Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

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 organise...

Euro 2028 Managing Director Chris Bryant joins the show to share how preparations for the tournament are going. He'll share how he and his growing team are working with multiple Football Associations, governments and Uefa to bring the tournament, which will be played in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, to life - and how his experience of running the Wembley part of Euro 2020 and the whole of...

Gerrit Meier, the NFL's Managing Director and Head of International, is on the line from New York, to reflect on another season of games played around the world and the league's wider international ambitions.   He reviews games played this season in London, Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and Sao Paulo, and explains how the NFL approaches operating in new markets, from commercial activity to fanbase develo...

Esteve Calzada, CEO of Saudi Pro League giant Al Hilal, assesses the evolution of football in the Kingdom, as he welcomes Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan to the club’s corporate office in Riyadh. Al-Hilal SC is Saudi Arabia’s most successful football team, and has clubs in over 20 sports.   In a wide-ranging conversation, the former City Football Club executive offers his advice to sports...

IMG's VP and Co-Head of Multisport Content Sally Brown is in the Leaders studio, alongside David Cushnan, for the final part of the series that examines how to do business around the global sports industry. With a focus on EMEA - a region of established sports markets and fast-growing emerging territories - Brown explains how IMG’s suite of production offerings are helping grow sports across the r...

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 wha...

Paulius Motiejunas, CEO of European basketball's premier club competition, Euroleague, is the guest on this week's podcast.   As the prospect of a new NBA-backed European start-up league edges closer - with suggestions recently that a competition might be ready to launch in 2027 - Motiejunas joins the podcast (interview starts at 19.58) to give his perspective on developments; from the dynamics of...

Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer James Maddison joins the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast to unpack his approach to social media.   Fresh off the stage at the Summit at Leaders Week this year, Maddison was joined by fellow panelists Shaneil Patel, Head of Social Media at Spurs, and Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok's Global Head of Sports Partnerships.   The trio piece together the winning formula tha...

Andrew Abdo, National Rugby League (NRL) CEO, joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation, as its global ambitions solidify.  In London for the England-Australia Ashes Test series, he reflects on five years at the helm of Australia's biggest sports league by viewership, a stint which has seen major revenue growth and international expansion, in the Pacific and to Las Vegas. He sets out the NRL'...

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...

Former AFC Bournemouth owner Jeff Mostyn and his daughter Janine, MD of search firm Huckleberry Sport, are the guests on this week's Leaders Worth Knowing.   The Mostyns are two of the best networked people in the UK sports industry, and ahead of the release of Jeff's new book, The Chairman: The Man who Saved AFC Bournemouth, they visited the Leaders studio to reflect on a (very expensive!) fairyt...

Audi joins the F1 grid in 2026 and the team’s Chief Commercial Officer Stefano Battiston joins the show to give an update on preparations. Completing its phased, multi-year buyout of the Sauber team, the German manufacturer will join the grid as F1’s latest round of technical regulations come into play with the potential to shake up the competitive order. Commercially, Battison was at the heart of...

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 re...

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,...

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...

In the second episode of the series between Leaders and TikTok, we explore the social giant’s approach to sport through the prism of some of its key executives and content creators. To help us do that, we called upon Rich Paul, Founder & CEO of Klutch Sports Group – one of the most influential sports agencies in the world with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Juju Watkins and Draymond Green on its...

As the finals take place this week, Billie Jean King Cup CEO Kerstin Lutz joins the show from Shenzhen, China, which is hosting the women's national team tennis competition for the first time. Lutz explains how China's third-largest city is embracing the finals, and shares her tips for working in and running events in the country, as it re-emerges onto the global stage. She also reflects on her fi...

Nascar EVP and Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst joins the show to discuss how the stock car series thinks about broadcasting and engaging fans.   Speaking to Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett, he explains the rationale behind the latest cycle of US broadcast rights, including a new partnership with Amazon, which began this season and netted Nascar a reported $7.7 billion over...

Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) completed a series C funding round earlier this summer, raising a reported $40 million.   The round was led by Saudi Arabia's SURJ Sports Investments, and supported by Cordillera, Verance Capital, and initial investor Sir Michael Moritz.   Sam Renouf is the founder and CEO of PTO and the man who leads the organization's T100 series of triathlon events. H...

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 resourc...

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...

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...

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...

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 a...