Judges 2022

Andreas Heyden was appointed CEO of new German streaming service, S Nation Media in August 2022. He has previously worked at Deutsche Fussball League as chief executive of DFL Digital Sports, the digital content and distribution subsidiary of the league. Heyden has worked across various aspects of the media industry, including video on demand (VoD), over-the-top content (OTT), and in augmented reality, AI, and 5G applications. S Media Nation is due to launch in the third quarter of 2023 and aims to be the new German home of sports other than football.

Scott is currently leading an effort to expand Turner Sports and Bleacher Report’s use of data and insights to enhance the division’s ability to deliver great fan experiences, strengthen the core business and support new revenue streams. Previously, Scott was SVP of Product Strategy for Turner, was head of Business Operations for NBA Digital and NASCAR.COM and managed several award-winning products. Scott graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a degree in Sports Management and has an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and two teenage children.

With over 20 years in the sports industry, having working previously for the ICC, Ten Sports and IMG Media/TWI, Aarti has extensive experience in delivering strategies to drive sustainable growth, engage diverse fans and deliver value. As a strong believer in the power of sport to inspire and impact positive change in society, Aarti has joined forces with Formula E, in her current role as the all-electric racing series’ Chief Media Officer. Aarti leads on media partnerships and distribution, digital content and product development, broadcast coverage and fan engagement across channels, bringing to life Formula E’s vision to accelerate sustainable human progress through the power of electric racing.

Melissa Lawton is responsible for Live Sports Production Strategy at Facebook. She’s charged with helping Facebook’s partners redefine the live sports viewing experience to foster deeper and more meaningful connections between fans and the broadcasters, teams, leagues and athletes they follow. In this role, Melissa will design production strategies that inspire partners to fully leverage the interactive and social potential of video on Facebook. She’ll also work closely with the Facebook product team to develop the tools partners need to deliver sports broadcasts for the next generation of fans.

Melissa joined Facebook after five years as the Head of Live Content at Red Bull Media House, working specifically on the creation and expansion of Red Bull’s media network, Red Bull TV. In this capacity, she oversaw a global production team that produced premium, live third-party sports, music and culture events and many ‘beyond the ordinary’ Red Bull competitions across the globe.

Sharon Fuller is about to join eSC as Chief Content Officer, having previously been Global Head of Central Content Creation at Red Bull and a senior Executive at BBC Sport.

Bhavesh Patel is currently the Chief Digital Officer at beIN Media Group based in Paris. He is working on building their next generation global OTT platform and driving innovation across the group. Prior, Bhavesh was an OTT strategy advisor for CBS Studios International and Verizon Go90, headed up Betfair’s US horserace wagering business, and led the launch of FOX Soccer 2 Go and NBA International League Pass.

Hans Gabbe has served as Senior Vice President Sports Rights & Commercialization at Sky Deutschland since February 2016. In this position, he oversees the acquisition of sports rights as well as the Sports Commercialization division, which focuses on the development of alternative revenue models in sports and the strategic utilization and alignment of sports rights. The 44-year-old lawyer played a major role in acquiring the broadcasting rights to the German Bundesliga until 2021, the UEFA Champions League and the German Handball Bundesliga. Gabbe has been with the company since 2004, when he joined Premiere – as it was known at the time – as Junior Manager after completing his studies.

Nick is the CEO of SportsPro Media, the leading media and conference business covering the business of sports. Nick joined SportsPro in 2010 and has since developed the company into a diversified publisher producing more than 14 million views across its media channels and delivering events in 5 countries annually. Nick is also the host of the StreamTime Podcast, the weekly show interviewing the world’s leading figures in streaming and digital in sports. Nick also serves as the Senior Independent Director for British Volleyball, the governing body responsible for the development of elite pathways for all disciplines of the sport.

Kim joined the Foxtel Group in 2019 after spending two seasons at Cricket Australia as Head of Big Bash Leagues (BBL), which included delivering the first ever standalone Women’s BBL final with a sold-out crowd. Prior to this, she spent 15 years with PepsiCo, most recently as Head of Sports Marketing based at their global HQ in New York, leading initiatives such as the Pepsi Superbowl Halftime Show. Kim was appointed Marketing Director of Kayo Sports in October 2020, leading brand management and go to market strategy for Australia’s leading sports streaming business.

Technologist in the Sports Industry for over 5 years, previously in Financial Services for over 20 years. Lead all Data and AI efforts for our sports business at Microsoft.

