American Cricket Federation
American Cricket Federation (ACF) Secretary, John Aaron, will join other high-profile representatives of international sports brands at the Leaders Sport Business Summit, in New York, March 4-5 at the Times Center.
John Aaron, American Cricket Federation Secretary, will attend the event on behalf of the organization. Photo by Shiek Mohamed
In its eighth year, the UK-based Leaders Sport Business Summit returns to the United States for only the second time. Last year ACF was the only cricket organization in the Americas invited to join the summit.
Geared to attract the top sport franchises around the world, the Leaders Sport Business Summit targets CEO’s, managers and marketing executives from the sports and sports media communities, to discuss in open forum style, best-practices, and to share successful franchise stories.
Last year the invitation-only summit held at the Paley Center for Media in New York City, attracted 11 world-class speakers and 316 director-level delegates from 25 countries; representing more than 20 professional sports, including cricket. The Sports Business Summit is an unrivaled platform for business, knowledge and networking and attracts the most senior decision-makers in the world of sport.
The summit focuses on governance, maximizing growth and building international business and brands, along with cutting edge content in future trends, technology and innovation.
Conducted in a media free environment, the annual summit engages in topic specific roundtable discussions for smaller groups of experts in data and decision-making roles, with opportunities for learning unique lessons from outside the world of sport, as well. Sustaining high performance and building winning teams are some hallmarks of the eight year-old summit.
According to a sourced Leader’s report on last year’s summit – Mark Tatum (NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO) kicked off the summit with a fascinating insight into the drive for globalization from within the NBA, with Mark Lazarus (Chairman, NBC Sports) describing how NBC Sports are taking advantage of the changing media landscape to land some of sports biggest properties. A powerhouse European football session with Bruce Buck, Javier Faus and Jörg Wacker examined in detail the different strategies employed to increase the international reach of Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, whilst Sam Kennedy and Dave Howard, long-time friends now running successful global commercial enterprises in Madison Square Garden and Fenway Sports, discussed best practices in driving commercial revenue and long term value for partners.
The World Cup and growth of US soccer came under the spotlight in the penultimate session with Don Garber (Commissioner, Major League Soccer) and Sunil Gulati (President, US Soccer Federation) dissecting the global and domestic trends as a result of the growth of soccer, with technology and fan engagement expertly analyzed by MLBAM’s content pioneer Din Mann and Fox Sports EVP, Bill Wagner.
Invited to attend this year are a very specific and targeted group of influential sports business people from across the world, and ACF welcomes this opportunity to network with the decision-makers in global sports management.
Aaron, a marketing executive himself, said, “Last year’s summit was an eye-opener to the world of sports marketing and the globalization of brands. I was fortunate enough to join Kent County Cricket Club’s CEO Jamie Clifford and Mark Pearce, Head of Commercial Partnerships for the ECB, along with a few others in discussing the globalization of cricket and cricket in the United States of America, all of the sports leaders I interacted with have offered to help ACF in any way possible.” The ACF Secretary added, “I am looking forward to attending this year’s summit, and I wish to thank the organizers for inviting ACF once again.”
This year’s event will feature 16 world-renowned speakers including Mark Waller, (Executive VP International, NFL), Guy-Laurent Epstein (Marketing Director, UEFA) Jean-Claude Biver (Chairman, Hublot), Ian Ayre (CEO, Liverpool FC)), Wycliffe Grousbeck, Co-Owner, Managing Partner & Governor, Boston Celtics), Steve Easterbrook (Chief Brand Officer, Steve Easterbrook, Chief Brand Officer, McDonalds’s), Brett Yorkmark (CEO, Brooklyn Nets) and Ivan Gazidis (CEO, Arsenal FC).
Among those also attending this year’s summit are:
Partner & Co-Owner, Arizona Coyotes
Global Director Sports and Entertainment, Anheuser-Busch InBev
Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland Cavaliers
Chief Digital Officer, NFL
Director, Olympic Games Management, Coca-Cola
Chief Commercial Officer, Arsenal FC
President, Jacksonville Jaguars
President, Boston Celtics
President, Colorado Rapids Soccer Club
Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, New York Giants
Deputy General Secretary, CONCACAF
Chief Marketing Officer, Golden State Warriors
Director of Sports (North America), Google
Chief Marketing Officer, Major League Soccer
Vice President, Marketing, Bwin
Head of Sports and Entertainment Marketing, JP Morgan Chase
Co-Founder, Major League Gaming
Chief Commercial Officer, Manchester City FC
President, US Soccer Federation
Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Partnerships, NBA
Senior Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer, Cleveland Cavaliers
President, New England Revolution
Chief Brand Officer, Citigroup
President, Real Salt Lake Rip Tinto Stadium
Chief Executive Officer & President, U.S Ski Snowboard Association
Chief Marketing Officer, United States Olympic Committee
The Leaders Sport Business Summit (http://www.leadersinsport.com/attend/the-sport-business-summit-new-york/)