se New York, touch on reports Anthony Joshua may be about to buy a stake in his hometown football club, Watford FC, and consider how Arsenal's newly-adopted anthem, North London Forever, has taken hold. Then you'll hear a portion of an on-stage conversation from 4se New York, our sports-entertainment-business event, f...

Andy Anson is preparing Team GB for a golden summer in Paris. The British Olympic Association CEO is the guest on this month's Leaders in Focus, where he looks ahead to the Olympics; considers the major challenges the Olympic world faces; and discusses whether athletes should be paid directly for winning medals at the Games. He reflects on a long and varied career in sports and media: developing his love of brand at Disney; takeovers and working under the Glazers at Manchester United; and worki...

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan take stock of a big week of sports, entertainment and business at 4se New York. As the green room is dismantled around them in Chelsea, they reflect on some of the big themes of the event: storytelling in all its forms, the rise Cowboy culture, and the budding relationship between sports organisations and the music industry. US Ski & Snowboard CEO Sophie Goldschmidt also stops by to discuss one of the big stories elsew...

Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan lean into the sports industry stories of the week. They're joined by Anna Edwards, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at executive search and advisory firm Elite Performance Partners (EPP), to discuss Manchester United' Co-Owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's new work-from-office edict and, as the WNBA continues to expand, how to structure a start-up sports organisation's front office. They also discuss the latest Leaders Special Re...

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 ...