Tom has worked in the sports broadcast industry for over 18 years and is currently SVP of Product at DAZN. Before moving to DAZN, Tom was Global Head of Digital at Eleven Sports where he was responsible for the strategy and development of the OTT product globally. He oversaw launches in new markets and drove platform innovations like the Sports Pro OTT award-winning Watch Together tool. Tom was also previously Head of Video at Sky Sports.

With a background in political communication, I started my sports journey working for Public Content Partnerships at Facebook in 2011, helping shape the strategy for the top tier sports, media, politics and entertainment clients in the EMEA region across the company’s family of platforms – including Instagram and the Mentions app. Then, I moved to UEFA in 2015, leading social media and digital partnerships, with the scope to drive new business revenue and audience growth for European Football, followed by working for Google Search, leading strategic content partnerships and actions integrations for Media & Sports in EMEA. I joined DFL in 2020, being the first female director across the group. In my current role I am overseeing all B2C activities on the Bundesliga’s owned-and-operated digital channels and across various languages. DFL Digital Sports GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, responsible for the distribution of the Bundesliga’s digital content. I also serve as member of its executive board.

Thierry Pascal has led the PGA TOUR’s international media business since 2012.

Thierry relocated back to London in June 2018 to become leader of the PGA TOUR office, as Managing Director of EMEA, whilst continuing to run the international media business as Senior Vice President and Head of Distribution for the new partnership with Discovery.

Prior to that, he was based out of the PGA TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where he had been based since 2004. Thierry manages employees located in each of the PGA TOUR International offices: US, London, Beijing and Tokyo.

Thierry has overseen the growth of the media business that now worldwide sees PGA TOUR tournaments broadcast to more than 1.1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 23 languages.

Born in London, Thierry has worked in the sports media business for over 20 years, including postings in the UK, Dubai and Singapore with Sportsworld and Parallel Media Group.

Louisa has worked at BT (Consumer) since the evolution of BT TV and was heavily involved in the launch of BTSport after BT secured its first set of key rights for the Premier League. Working in Business Development across the BT business, but with a core focus on Sport and TV, Louisa has negotiated commercial agreements with all sizes of partners critical in delivering amazing customer experiences across devices and channels. Building long-term partnerships with rightsholders, broadcast infrastructure suppliers and social media partners with a view to developing new ways to deliver content (Subscription, Free-to-Air, Pay-per-view), whilst bringing value to consumers and the BT TV and BT Sport businesses. Born and raised in the north-east of England but living with her two children in Hertfordshire who keep her on her toes and in touch with what today’s younger consumers demand from content and the viewing experience.

Media Solution Specialist with long experience in small and large-scale technology solutions in the TV and Media area, as a leader and technical advisor in OTT and streaming media delivery. Magnus works for Eyevinn Technology, an independent consultant company specializing in video streaming, distribution and technology.

Magnus assignments includes streaming solution architecture, technical product management, business development and senior management advisory. Magnus is also involved in strategical assignments helping customers to navigate in the media industry, as well as conducting Technical Due Diligence projects.

Eyevinn are helping content owners, large broadcasters, TV operators, newspapers and technology vendors to solve challenges around streaming.

International Board Member, Chairman and business executive with significant experience in strategy, growth and business development, especially in media and OTT. I’ve been involved in taking new technology into new markets, leading diverse teams to success, including in the very early days of OTT.

My core focus has been to grow businesses. I’ve started companies, sold companies (including my own), am involved in venture investing. I’m currently directing, advising and investing in technology companies plus pro bono mentoring of great people who want to make a difference.

Motasem El Bawab was a former professional basketball player in Brazil and Canada. He currently serves as the Head of Digital & Technology at Volleyball World.

As the Head of Digital of Volleyball World, his role is to lead the teams developing the Digital and Technology ecosystem. In addition, one of his main responsibility is to increase viewership of Volleyball World Properties globally and to drive new revenue streams beyond TV.

Some of his past roles included being the digital projects manager for the International Basketball Federation where he lead their technology, digital architecture and mobile transformation. He also acted as an advisor for several Tech Startups in the MENA region and Japan.

Kahlen leads international Sports Partnerships with Rights Holders, Federations, Leagues, Teams and Athletes at Snap. Focussed on reimagining fandom for the next generation of sports fans, the Sports Partnerships teams enables partners to unlock and realise the potential of Snapchat’s unique audience and technology.

