He won Olympic gold at 22. He won the America's Cup five times, three as skipper and two as CEO. Then he decided he'd rather own the game than play it. In this episode of Gems of Asia, I sit down with Sir Russell Coutts, the boy from Otago who left New Zealand for Switzerland, took the America's Cup to Europe for the first time, and then teamed up with Larry Ellison to build SailGP. Russell and I first met two decades ago, when he had just stepped off a dinghy and we were sketching out a world sailing league, so this one was personal for me. We get into the real business of sailing. Why the sport was too fragmented to grow. Why white triangles on a blue background never worked on TV. How hydrofoiling boats, augmented reality graphics and a centralised data system changed that. And why SailGP races are built around nine minutes, an idea borrowed from the NBA. We also look at the economics. Teams that once sold for $5 to 10 million now sell for $70 million and up, with equity trading at $120 million or more. There's a $10 million salary cap, a league generating over $200 million in revenue, and owners ranging from Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman to Kylian Mbappé and Sebastian Vettel. Finally, we talk about where SailGP goes next: 20 teams, 20-plus events, a top 25 sports property by 2030, and five focus markets in Asia and beyond, including India, China, Japan and South Korea. If you care about sports business, media rights, fan engagement or how a new league gets built from nothing, this one is for you. In This Episode 00:00 Meet Russell Coutts 01:00 The Boy From Otago 01:55 Growing Up on the Water 02:35 When Sailing Had No Pay Cheque 03:20 Leaving New Zealand for Switzerland 04:35 From Skipper to CEO 06:00 Why Larry Ellison and I Built SailGP 10:00 Speed, Short Races and the NBA Playbook 12:15 13 Teams, 20 Events, One Big Goal 17:20 56 Billion Data Requests a Day 20:05 Identical Boats, Open Data 22:55 From $5 Million to $120 Million 25:10 Reynolds, Jackman and Mbappé Join the Fleet 27:25 The $10M Cap and the Road to Profit 30:05 Reading the Wind, Spotting the Gap 30:55 How AR Graphics Changed Everything 33:20 Why SailGP Controls Its Own Broadcast 35:00 The 2030 Plan and Asia's Moment 36:30 Sail Forward About Our Guest Sir Russell Coutts is one of the most decorated sailors in history. He won Olympic gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics at age 22, then went on to win the America's Cup five times, three as skipper and twice as CEO. In 2003, he led the Switzerland campaign that took the Cup to Europe for the first time, a move that was controversial back home in New Zealand. He has worked with Larry Ellison since 2007, and the two went on to found SailGP, the global, franchise-based league that now features 13 independently owned teams, hydrofoiling F50 catamarans, and a broadcast reaching 212 territories. Under Russell's leadership, SailGP has set a goal of becoming a top 25 sports property by revenue by 2030, with Asia central to its expansion plans. About Our Host Unmish Parthasarathi is a global sports industry leader, strategist and founder of Picture Board Partners, advising organisations across sport, media, technology and investment. His career spans leadership roles with IMG, BBC Technology, ESPN Star Sports, News Corp and the International Cricket Council, alongside work with some of the world’s leading sports rights holders, platforms and investors. He is also Chairman of the GoSports Foundation and founder of the STF Asia Leadership Dialogue. Based in Singapore, Unmish brings decades of experience at the intersection of sport, business, technology and finance. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/unmish/ #RussellCoutts #SailGP #SportsBusiness #AmericasCup #SailingLeague #SportsMedia #SportsBroadcasting #SportsInvestment #LarryEllison #FutureOfSports #SportsTech #SportsLeadership #SportsOwnership #GemsOfAsia
