Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

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 reflects on what makes an impactful and memorable guest offering at various pricepoints.

He also considers hospitality as a business tool and assesses how that’s changi...

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 conversations James Emmett recorded across the course of the event.

Those conversations feature:

- Two Circles Executive Director Mel Cha...

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 offering.

The other big questions are pondered: As influencers continue to make their mark - for better or worse - on major sports events, how s...

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 deal to buy streaming platform technology firm Viewlift. Does this indicate a change of tack from the company once dubbed the 'Netflix of s...

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 about booking acts and the world of live touring.

He also outlines how the club has taken fans and partners on the journey to the new stadium, and th...

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 looking to commercialise key IP, such as the Tour of Britain, and work with key partners like Lloyds. He also gives an update on the search for strategic investment into British Cycling V...

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 have evolved from an Olympic concept into a powerful platform for brands, rights holders and event organisers.

From the ingredients that make a hospitality house memorable to lessons...

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 to consider VPN sponsorships in football and the number of empty seats at some sports venues this summer - is it misjudged pricing and is the UK...

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 championship's popularity and revenues, and how the new US influence on the series is beginning to manifest itself.

Speaking in London before last Sunday's British round of the championship, the 12th...

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 that have enraged much of the football world.

There’s also time to reflect on the Hundred and its quest to build a fa...

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 about a devolution of operational and commercial control from the centre to the teams themselves.

With new investors - predominantly from India and the US...

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 ahead to how different the 2030 edition might look, in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and South America.

And with a scaled down, slimline Commonwealth Ga...

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.

It was created earlier this year by sports hospitality giant Levy as a holding company for a number of the...

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 also examine who was at the highly-exclusive Sun Valley media and tech gathering this year; who found their way into the Royal Box at Wimbledon; and who is heading to Roy...

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 between 1995 and 2006, and then nine years as President of ING.

Pyne discusses the particular challenges of raising money - he's done it four times with Br...

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 consulting for global sports and entertainment marketing agency Fuse, for this third and final episode of the Cannes Debate.

On the agenda: how Paris Saint-Germain built out its brand ide...

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 building of stories around them - is changing.

And in a troubled week for Fifa and Gianni Infantino, amid suggestions of political interference in the tournament, why sport and pol...

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.

Godsick also reveals how his professional relationship with Federer has changed, since the 20-time Grand Slam champion retired in 2022, and offers his take on the ro...

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 the news that FIFA and European Football Clubs (EFC) are coming together to help shape the future of the Club World Cup. And, as E...

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 my chat with Marina too, as well as the huge opportunity that sports participation spaces are missing through a lack of focus on and catering for a p...

Fresh from a trip to Cannes, to take in the brands, celebrities and agencies this week at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, James Emmett provides David Cushnan with a postcard of who was there and why.

Elsewhere, what does Royal Ascot’s formal dresscode say about the event? And is Ascot’s grandstand facility one of the most underrated in all of sport? 

Plus as the area around the Leaders studio in Wimbledon gets decked out in its tennis finery, ahead of this year’s Championships, there’s the latest on the pl...

The Cannes Debate is a three-part series exploring sport’s growing role at the centre of media, marketing and culture.

Hosted by Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Alex Charkham, who runs strategy and consulting for global sports and entertainment marketing agency, Fuse, the series digs into why sport has become one of the most powerful tools in modern brand-building.

Recorded live from Cannes Lions (soundtracked, at times, by the unmistakable hum of the Croisette), Episode 2 features Dan Clays, CEO of Omnicom Media Group EMEA, on why sport is now at th...

What's the point of Cannes for the sports industry? As the marketing world prepares to descend on the French Riviera for the annual 'festival of creativity' that is Cannes Lions, sport has becoming increasingly central.

Kenny Annan-Jonathan, the newly installed Cannes Lions Sports Director, joins co-hosts James Emmett and Alex Charkham, who runs strategy and consulting for global sports and entertainment marketing agency Fuse, for this first edition of the Cannes Debate.