Brad manages the technical and operational teams for FOX’s coverage of Major League Baseball and College Sports along with all transmission services and advanced-technology projects for Fox Sports. He is a leader in new technology approaches, including IP-based live and postproduction centers, IP over RF, UHD, HDR, and UAS systems. His work includes innovative production approaches and executions for in-ground audio, robotic cameras, and home run productions. Cheney is a six-time Emmy winner and previously worked for MLB Network, Late Show with David Letterman, Game Creek Video, COX Sports and Tribune Broadcasting.

Founder & CEO at StratNXT, Jerome is a strategically minded and transformative leader with over 20 years of proven track record building purpose-driven brands and driving bottom-line results for global brands operating in direct-to-consumers and experiential industries like live events, entertainment, media and sports

He has been a featured speaker and juror at numerous marketing conferences in North America and Europe including Advertising Week, Mobile World Congress, The Shorty Awards, Sport Technology Awards, Incite Summit, Millennial 20/20 and Forbes CMO Summit. He was also a founding Board Member of The Marketing Society Hub in New York, a Mentor to Adweek’s Executive Mentor Program and is a strategic advisor for high growth companies.

First female/attorney NFL agent, represented the US Women’s soccer, softball and extreme athletes, collectively, has been employed at the NFLPA, Autism Society of America, the Association. of Corporate Counsel, held the Commissioner title for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (NCAA), is a certified Arbitrator, Acting Director of the United Breakin Association, professional corporate speaker on leadership and negotiation skills while teaching sports law, Personal Branding-NIL, and entrepreneurship at George Washington University. Zavian serves as Trustee to SafeSport International, Advisory Board Member of Spry, an NIL Platform, USA Dance NGB Task Force, appointed to FIFA’s Player Counsel group, and teaches leadership/entrepreneurship for the US Embassy in Cyprus. Contributing writer for the Washington Post and Forbes and Editor-in-Chief for esportsandthelaw and mylegalbookie.

Patrick Crakes has served in various senior executive media roles during the course of his career including several at FOX Sports. During the last six years of his 23-year tenure there he was SVP, Programming, Research and Content Strategy responsible for strategic programming decisions across multiple sports networks and platforms including FOX, FS1, FS2, and FOX Deportes.

Paola Marinone is the Co-Founder and CEO of BuzzMyVideos, a next-generation tech media company that drives hyper-growth & new revenue from and on YouTube.
Paola is an ex Google/YouTube manager turned tech entrepreneur. She is currently based in London, with an international career in technology, and has lived all over the globe, counting 8 countries so far. Having worked for Google in its early days, and then founded BuzzMyVideos, she has lived first hand the transformation of entire industries and built a cutting edge knowledge on anything related to online video.

Leander is partner at LaSource, a sports consulting agency based in Bordeaux, Paris and Ghent. Leander has 10+ years experience in the sports business, with extensive expertise in media rights and sports business strategy. At his previous role of CBO at the Belgian Pro League, he was heading the preparation, guidance and negotiation of several of the League’s media rights deals, including the most recent record-breaking exclusive 5-year partnership with Eleven Sports and led the overall business strategy for the league. At LaSource, Leander now advises tech companies, broadcasters, leagues and clubs on areas at the intersection of media, digital and technology.

Panagiotis Aroniadis is the Founder of Stars Inc.11, a 360 Media Agency that specialises in Digital Strategy, Content Creation and Branding.

Stars Inc.11 was shortlisted in the Best Original Content category 2022 Sports OTT Awards for the original documentary “Bordo Mavi”.

Previous to that, he was for nine years the New Media Director of PAOK FC shaping the Digital Strategy and Content Management of the club through its rebranding and digitalization period.

During his reign PAOK FC became the first Greek club named Digital Brand of the Year, title that maintained for two years in a row. PAOK also won 20 domestic Digital Media, 6 domestic and one European Design Award.

PAOK FC was something like the Cinderella story of Sports OTT Awards, winning three awards in 2020 for:

• Platform of the Year
• Best New Platform
• Best Marketing Campaign

Panagiotis is considered as one of the most influential sports executives in Greece.

Tom McJennett is a Managing Director, Ventures at Two Circles, leading the development and growth of rights holder DTC propositions, notably NFL Game Pass International, a three-time winner at the OTT awards and Courtside 1891.
Previously, Tom was the Head of Global Marketing for the International Olympic Committee, launching their OTT platform, the Olympic Channel in 2016.

