The Business of Sport - Angelique Richardson

Anzhela Fokina is the Chief Executive officer of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation, a charitable organisation established in 2019 to promote Health and Wellbeing in Ukranian communities through Education and Sports Participation for everyone. Anzhela has over 15 years experience in the Charitable and Social sector, having graduated from the Donetsk Institute of Economics and Humanities, with a Masters Degree in International Economics and Relations. She previously worked for the agricultural giant Syngenta, running their Corporate Social Responsibility operation across almost 100 countries worldwide. Anzhela co-ordinates the programme of activities for the KB Foundation, in spirts, education and mental health provision. Her responsibilities also include developing and expanding partnerships with the non-profit sector and public organisations across Europe and in the Ukraine. Anzhela on working with key partners: "Our owners and board members want to make a huge positive impact on society. If companies want to make a big impact on a community, they will do it. We don't have a big team, but we try to involve sports ambassadors using teachers. Also, we involve government because we can do things for 20, or 2,000 people. But the government cover the whole territory of the Ukraine and so we can multi-applicate our efforts and what we are doing, on a government level. When government and businesses co-operate with us, we can make good results in a short period of time." Anzhela on the challenges of working in the Ukraine currently: "It I really difficult, but now there are a lot of international projects working in Ukraine, but also our local operations too, because more and more people need support. Everyday it becomes more important because of the war and this conflict that we do things to help people with their health and mental health. That is more important than ever." Anzhela on the future ambitions of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation: "We have now reached a very difficult task where we need to increase external funding through some donors and grants. We are facing a very difficult period of reconstructing Ukraine and that's why we need to increase assistance and at the end of the conflict, for at least 10 or 15 years, we will work with the consequences, which will primarily effect physical and mental health. It is a very big amount of people who would need this support."

20 Nov 202329min

Magnifi is an "AI-Powered" Enterprise Product by VideoVerse that enables content owners & rights-holders to detect key moments automatically, which can be used in creating highlights and short-form videos in real time. With offices in the US, UK, Europe, Israel, and India, Magnifi works with enterprises across numerous industries, including OTT Platforms, Sports Broadcasters, Leagues, Sports Federations, E-gaming platforms, and Colleges. A driving force behind the company's success to date has been the working relationship of two Indian women who met at a job interview with another business. Meghna Krishna is Magnifi's Chief Revenue Officer. She has donned multiple business hats throughout a corporate journey spanning two decades with diverse roles in growth, business strategy, marketing, and sales. Immensely passionate about business growth and team building, Meghna has built various businesses across 3 continents in industries including retail, e-commerce, travel, and SaaS. A typical workday revolves around building strategic alliances, creating highly productive teams from scratch, and managing investor and stakeholder relations to supercharge business growth. The woman she employed elsewhere back in 2019, is Ritu Bain, now Magnifi's Senior Vice President of revenue. By excelling within the unified domain of revenue generation, Ritu has steered a course of success in sports technology, media entertainment, and travel industries. Her career spans across global markets, where she has helped teams leverage AI technology for impactful outcomes. Ritu says by integrating sales, marketing, operations, and customer success into a cohesive business function, she has consistently delivered revenue growth. Her approach centers on pragmatic, data-driven decisions and streamlined operations, consistently achieving significant results. By aligning innovation with market demands, She has championed transformative initiatives that empower teams to create meaningful connections, and drive unparalleled customer experiences. Meghna on the business opportunity: "I was in the travel industry when this opportunity came around in 2019 and I was in Fashion before that. So I was always interested in being in an industry that would be futuristic and provide solutions that were not already available. People asked me why I was joining a start-up business, but if I didn't join a start-up, that would mean that I didn't believe in my own capabilities". Ritu on sport: "Sport was not something that woke me up one morning and thought, I must figure out more of what is happening in the sports technology world. But definitely, the interest was there in understanding newer technologies like AI and what new sectors we could explore". Meghna on the scale of their sports media project: "For me, the biggest thing was to realise just what the scope of this thing is, I mean, how big it is and what a massive impact it can have on everyday life. During the pandemic, a lot of sport was not being played. But the viewing figures for the sports that were played went through the roof, which means that it is something that touches almost everybody".

