Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Leaders
  • 0.0 (0)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

The biggest names in the global business of sport sit down with Leaders Editorial Director, James Emmett, and Content Director, David Cushnan.

  1. 3D AGO

    Cycling’s precarious business model untangled; and who wore what to the Met Gala (and why)

    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 change so regularly, as sponsors come and go. Elsewhere, there’s reaction as UC3, the joint venture between Uefa and European Football Clubs set up to commercialise Europe’s club competitions, confirms a raft of fresh media rights agreements for the next cycle. Plus, why the Met Gala is now firmly part of the annual sports calendar.

    39 min

  2. 4D AGO

    Tom Hill: the INEOS Grenadiers CCO on how he signed a €100m AI sponsorship

    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 peloton - is Tom Hill. He joined the team as CCO in 2024 having previously held commercial leadership positions at World Rugby and Manchester United amongst others. Hill joins us on the podcast this week to detail the work that went into signing Netcompany; to articulate the valuable USPs - and unique challenges - that cycling has as a sponsorship proposition; and to evaluate the cycling ecosystem as a whole and ask ‘is there a better way?’

    51 min

  3. MAY 1

    The sprint to make more of marathons; Turkey rejoins F1's crowded calendar

    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, there's a look at the changing shape of the F1 calendar, and the creative ways the sport is handling demand to host races whilst keeping to a 24-race per season calendar.

    36 min

  4. APR 29

    Back and forth with Table Tennis England CEO Sally Lockyer: World Championships, China dominance and the NGB commercial conundrum

    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 centenary edition - get underway and assesses what the legacy might be, as Table Tennis England looks to a digital transformation that aims to further engage its membership and more casual ping pong participants.   Lockyer also assesses the wider challenges smaller national governing bodies are faced with, and assesses China's role as a table tennis superpower. She also takes us behind the scenes on the trade mission to China and Japan, led by Keir Starmer and the UK government, she joined earlier this year, to showcase table tennis and its status as a soft power tool.

    35 min

  5. APR 23

    LIV Golf’s legacy and future; and the women who should be running Premier League clubs

    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. And there’s a call - and some suggestions - for more female leadership in the Premier League, as trailblazer Karren Brady steps down from her position as Vice Chair of West Ham United. ---------- The first speakers have been announced for Leaders Week London, taking place on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October at Stamford Bridge - for more information and to secure your place, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.

    36 min

  6. APR 22

    Mark Darbon: the R&A CEO navigating golf’s disrupted ecosystem

    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 the professional game, amid a swirl of speculation about LIV Golf's future and with changes coming at the PGA Tour under Brian Rolapp's new leadership. Darbon also reflects on disruption in another sport, rugby union, following his stint as CEO of Northampton Saints; explains what the R&A looks for in brand and agency partners; and shares the leadership advice he received from former London 2012 CEO Paul Deighton. -------  The first speakers have been announced for Leaders Week London, taking place on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October - for more information and to secure your place, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

    46 min

  7. APR 15

    What do you get when you buy Mark Goldbridge?

    Gary Neville’s The Overlap, now majority owned by Global, has acquired the watchalong YouTube channels run by Mark Goldbridge, a significant moment in the independent football content space. James Emmett and David Cushnan dissect this week’s news and consider what Global, the radio and outdoor advertising giant, is buying as it builds out its sport and podcast arms. There’s also reflections on the future programming that might start to populate in-house streaming services operated by rights-holders - other sports, other leagues and perhaps even other genres - as James Johnson builds out a soccer media hub in Canada, by acquiring rights including the Bundesliga and Uefa Women’s Champions League. And there’s a word for SailGP, which has now transferred 12 of its 13 teams from central to independent ownership - most recently with the sale the championship-winning Spanish team - adding business prowess and a sprinkle of Hollywood stardom to the sailing world.

    30 min

  8. APR 13

    Meet the other World Cup hosts: James Johnson on why Canada will be the tournament's legacy story; Club América's COO on Mexico's lively sports market

    With the US taking the lion's share of the headlines, you could be forgiven for forgetting that Mexico and Canada are also co-hosting the upcoming Fifa men’s World Cup. While the US will host 78 of the 104 games, Mexico and Canada will each stage 13 games, in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Vancouver and Toronto. On the sidelines of March’s Business of Soccer event in Atlanta, David Cushnan sat down with Héctor Gonzalez Iñarritu, COO and President of Business at Club América, and James Johnson, newly installed at Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment, to hear more about both markets as they make final preparations for the tournament. Iñarritu runs LigaMX’s most successful club, which plays home games at the newly-refurbished Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, venue for the first game of the World Cup. He shares what international visitors and businesses should expect when they enter the Mexican sports market. And Johnson, new to his post after a stint as CEO of Football Australia, explains the changes he's making to the way Canadian soccer is packaged and sold, and why he believes Canada will be the legacy story of this summer’s tournament.

    25 min
See All (300)

About

The biggest names in the global business of sport sit down with Leaders Editorial Director, James Emmett, and Content Director, David Cushnan.

Information

  • Creator
    Leaders
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    300
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast
  • Show Website
    Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

You Might Also Like