Ben has extensive broadcast and digital experience specialising in media rights, content acquisition and distribution, launching D2C services, business development and partnerships.

Formerly heading up the development and launch of ITV’s Pay Per View Boxing service, ITV Box Office, Ben currently oversees business change at FITE, the leading OTT combat sports streaming service, alongside rights acquisition.

Gergo is the CEO and owner of The Team Play, a sports media consultancy, where he merges his entertainment and youth audience growth backgrounds and applies that to sports. Gergo spent 10+ years at premier entertainment companies HBO, Disney and Sony Pictures Television, and consulted streaming company Rakuten TV. Gergo is also an owner of Special Effects Media, a social video company, building audiences across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch and other video platforms.

Andrew is the founder of 1896 Partners where he works with investors and leadership teams across the sports and entertainment industry on investments, partnerships, and strategy development.

Andrew was most recently VP Global Strategy & Corporate Development at WWE, where he partnered with the exec team on all elements of its global business strategy including media rights, live events, sponsorship, etc.

In his role, Andrew also oversaw WWE’s corporate venture and innovation activities that included sourcing partnerships and investment opportunities from banks, VCs, and start-ups. Most recently he sourced, diligenced, and led WWE’s investments in the Premier Lacrosse League and JomBoy Media. In leading WWE’s venture activities, Andrew also represented WWE as a Board Observer as part of investments in Cloud9 (leading esports org) and FloSports (niche sports OTT service).

Before WWE, Andrew was a management consultant at The Parthenon Group in Boston working with private equity and corporate clients on investment due diligence and growth strategy engagements. In the sports and entertainment sector, notable assignments included The Kraft Group, Legends Hospitality, and Under Armour.

Head of Engineering: Post Production and Workflows – 22+ Years’ experience across the industry, working at IMG Studios helping to create all kinds of media content for some of the biggest sporting federations on the planet.

SSI provides strategic consulting and business development for established and start-up technology companies servicing the sports television and new media markets. Its principal, Doug Billman, has 45 years of experience in sports marketing, corporate consulting, television production/distribution, digital media rights/production, and sales. He has acted as the senior executive for multiple companies over the last 30 years.

Since its establishment in 2003, SSI has served over 50 clients (25% of them Israeli), helping them to refine their product offering, develop business strategies, acquire customers and partners, and raise growth capital or identify M&A opportunities. SSI’s network of relationships within the sports industry and the now-robust sports tech investment sector continues to grow.

Mini bio: Experienced Business Development Manager and entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of launching and developing new projects in the sports events and broadcast media industry. Founded NSports in 2018 that nowadays operates the official streaming channel of 17 different sports entities in Brazil

Iván Justel has a degree in Journalism from the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid and more than 13 years’ experience in the world of Communication, Social Media and Digital Marketing, always closely associated with audiovisual and OTT projects. He currently holds the position of Head of Sports Communications & Social Media Manager at the MEDIAPRO Group, where he spearheads a range of digital strategy teams and projects. Iván has also received certification in many areas related to the world of communication and digital environments, including Social Media Management, Corporate Communications, Digital Rights and Audience Growth on YouTube.

Jason Thibeault is the Executive Director of the Streaming Video Alliance, a global technical association of companies collaborating to solve critical challenges in delivering a better streaming video experience at scale. He is a recognized expert voice in the streaming industry and is a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine. Jason is also the co-founder of Datazoom, a startup focused on homogenizing streaming video data collecting and increasing the speed of data acquisition. Prior to his current role, Jason spent eight years at Limelight Networks, a leading CDN, where he held several roles including product manager and marketing strategist. He is also an inventor of multiple technical patents in streaming and cloud technologies and the co-author of one marketing book.

Dr. Mintas is a high-profile Entrepreneur, Investor and Thought Leader in the Technology and Sports Industry on a global level. She has been involved in various roles as a High Executive or Strategic Advisor in the Sports, Sports Betting & iGaming, Media & Entertainment and Crypto space.

She has extensive and unique experience in the Sports Betting space having worked in the space in many different roles – as a C-level Executive of major Sports Organizations such as FIFA and CONCACAF, the leading sports betting and media data company with Sportradar; a very innovative, omni-channel Betting Platform with Betworks and as a disruptive B-C sports betting, fantasy, iGaming and horse racing operator with PlayUp. Through her roles as Strategic Advisor, she was involved in many deals across the industry, including the sports media, betting and crypto world.