14 Nov 202332min

Rajesh D'Souza is the Global Head of Digital Media Company, The Data Sports Group, based in Berlin, Germany. With expertise in operations, strategic planning, and corporate and consumer management in the digital media and sports sectors, Rajesh previously spent over a decade with The Perform Group. A self-confessed fan of finding new ways to do things, Rajesh is a big supporter of start-ups and scaling up opportunities. As we found out, he is also a long-standing supporter of Liverpool Football Club.   Rajesh on the business of DMC: "Our focus is primarily on different industries. We work with sports, fantasy, sports books and even leagues and organisations and we have specific target services that we can provide. For example, with leagues and organisations, we actually work with them to automate much of their social media output and their content processes, which allows them to have smaller marketing or content teams, so they can rely on platforms to generate the content". Rajesh on raising the profile of minority sports: "What has really happened over a period of time is that a lot of these sports, which were not really accessible on broadcast, now have a lot of visibility on different media formats. We have audience on social and audience on other digital platforms. So, it is becoming the case that a lot of these sports and properties are attracting a lot more audience, a lot more viewers, and a lot more attention. So, the outlet for them is to reach as much of the audience as they can through the content that they can convey to them and many of these sports are now growing their user base". Rajesh the sports fanatic: "It's always been football. I have been a Liverpool supporter since a young age. For me, football has just been the life and soul. I have always looked forward to it. My son is only 20 months old and he is also very excited about it...well, I think he gets the drift anyway! I would look up to Steven Gerrard, for me he's an iconic footballer player for the club, and his energy was a great influence on me".

7 Nov 202332min

Jamie Dapaah is Fulham Football Club's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-ordinator. He joined the club in May 2020 in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, transitioning from a coaching background.  Jamie requested to speak with someone at the Club about how he could help support the campaign against discrimination, racism and prejudice. He has since been instrumental in leading club initiatives and championing the on-going culture of equality and inclusion across all Fulham's business operations.   A diversity and inclusion practitioner who seeks to create and implement strategies and policies that promote equal opportunities and create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone involved in football, including players, fans, coaches, staff, and volunteers.   A strong leader who advocates for diversity and inclusion initiatives and gains buy-in from employees, leadership, and other stakeholders.   Jamie Dapaah on his introduction to EDI: "For me, working within the Foundation on our local community programmes at the time, when George Floyd had passed, it was a time when businesses around the world really looked internally as to how they could progress and almost lead on the Equality, Diversity and inclusion front. So for me, as an employee within the Fulham Foundation, it was really important for me to be involved and engaging in a workforce that was representative of my values. So it was almost, how can I help, how can I use the agenda we already have as a football club, to inspire and galvanise the next generation of leaders as well as the local community leaders, who we engage with on a day-to-day basis." Jamie Dapaah on Gender Equality within EDI: "It's an absolutely crucial area, not only for female representation in the workforce, but also using an educational element to inspire and galvanise women and girls who aspire to be within the footballing world. We have a female working group and we meet with our female supporter group to see how we can amplify the messaging of inclusion and inspire the next generation. But looking at policy as well and how we can ensure our policies within the workforce is reflective of those we have within it and listening to our staff members as to how we can progress."   Jamie Dapaah on the current state of racism in football: "I think education is key. I think displaying positive behaviours is key. In terms of where we are at, the conversation has been brought to the table now around EDI, but now we have to start acting and ensuring that we have a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination on a matchday or in real-time as well. Online abuse has been huge, and the messages we put out as a football club, need to be representative of our values."

30 Okt 202332min

Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations. Episode 19 features Karen Webb Moss - Chair of British Swimming and Executive Chair of More than Equal In this episode, we discuss Karen's journey within the sports industry, overcoming both career and personal battles, the importance of female representation, and much more!

27 Okt 202340min

Capture is a Digital Asset Management platform, dealing with visual media, predominantly photography and video assets. Everybody knows that you can store so much of your life on your phones these days, but they do that on an industrial scale. It's a slightly different world. The audience is more complex, they are dealing with rights, especially in sport and they deal with things like permissions, because you may not want everyone to have access to the same material. It's about organising and managing your content, so it is useable.   Peter on industry expansion: "Capture has been around for 25 years and we pre-date the industry term of Digital Asset Management (DAM). But over the years, you have really seen the sports industry start to realise the value of "non-live" content, the stuff that sits outside of their production eco-systems and that has become a real focus for us. Whilst sport is very mature in some areas, in terms of archive content, it is right at the start of the maturity model. There is lots of incredible content, that rights holders and clubs have, that is just scattered around. It is often our first question to clients...where is your content? Do you know where it is...and if you did know, what would you want to do with it? That's the bit you can drive value from, if you can find it"  Peter on Customer need:  "We know the live event is the primary focus. But once that match has happened, where does that content go? The answer tends to be that nobody is sure. It is sitting with a production company or it's on Dropbox, Flickr, or the Social Media Manager's laptop. But it's not managed and if you don't know what you have or where it is, you can't generate value from it. The requirement for archive content is generally driven by context. Something has happened for somebody to be interested in that content, like the Welcome to Wrexham documentary for example." Peter on protecting history: "It is sad to say that we have come across instances where a whole period of history has been lost because it was sitting on somebody's laptop. That heritage and history is a key connector for their fanbase or any follower of the sport."