On the agenda: why and how sport has taken a central position in brand marketing and communications; the evolving tr...

With the World Cup in full swing, James Emmett and David Cushnan pause and reflect on the hydration breaks, introduced for this year’s tournament, and the new commercial avenue they’ve opened up - and ponder where they might be seen next, as fans and broadcasters, like them or not, get used to the concept.

They also reflect on this week’s conversation with Louise Young, F1’s Chief Race Promotion Officer, and explain why the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix might have marked a turning point in F1’s business story. There’s also time for some con...

Louise Young is responsible for the F1 calendar. The Australian lawyer and her team manage the motorsport series' relationships with promotor organisations around the world.

They are responsible for bringing in new races onto the calendar; for negotiating contracts with existing race promotors; and for ensuring that host venues meet all the requirements - safety, racing, logistical, commercial, fan experience - that a modern, elite, global racing series has.

F1 is having a moment. Propelled by the takeover of Liberty Media in 2017, and spurred by the success of media initiatives like Dr...

As the Fifa World Cup finally kicks off in Mexico City, James Emmett and David Cushnan run the rule over the major business storylines, commercial implications and ever-present politics to keep eyes on in the opening phase of the tournament.

Building on the first edition of Scroll Stoppers, our new series on digital content with Ten Toes, they consider who the breakout content stars in and around the tournament could be, from established football pundits to as-yet undiscovered creators.

Plus, what role will Donald Trump have on the tournament now the ac...

What does it actually take to win on social at the biggest tournament in sport? 

In this opening episode of Scroll Stoppers - a new series from the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast exploring how to make an impact with digital content - Henry Breckenridge, Senior Content Manager at Leaders is joined by Ten Toes Founder & CEO Ben Weisfeld to unpack how the industry is gearing up for a World Cup like no other - driven by American culture and relentless competition for attention. 

From campaigns planned months in advance to the mome...

In the red afterglow of Arsenal’s Premier League title win and celebratory parade in North London, James Emmett and David Cushnan shine a light on Josh Kroenke’s role in the multi-club, cross-sport success story that is Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.

They also reflect on the winners elsewhere across Europe as the club football season ends.

Also on the show, reflections on James’ conversation with International Cricket Council Chief Commercial Officer Anurag Dahiya and the development engine the organisation is revving up in new markets. And, after the Killers at the Ue...

Anurag Dahiya has been Chief Commercial Officer at the ICC since 2020. He is responsible for all revenue generating activities at cricket's global governing body and looks after a portfolio of events ranging from short format T20 world cups through to newly established World Test Championships.

Formerly of Singtel and ESPN Star Sports, Dahiya joined us as a speaker for the latest edition of the Indian Sports Summit, hosted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team. 

Joining us backstage after his session, Dahiya covered the biggest commercial issues facing cricket today: from a...

This week, London is the stage for the third edition of World Sevens Football, the pioneering 7-a-side women's football competition, and Co-Founders Jennifer Mackesy and Julie Uhrman broke into preparations to join David Cushnan in the studio to discuss the concept and its creation. Eight WSL clubs will compete at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium for a prize pot of $1.5 million.

Mackesy, who has led the investment in World Sevens, which launched with two events last year, is also a minority owner of Chelsea Women and NWSL club Gotham FC. Uhrman, Co-Founder and President of Angel C...

India’s appetite and readiness to host major global events was one of the main topics at this week’s Indian Sports Summit in Bangalore, and James Emmett is on the ground with the mood and the colour from on and off stage.

With the IPL in full swing, there’s the latest on the league’s media rights planning and what its strategy might be in a changing domestic market, and James has the inside line on Royal Challengers Bangalore’s new ownership.

Alongside David Cushnan, dialling in this week from New Y...

Ross Hutchins is six months into the role as CEO of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

A former player, Hutchins retired in 2014 and went on to play numerous player-focused roles at the ATP. He replaced Kelly Fairweather in the role as the top executive at the global governing body of tennis in October last year.