My name is Miguel Buhigas. I have been part of the Olympic family for more than 7 years. I am currently Broadcaster Service Manager at Olympic Broadcasting Services-OBS, Host broadcaster of the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, Youth games and Paralympic games. I have been part of OBS Broadcaster Service team in the Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic games. In my role we are OBS’s main point of contact for the Rights Holding Broadcasters worldwide, managing their overall service needs and requests before and during the Games, channelling their projects through OBS and ensuring the quality of the technical aspects. Always aiming to bring the RHB Olympic projects and platforms to the next level. With special emphasis I have been leading the Paralympic games RHB projects within OBS.

With over 20 years’ experience in F1, Pete has led numerous key technical areas such as IT, Electronics, Software, Research & Development, Digital Delivery, Digital Technology and Digital Operations. In each of these cases driving the evolution of the F1 Eco system. Breaking new ground for Formula 1 Pete recently headed up the division responsible for delivering the transformation of F1’s digital platforms all the way through to developing innovative solutions that facilitate new and exciting content to the full range of F1 products, including live
broadcast. Currently, Pete is focused on a new leadership role spearheading Strategic Technical Ventures within F1. Pete focuses on driving F1’s strategic technical goals with a future facing role that will deliver real innovation and technical change, through the utilisation of strong technical partnerships.

Pete is passionate about pushing the boundaries of existing technologies in addition to leveraging those technologies, ensuring they achieve real business gain and increase fan engagement in the exciting and challenging environment of F1.

Achievements include: Leading teams to deliver the F1 Standard Communication System ( Telemetry, video and data solution). Leading teams to deliver new Digital platforms for F1, including F1.com (website), F1 app and F1’s first ever direct to consumer video streaming service (OTT platform).

After almost 10 years purely focusing on fighting sports-related media rights distribution and being part of the tremendous growth of this specific industry, partnering and working for the biggest companies (UFC, ONE Championship, K-1, Enfusion, etc), I have decided to take on a new challenge: Esports.
I have always been very keen to build up so-called “niche content” to a mainstream level in terms of monetization and recognition.
Esports, such as fighting sports in its early days, is an industry that has not exploited all its potential and I am eager to be here when it will skyrocket.

Shannon is the Vice President, Sports Marketing and Media for USPA Global Licensing Inc. as well as for Global Polo Entertainment, the sports marketing division of USPA Global Licensing. Shannon graduated from the University of North Florida, where she received her B.A. in Marketing.
Shannon began her career in professional golf in 2007, starting at the PGA TOUR as a Marketing Coordinator overseeing multi-million-dollar brand sponsorships. She quickly moved up to a new-business development role where she pursued strategic companies with which to partner. After only one year, Shannon was promoted again to a management role in the corporate marketing division of the PGA TOUR. While in this role, she managed several blue-chip companies and built strategies for brands in sports and entertainment. This led to a position with the PGA of America, a membership organization that coordinates major golfing events with grassroots marketing efforts. In this four-year role, Shannon built marketing strategies around the events, created television and print publication advertising and maximized goals for the brand partnerships with the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship. Her successful sports marketing career included a stint with the Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf tournament.
Groomed to lead the new direction of the business of polo, Shannon was recruited in 2015 to lead the sports marketing and media arm for the sport of polo in the U.S. and to promote the global authentic connection to the sport for the official apparel brand, U.S. Polo Assn.
To change the course of history for the sport of polo in the U.S., the first order of business was to innovate and evolve the United States Polo Association media and top-event platforms. With Shannon’s influence and support, Global Polo Entertainment (GPE) was formed as a sports division within the company to foster sponsorships, media rights and brand marketing development for the sport of polo. Under Shannon’s leadership, the first ever three part high-goal event series – THE GAUNTLET OF POLO – was developed to drive awareness for the sport of polo and the top-rated tournaments in the United States, attract a new fan base, and further the connection to U.S. Polo Assn. Shannon led a team of internal staff and external consultants to change the trajectory of the sport and to increase access via digital and linear television. For more than nine months, Shannon led a team to create the new GAUNTLET OF POLO brand, including the brand identity, brand story and pillars, logo designs, brand style guide, IP guidelines, brand tool kits, curated brand assets, and custom brand measurement analytics dashboard platforms. The brand resonated with all constituents and stakeholders and was widely adopted by players, teams, clubs, media, fans and sponsors.
In 2019, Shannon led the effort to launch the first of its kind OTT Network, Global Polo TV, a premier destination for all polo content and the world’s largest content library. The new platform that is accessible across several apps and television platforms provided the sport of polo a home. In 2022, Shannon and Global Polo Entertainment negotiated a deal with the ESPN Family of Brands to deliver the newly created made for television shows, Global Polo Show, where Shannon creates the polo stories to share with non-polo audience. The show was previously televised with strategic media partners around the world, on beIN Sports, Horse & Country, Rurual Channel and now will live on ESPN.com. In addition to the made for television shows, ESPN signed up to carry seven of the top USPA Official Events on linear and digital television around the world, including BT Sports and ESPN India.
Shannon’s sports marketing and media leadership has secured a one-stop destination for all polo players, a brand-new location for the top events and a great opportunity for non-polo fans to access real stories of polo families, polo players and polo clubs from around the world. Her expertise and determination in branding, social and digital marketing, live and produced television, media partnerships and sponsorship relationships has and will continue to help the sport of polo globally.

