Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Two of the PIF’s most senior sports insiders, Mohamed Alsayyad and Faisal Al Sabah, join the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast this week to unpack the latest iteration of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s strategy for sports and entertainment. Mohamed Alsayyad is Head of Marketing, Corporate Brand & Strategic Advisory at the PIF. He’s been with the organisation for over 10 years and has seen spor...

Aki Mandhar, CEO of Chelsea Women, is the first guest in a new series, from Leaders and research agency GWI, exploring demographics, attitudes and priorities amongst fans of women’s sport. GWI’s Director of Research Services Peter Kent joins David Cushnan, to frame up the conversations through GWI’s extensive data on the topic. In this episode, Mandhar explains how Chelsea think about, segment and...

Sportswear brand On last week confirmed the worst secret in the industry, when it announced Kylian Mbappé as the marquee signing for its new football division. In luring the France and Real Madrid superstar away from Nike, On has thrust itself into mainstream conversation for the first time in its relatively short history. James Emmett and David Cushnan are in the studio to chart the rise of On, a...

How is AI changing the way sports organisations create content, engage fans and unlock new commercial opportunities?   It's a question we get into in this episode of Scroll Stoppers, a mini series from Leaders and Ten Toes exploring how to make an impact with digital content.   From AI-generated athletes and digital twins to personalised fan experiences and million-strong virtual fan communities,...

Adam Silver met the press in New York on Tuesday, delivering a much-anticipated, but brief, status report on NBA Europe. James Emmett and David Cushnan, back in London, examine his comments, as the NBA's ambitious project - the talk of the industry on this side of the Atlantic at least - inches forward, and assess where it might leave Euroleague, which for the moment is moving forward with its own...

Richard Thompson wears several hats - Chair of M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment and the England & Wales Cricket Board among them - but it’s his role chairing hospitality giant Levy UK & Ireland, parent of Lyvera, that’s the focus of this conversation with David Cushnan. Thompson casts his eye over the trends influencing the sector right now, and those he’s anticipating, as he reflec...

The annual Two Circles EMEA client summit took place in London this week; hundreds of the agency's partner organisations - drawn largely from across the world of sporting rights holders - convened to discuss aspects of the central theme of fandom.   The concept of fandom in sports and entertainment - and different approaches to building it and monetizing it - is the thread that links a series of c...

Fresh off the back of a whirlwind fact-finder to New York, James Emmett returns to the studio alongside David Cushnan with his observations from the US Open. As the tournament grows - physically and as a New York social and cultural occasion - they consider the impact of the $800 transformation project at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which will conclude next year, on the fan experience and corporate offer...

Just over a week out from the first Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit in Madrid, David Cushnan and James Emmett are back in the studio to discuss why it could become one of the most important - and commercially powerful - events on the F1 calendar.   They also consider how to define DAZN in the wake of its acquisition of commercial distribution platform Everpass, and the closing of its...

Aaron Duckmanton, Chief Revenue Officer at Everton, sits down with David Cushnan as the Premier League club begins its second season at Hill Dickinson Stadium. In a wide-ranging conversation recorded just before the start of the new season, Duckmanton explains the vision for building out the sports and entertainment events roster at the new stadium, including major concerts, and what he’s learnt a...

British Cycling Ventures is the new commercial offshoot of British Cycling, set up to give the national governing body more agility and ultimately increase revenues. Darren Henry, who has been with British Cycling since 2021, is heading up the entity as Managing Director, and he joins David Cushnan in the studio to explain the rationale and reality.   Henry explains how British Cycling Ventures is...

What exactly is a hospitality house, and why has it become a fixture at the world's biggest sporting events? This week on Leaders Worth Knowing, James Emmett sits down with Felicity Shankar, CEO of The iLUKA Collective, one of the sports industry's leading experiential agencies. Fresh from delivering FIFA House in New York during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Felicity explores how hospitality houses ha...

As the Leaders Week London agenda goes live, James Emmett and David Cushnan are in the studio to predict what might be the big talking points when global sport does business this October at Stamford Bridge. The prospect of a contested Fifa Presidential election makes the list, as Gianni Infantino battles on and three confederations - Uefa, CONCACAF and the AFC - seek a challenger. There’s time too...