He joins the show this week on the back of news that Visa has renewed as a partner of the Davis Cup, the men's team tennis competition organised by the ITF and ahead of a major rebrand that...

The quest to influence and monetise audiences is the core mission for much of the sports industry, and this week James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on James’ podcast conversation with Liz Wynn, Chief Supporter Officer, at the Guardian - and in particular how the organisation has used newsletters to build direct, meaningful relationships with readers. It sparks a discussion about whether teams and athletes might be missing a trick.

Elsewhere, James reports back from this week’s launch of Ultimate Sevens in London, and has the inside line on the latest disruptor on the rugb...

This episode is a masterclass in driving digital revenue through structured and sophisticated commercialization methods, purpose-led campaigns, and behavioural-psychology informed techniques.

Liz Wynn is the Chief Supporter Officer at the Guardian Media Group. Having had a varied career in telecoms and broadcast media - working at the likes of Orange, EE, and Sky, she joined the Guardian in 2023 to take full responsibility for digital reader revenue - ie anything that comes from subscriptions or donation.

Since that point, the Guardian's efforts to drive revenue through its digital consumers have achieved huge su...

On the eve of the Giro d’Italia, the first grand tour of the cycling year, James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack professional cycling’s business model and examine the tensions at the heart of it.

Reflecting on James’ conversation with INEOS-Grenadiers CCO Tom Hill, they discuss the dominant role of Tour de France-organiser ASO in the sport, and the efforts the UCI WorldTour teams are making to try and grow their own revenues in a sport where sponsorship is particularly critical. They also consider the challenges of building brand equity in teams when team names...

As of the start of the 2026 Giro d’Italia this weekend, the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team will be known as Netcompany-INEOS.

Last week, the team - one of the most successful in elite road cycling - announced a new sponsorship deal with Danish tech and AI firm Netcompany.

INEOS, team owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s giant chemicals company, had yielded the main naming position for a deal reported as worth €100m over five years.

At the centre of deal - one of the biggest in the pro peloto...

After a record-shattering London Marathon, James Emmett and David Cushnan take a look at the ways in which marathons are being packaged and commercialised - and why, after 1.1 million applications this year in London, there's such a thirst for participating.

They examine plans for next year's London Marathon to become a two-day, two-marathon affair; London Marathon Events' recent acquisition of the Frankfurt Marathon; and World Athletics' recent decision to create a standalone marathon world championships.

Elsewhere, as Turkey rejoins the F1 grid, after signing a five-year agreement for a Grand Prix, th...

Table tennis hits London and the podcast this week, as the city hosts the World Team Table Tennis Championships and Table Tennis England CEO Sally Lockyer joins the show. 

The Championships which include 64 men's and 64 women's teams are competing at two London venues, the Copper Box and Wembley's OVO Arena over the next fortnight. Lockyer has been front and centre of the preparations, heading up the joint venture that is responsible for organising and staging the tournament.

She discusses what's been keeping her up at night as the championships - the c...

After a week dominated by speculation about LIV Golf’s future, amid a swirl of rumour about PIF’s continued financial support, James Emmett and David Cushnan attempt to unpick what’s happening and why.

Leaning on the conversation with R&A CEO Mark Darbon this week, they consider what the impact and legacy of LIV Golf is, as the PGA Tour, now stewarded by Brian Rolapp, proposes changes to its structure.

Outside golf, news of layoffs at Snap and Meta prompts a reflection on the relationship between sport and big tech...

The R&A is one of golf's governing bodies, guardian of the rulebook, and the organiser of the world's oldest Major, The Open Championship. As CEO for the past 18 months, Mark Darbon has been busy reframing the organisation's vision to grow the game around the world, and diving into the disrupted, sometimes fractured, world of professional golf.

In this extended conversation, David Cushnan chats to Darbon about preparations for this year's Open Championship and AIG Women's Open; the relationship between professional golf and the amateur, participation side of the sport; and the changing face of...