Russell is the CEO of Stadion and before that was Chief Digital Officer of Paris Saint-Germain where he was responsible for strategy, execution and commercial for the club’s digital area. He led the digital transformation of the club as he had done before in similar roles for FC Barcelona and Manchester City FC.
Preceding Barça he was Product Development Director at Perform Group which included Goal.com, the largest global football site, and was also part of the innovation committee which developed projects such as DAZN. Russell was on the board of Dugout prior to the merger with OneFootball.

I am currently Senior Director of Media Rights at Warner Bros Discovery, leading the global acquisitions and sales of our Golf rights portfolio.

This includes both broadcasting content across our various linear and digital platforms (Eurosport, Discovery+, GOLFTV) as well as sub-licensing rights to our various international TV partners – built upon our long-term partnership with the PGA Tour.

My previous companies include Sky Sports, Prozone/STATS and more recently Lagardere/Sportfive which was a strategic commercial role involving the acquisition and sales of media, data and betting rights – managing key rights holders and partnerships.

Disruptor entrepreneur, Mexican, current General Manager of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Responsible for the success and transformation of Mexican Lucha Libre in the international landscape for the last 17 years, he has travelled the world bringing Lucha Libe to other industries like cinema, video gaming, live events, super heros storytelling and some others, always aiming to expand the growing Lucha Libre fanbase around the globe.

Aaron has been in the Australian sports media industry for more than 10 years, with a background in broadcast, digital and OTT streaming.

Joining Optus Sport in 2016, Aaron launched the new streaming platform into the market and has been core at developing it into an industry-leading product today.

Owning the digital strategy at Optus Sport, Aaron’s role expands across OTT, Social & Editorial which serves more than one-million subscribers on-platform, and more than one-million followers across social media channels. Aaron’s team took out Gold at the 2021 SportsPro awards for Best Social Media Strategy.

Carsten has been Director Media Production at DFL Digital Sports since 2019 and in this role is responsible for the Bundesliga’s video and photo production. He joined DFL Digital Sports in 2014 as Head of Broadcast & Video Content and previously held editorially responsible positions at various TV stations (Sport1, LIGA total!) and Red Bull Media House.

Over a decade spent working at the forefront of China’s fast-developing sports digital industry, spanning roles across business development, PR, media rights, and brand. Currently, I head up the communications and brand department at China’s leading sports digital agency Mailman, which includes running the PR department P&L, maintaining media & industry relationsips, producing the company’s industry newsletter, and handling client relationships.

Regularly featured on podcasts and in media publications, I deliver a bridge between the often misunderstood Chinese sports market and the west.

Fluent in Mandarin, I gain greater insights and access into the Chinese market and integrate in high-level discussions with China’s leading sports industry decision-makers.

Alex has worked in the entertainment and sports industries for more than twenty-five years. His true passion is graphics in broadcast and streaming, having played a key role in bringing award-winning visual experiences to some of the U.K’s biggest shows and sports broadcasts to life.

His range of creative executions range from rebranding Britain’s Got Talent to being the lead graphic designer on X-Factor, working for leading broadcast networks and brands spanning MTV, Nickelodeon and Burberry to name a few. 