20 Okt 202331min

Team Whistle is built to engage and activate today's fans worldwide through positive and relatable content, wherever and however they want it. They are a pioneer in the data-driven creation and distribution of positive and relatable content in sports and entertainment for young audiences globally. Team Whistle's proven portfolio of unscripted, scripted, and interactive shows are available across its expansive social and AVOD media distribution network. The company's video content IP and audience combined with its powerful analytical, production, and commercial capabilities serve to help brands, distributors, talent, sports leagues, and media companies activate and engage consumers across the content ecosystem. Joe has over 14 years of digital experience, with nearly a decade at Team Whistle cementing their role as a trusted sports and entertainment media publisher that produces uplifting relatable content for a Gen Z and Millennial audience. Caporoso most recently served as the EVP of Media at Team Whistle where he led the creation of positive, relatable sports and entertainment content across YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and the company's linear network, Whistle TV. Joe Caporoso on change: "One of the interesting things in being at Whistle this long, which I know is relatively uncommon in media, is the role really changes and evolves every couple of years. We've acquired three companies, we have been acquired twice, a lot of that within the past five years, so it's kept me on my toes and you learn a lot very fast and furiously." Joe Caporoso on capacity building: "We have to have the ability to go through every social platform and find up-and-coming creators who are telling interesting stories and there's an audience for those stories. I think whether or not you are a full-time athlete, even if you are a smaller creator in a very niche area, there are brands and platforms very interested in sponsoring that story-telling." Joe Caporoso on collaboration with global social networks: "Both sides need each other. Platforms like Meta and TikTok want as much quality, original content as possible. We can provide that ourselves, and we can provide relationships to creators who can provide that and organise how that content is distributed around major tent-pole events. So, there is a definite need and interest in ensuring that we continue to post original and branded content, of a certain quality at a very high volume, with the most cutting-edge and popular creators and all the different platforms are jockeying for how can they get companies like us to put as many resources as possible on their platform."

13 Okt 202328min

Eva Pasquier, Jules McGeever, and Stuart Larman co-founded EqualCareer with a mission to drive transformative change within organizations, addressing the critical issues of inequality, underrepresentation, and gender imbalance. Through tailor-made, hands-on workshops designed for women across various sectors, EqualCareer empowers women at every stage of their career journey. These workshops provide practical learning and development experiences, equipping participants with the tools not just to succeed but to excel in their workplaces. Simultaneously, EqualCareer assists organizations in fostering sustainable growth by promoting representation, diversity, and equity. Despite comprising 47% of the global labour force, only a mere 2.06% of women reach leadership positions. Many organizations now discuss the importance of achieving a minimum 30% gender balance and representation, yet few possess a concrete strategy to attain this goal. EqualCareer steps in to provide those much-needed solutions. Eva, Jules, and Stuart bring extensive backgrounds in the world of corporate and sport industries to EqualCareer, having previously delivered programs for women round the globe on behalf of UEFA where Eva worked as Head of International Relations. This provided them with a global perspective on the challenges faced by women and organizations in combatting gender inequality both on and off the field. Their experiences have equipped them with the insights and strategies required to ensure enduring organizational success through meaningful change. Jules on the current state of women's football. "The recent World Cup was a pinnacle and showpiece. You just have to look at the stats for investment in the women's ga,e, it is undoubtedly growing, on and off the pitch. I think where Eva and I are really looking at that behind the scenes, things aren't quite as equal as they should be."  Eva on equality: "There is only football and it's played by females and it's played by males. It is really important not to have a woman in a top position, just for the sake of having a woman there. It is really very important that we have qualified women there.  Jules on the Spanish team: "The injustice of what happened is that at least it has opened up a conversation that needed to be had. While women's football is going in the right direction, things are not perfect behind the scenes and that is what we are trying to correct." Eva on barriers to success: There are two main barriers that are stopping women from being where they should be, or where they would like to be. First of all is the internal bias that prevents women from going out to show what they can do. The second barrier is organisations themsleves, their HR systems, promotion systems, hiring systems. This is what we are addressing with our Equal Careers programme.  Jules on bias: "Where there are problems, there are biases that stop women getting on. For us, what we have noticed all around the world, is that it is normally a culture problem within an organisation. Football is 27% female, but only 7% of females are in top roles."

4 Okt 202333min