MotoGP's Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta and Guenther Steiner, the new CEO and Co-Owner of the Tech3 MotoGP team, join David Cushnan to discuss how the world's leading motorcycling series in entering its new era, following F1 owner Liberty Media's acquisition last year.   Ezpeleta explains how the changes made so far, some more visible than others, are designed to supercharge the championsh...

As Gianni Infantino fights for his future as Fifa President, following a remarkable week in world football politics, James Emmett and David Cushnan reconvene to consider what’s happened and what may happen next. They review the model - setting up a new entity to house a governing body’s commercial activity - Infantino proposed, where and why it’s worked in other sports, and the missteps he’s made...

The Hundred, the ECB's short-form cricket series, is into its sixth season, but it's being billed as another 'season one'.   Fresh from selling off majority stakes in the eight competing franchises, the ECB is ushering in a new era for its unique - and uniquely positioned - summer tournament.   The sell-off process raised more than £500 million for English cricket's governing body, and brought abo...

As Andy Burnham takes up the reins in the UK, James Emmett and David Cushnan consider the raft of big jobs available in British sport - including successors to Juliet Slot and Sally Bolton at Arsenal and Wimbledon, and potential roles running NBA Europe and the 2035 Fifa Women's World Cup.   Elsewhere, there's the final word on the World Cup - hydration breaks, Gianni Infantino - and a first look...

What are the most compelling hospitality experiences in sport? Who's buying what, when and why? And what can rights holders do to deliver more value to their premium clients.   These were the key questions put to Charlie Buck on the latest Episode of Leaders Worth Knowing.   Buck is the CEO of Lyvera, a collection of businesses focused on creating and marketing premium experiences to sports fans....

The world of football administration, business leaders, celebrities and assorted VIPs are poised to descend on New York this weekend, ahead of the Fifa World Cup final. James Emmett and David Cushnan convene to discuss the who and why, and dig into the success of Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Fest, the four-day celebrity-studded collectibles festival, which is pitching up this week in the city.  They a...

Investor George Pyne, Founder of Bruin Capital, joins the show to share his thesis for sport and his rationale for targeting what he calls 'second level enablers' - the companies a layer below the headline-grabbing team and league properties.   In a wide-ranging conversation, he reflects on 12 years of Bruin, the investment firm he set up following a career that including a stint as COO of NASCAR...

PSG Chief Revenue Officer Richard Heaselgrave joins the show to lift the lid on how PSG have built value through an imaginative approach to brand identity and creative partnerships.   Heaselgrave joined PSG in May 2025 after stints leading commercial teams at World Rugby, Tennis Australia, the EFL, the NBA, and Uefa. He joins co-hosts James Emmett and Alex Charkham, who runs strategy and consultin...

As Sky confirms its £1.6 billion deal to acquire ITV, James Emmett and David Cushnan assemble to consider the possible ripple effect on the UK sports rights market. Are we poised for a new era of creative collaboration and shared production?   Elsewhere, there's reflections on this week's conversation with Tony Godsick, Roger Federer's agent, and how working with superstar talent - and the buildin...

Few know the business of tennis as well as Tony Godsick, the long-time agent of Roger Federer and one of the founding fathers of the Laver Cup.   As preparations continue for the ninth edition of the North America versus Europe men's team event, at London's O2 Arena in September, he explains the rationale for creating the event, alongside Federer, and how its commercial performance is maturing.  ...

Two Circles CEO and Founder Gareth Balch joins James Emmett and David Cushnan, on location at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, to cast an expert eye over the week in global sports business. Under discussion: the latest public uttering and industry chatter on NBA Europe - with work ongoing to sell the franchises, how realistic is the NBA’s suggested October 20207 start date? There’s reaction to...

Marina Logacheva is the Disability Sports Lead at the Matta sports marketing agency.   A keen amateur athlete, Marina was training for an Ironman in 2020 when she became a tetraplegic wheelchair user following a traumatic fall.   Here in the UK, July is Disability Pride Month, in which Visbility, intersectionality and disabled leadership are all celebrated.   Those topics were on the agenda during...