With a philosophy of sporting being the ultimate entertainment experience, Alex brought this expertise to sport while spending 10 years at ITV Sport as lead graphic designer. This included delivering the virtual ‘roof’ studio for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the full design package for Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup coverage and graphics for a range of popular sports such as Horse Racing, Tennis, Football, etc. 

Alex joined Discovery (now Warner Bros. Discovery Sports) as Head of Graphics for its multi-sport broadcaster, Eurosport. Together with the Content & Production leadership, he spearheaded the development of the award-winning Cube studio, building from its use at tennis Grand Slams during the pandemic through Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to creating a whole virtual world for Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 

Michal Grundland Holds a deep background in TV productions, live broadcasting, content creation & media operations; With an Llb in civil law and, a master’s degree in international sports law, Michal’s main passion is sports, tech, events, and, media with unique expertise in fan engagement and future experience journey.

Michal is the former (and first-ever woman to act as) spokesperson and head of media operations at the Israeli FA.

In 2019 Michal became the VP of BD @ Insoundz, leading the UK & European markets for the company, focusing on audio automation product for TV Studios.

Today Michal is consulting with tech companies and, acting as a UEFA Venue Media Manager and Match operations, UEFA Futsal delegate, and events experience.

Shane has over 20 years experience in Sports Administration and Business, across multiple industries including advisory, sport and banking.  Shane has spent the past 14 years with the Adelaide Crows progressing to the role of Chief Financial Officer in 2011 and recently Chief Operating Officer.  His role encompasses finance, technology, facilities and football strategy & list management.  Shane is currently leading the club’s $80m+ Future Facilities Project, to relocate and build a new world class headquarters/training facility for the Crows.

Shane also led the 2018 acquisition and subsequent 2021 sale of the Adelaide Giants Australian Professional Baseball Team.  During the 3 years of ownership he held the CEO role of the team leading all facets of operations for the Adelaide Football Club, including its international agenda in USA and North Asia, completing exclusive international deals with Major League Baseball, Philadelphia Phillies and Korean professional baseball team the Lotte Giants.

Shane is a graduate of Australian Institute Company Directors, holds tertiary qualifications in both Commerce & Accounting, is a qualified CPA and recently completed an MBA.

Fiona Wood is Strategy Director at Little Dot Sport, award-winning digital content agency and media network Little Dot Studios’ sport specialist label. Wood’s remit includes driving the development of industry-leading multi-platform digital strategies for clients, understanding their business objectives and how digital is enabling these to be achieved. She oversees an internal team of digital experts who are responsible for building data, content and insights workstreams to complement these business objectives and will continue to evolve Little Dot Sport’s product offering and commercial potential. Wood brings with her over 15 years’ worth of digital strategy and content experience within the sports industry. Prior to joining Little Dot Sport, she held the position of Digital Director at Formula E following five years at the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and a further five years at the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in various digital roles.

Charles Paterson is currently operating on a freelance basis (since August 2021) working with a number of different businesses and broadcasters.

Prior to this, Charles was a broadcaster and journalist for 16 years for Sky Sports and Sky News, producing output across multiple live platforms. Paterson worked on the ground live at some of the most high profile sporting events in the world, including: the Champions League; Scotland internationals; Scottish Premiership and English Premier League matches; multiple Open golf championships; the Ryder Cup; the Solheim Cup; the Rugby World Cup; and the Commonwealth Games.

Charles now works as a media consultant and creator of content for various parties. In the last few months, these have included PFA Scotland, Premier League Productions and the Scottish Rugby Union.

Paterson’s most recent work is as Digital Consultant for Rugby League World Cup 2021, providing expertise and producing original content ahead of the tournament in the autumn, whilst liaising with marketing and communications directors to drive stakeholder engagement.

Fred Santarpia is a digital media and business transformation expert. He currently serves as president of Endeavor Streaming, where he spearheads the company’s global expansion strategy. Before joining Endeavor Streaming, Fred was chief operating officer at Moda Operandi and, previously, chief digital officer at Condé Nast, where he founded and launched the digital arm of Condé Nast’s entertainment division. Fred was also a founding member of the leadership team at VEVO and served as EVP & general manager. Prior to VEVO, Fred worked at Universal Music Group in a variety of senior leadership roles. Fred is a graduate of Villanova University and holds an M.S. in finance from Boston University. He currently resides in New Jersey.

