Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

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 Games getting underway in Glasgow, there's time to ponder the relevance of the Games and its future funding and commercial format, amid a dwindling group of potential host cities.

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The Summit, part of Leaders Week London, takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October - for the latest speakers and attendees, and to book your place, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

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 businesses it owns: Keith Prowse, Gullivers Sports Travel, The Experience Golf, Lime Venue Portfolio, Events International, the Venues Collection and the recently acquired iLuka Collective.

Lyvera plans to double turnover to £350m by 2028, and Buck, who has experience in senior sales and leadership roles across cricket, rugby, football, golf and triathlon, is the man tasked with delivering the growth.

Charlie Buck will be speaking at Leaders Week London on 8th October. For more information, visit https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/

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 Royal Birkdale this week for what’s expected to be a record-breaking Open Championship.

Elsewhere, there are reflections on recent Worth Knowing conversations with Bruin Capital’s George Pyne and PSG Chief Revenue Officer Richard Heaselgrave, and the latest intelligence from around Premier League commercial departments as several clubs finalise front of shirt partnerships in the new era of no betting sponsorship.

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Join us for The Summit, part of Leaders Week London at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. For more information and to secure your pass: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/

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 Bruin - and then deploying capital; his approach for working with the management teams of the organisations he's invested in; and the art of the elegant exit.

He also reflects on some of Bruin's most memorable investments, including Deltatre, Two Circles and On Location, and a current portfolio that includes production company Box to Box and Matchroom Sport, where Bruin is now a minority investor working with Barry and Eddie Hearn.

The conversation was recorded in early July, shortly before news broke of Bruin's sale of golf simulation company Full Swing to Versant for a reported $530 million.

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Join us for The Summit, part of Leaders Week London at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. For more information and to secure your pass: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/

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 identity around Paris and everything the city stands for; the rationale and objectives behind the creative approach to activation in music, entertainment, and fashion; and a review of some of the best work and the most compelling trends at the Cannes Festival of Creativity this year.

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 politics have always mixed, and what impact, if any, it will have on Infantino's future as President of the governing body.

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 role of an agent, and working with world-class talent.

And, during period of significant change in tennis, he analyses the health of the sport, the business that surrounds it, and shares his perspective on the players' quest for a greater share of Grand Slam revenues, following protests - in the form of cutting short media duties - at Roland Garros and then temporarily, before a truce was called, at Wimbledon.

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The Summit, part of Leaders Week London takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more information head to: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/

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 Exeter Chiefs are sold, becoming the first Prem Rugby team to come under US control, what do such deals signal for English domestic club rugby?

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The Summit, part of Leaders Week London takes place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more information head to: https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-week-london/

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 potential disabled customer base.

Approximately 25% of the UK population reports having a disability. This equates to nearly 17 million people, yet the public discourse around disability, and the specific discourse around access to sport, remains minimal. 

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 player protests around the Grand Slams, and snap reaction to the renewal of the BBC’s contract to broadcast the tournament in the UK until at least 2033.