Marcin Serafin. COO in Ekstraklasa Live Park  – TV production company owned by Ekstraklasa – responsible for TV feed production of all 306 games per season since 2011. Former reporter and producer in Canal+, TVP, and Polsat,  Deputy Editor in Chief at Orange Sport. From September 2011, responsible for all TV development and production operations in Live Park. Technical and production advisor and operator of PZPN (Polish Football Association) in the VAR project. Head of EkstraklasaTV OTT project.

Anthony Edgar is well known to the Olympic movement having been a key executive with the Olympic Games for 25 years. He was responsible for sports content for Sydney 2000 then joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Head of Media Operations at the start of the Olympic Games Department, where he has worked with all major news organisations, international sports federations, and organising committees for 18 years. He was Chair of the IOC Press Committee and headed numerous additional projects for the IOC such as the Young Reporters Programme, Olympic Information Services, OISPhotos.com. ONESHOT^TM provides consultancy services within this space.

Barney Francis joined IMG as Executive Vice President, Head of Global Production, in November 2021. He oversees the production of thousands of hours of content on behalf of more than 200 federations, associations and events to help them reach new and existing fans in creative and compelling ways. Widely-respected as one of the leading sports executives in the world, Francis was largely responsible for establishing Sky Sports as the leading UK sport broadcaster during his 20-year spell with the organization. As Managing Director, he grew the channel offering from 5 channels to 11, adding premium sports such as Formula 1, the Masters, The Open and NBA to the portfolio while also increasing the number of Premier League matches shown on Sky. He also oversaw continued technological innovation with developments in 3D, Ultra HD, virtual reality and the continued growth of Sky Sports’ digital, social and online presence. Prior to his role as Managing Director, Francis was Sky Sports’ Executive Producer for Football and Cricket, producing a range of live coverage, support programming and sport news content. His production credits include the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, the ICC Cricket World Cup and Test cricket.

Deltatre’s Group Chief Evangelist Carlo De Marchis has 35 years of experience in sports tech – as an early adopter of the web, he has spearheaded innovation in digital for many of the most relevant sports and media properties worldwide. Lately focusing on OTT, Direct To Consumer and AI/ML, he is also exploring the world of crypto, NFT, web3 and the metaverse to help the industry in yet another transformational moment.

Matt is currently Group Director of Analytics & Research at beIN MEDIA GROUP and is responsible for the delivery of commercial insights, analytics, data and intelligence across the global beIN portfolio.  While at beIN, Matt has made a significant contribution to beIN’s global media rights acquisition strategy, and led growth projects within the MENA Pay-TV business.  Most recently, Matt led the commercial launch of TOD (www.tod.tv/en), the game-changing SVoD service offering more than 10k hours of premium entertainment content plus all of beIN Sports live, in MENA. 

Reem heads up and drives the commercial creative process across new business and partnership development at AS Roma, commercialising different touch points across the club to drive commercial revenue.

A passionate and driven creative leader, who has a collaborative and strong team work ethic, with a proven track record of winning multi-million-pound partnership deals in the sports industry. Reem has worked for some of the most recognisable organisations including AS Roma, Chelsea Football Club and the BBC.

Gareth Capon is CEO at Grabyo, the market-leading cloud video platform. Founded in 2013, Gareth has driven Grabyo to the forefront of the digital video industry.

Now trusted by global publishers and rights holders such as ITV, BT Sport, LaLiga, MotoGP, The Premier League and UFC; Grabyo’s browser-based tools enable remote teams to produce live events, edit video and broadcast live streams and real-time highlights to all major digital, social and OTT platforms.

Prior to joining Grabyo, Gareth was a Product Director at Sky, leading Mobile and Growth products, after holding senior positions at Sony and BT. Gareth began his career in strategy at Accenture covering Telecoms, Media and Technology.

Pamela Duckworth, an award-winning executive producer with extensive experience across all production disciplines and brand marketing, is head of Fubo Sports Network, the live, free-to-consumer TV network featuring sports stories on and off the field.

Duckworth is responsible for all creative direction including original programming on the Network, which was launched by sports-first live TV streaming platform FuboTV in 2019. Fubo Sports Network’s award-winning original programming includes “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas,” “Getcha Popcorn Ready with T.O. and Hatch” hosted by Terrell Owens and Matthew Hatchette and chat show “Drinks With Binks” hosted by Julie Stewart-Binks.