Sports Business Conversations

ADC Partners
  • 5.0 (6)
  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
Sports Business Conversations

Winner of Sports Podcast Awards' Best Sports Business Podcast of 2024: Silver Medal. In this podcast series, ADC Partners co-founder Dave Almy hosts conversations with sports business professionals who are shaping the future of the industry. With interviews featuring brand representatives, team presidents, sports marketers, and even mascots, the 1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations podcast has insights for everyone involved in the sports industry. ADC Partners is a San Francisco Bay Area based agency specializing in sports business, sports marketing and partnerships. More information is at www.adcpartners.com

  1. Unlocking the Power of Female Athletes for Brands with Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity

    5D AGO

    Unlocking the Power of Female Athletes for Brands with Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity

    With so many people interested in working in sports, it’s amazing how many successful sports biz execs I talk to didn’t start with that goal. A lot of them were caught completely off guard by the opportunity to do so. That’s definitely the case with this episode’s guest, Leela Srinivasan. The experienced tech CMO of companies like OpenTable and SurveyMonkey was just starting to wonder what might be next might be next for her. And it was at that moment when Parity, a groundbreaking sports marketing platform that features a network of professional women athletes and was looking for a new CEO, came knocking. It’s been a match made in heaven. With a passion for sports and a creative mindset, Leela has been able to leverage her previous experience in sales and marketing to help brands find the perfect partnerships with Parity's network of over 1,100 professional women athletes, including 300 Olympians and Paralympians. In our conversation, we talk about Leela’s career journey to Parity, why women athletes make such compelling brand ambassadors, the power of authentic storytelling, the successes she and her team have experienced, and the challenges that still lay ahead. All this, and you’ll also learn what wine would pair perfectly with this podcast. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    43 min
  2. Sports Business on Display: ANC President & CEO Jerry Cifarelli Jr on the Dynamic Digital Signage Business

    APR 1

    Sports Business on Display: ANC President & CEO Jerry Cifarelli Jr on the Dynamic Digital Signage Business

    Consider for a moment, if you will, the humble stadium sign. Yes, those ubiquitous displays that vie for your attention at every stadium and arena you’ve ever been to. I think most people in sports business have been guilty at one time or another of looking at those signs a little derisively. You know. “Spots and Dots”, as they saying goes. The things you add toward the end of a sponsorship proposal. Well, disregard the no-longer humble stadium sign at your peril. Digital displays and mammoth scoreboards are now an essential part of the live sports experience. Designers are anxiously one upping each other to produce the largest, clearest and most advanced displays for their stadiums All of which brings a smile to the face of Jerry Cifarelli’s face. Because for the President and CEO of ANC, that means business is good. In our conversation, Jerry reflects on his journey in sports business, starting with early exposure to the industry through his father, who co-founded ANC in 1997. After gaining experience at Fenway Sports Group, he returned to ANC in 2012 to build its collegiate division, which quickly became a key revenue driver for the company. We discuss ANC's acquisition by Learfield, pursuing his own entrepreneurial vision, and then the eventual reacquisition of ANC in 2023. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    28 min
  3. From Gridiron to Grow Room: NFL Legend Marvin Washington's Cannabis Advocacy

    MAR 18

    From Gridiron to Grow Room: NFL Legend Marvin Washington's Cannabis Advocacy

    I think it’s fair to say that pain, and managing pain, is just part of a football players every day experience. It’s something a player just has to learn how to deal with. The entire culture of the sport kind of celebrates pain, right? “Play through the pain” “No pain no gain”. And my personal favorite: “Just Rub some dirt in it”. But there’s a human toll to all that pain. We’ve all seen stories of former athletes laid low by the toll of the sport. Unfortunately, many of the stories have terrible endings often brought on by addiction to pain killers. Former NFL great Marvin Washington knows these stories all too well. A Super Bowl winner in the 1990s with the Denver Broncos, Washington dealt with pain and treatment of that pain his entire career. He and his teammates tried every conceivable pain management technique: Tylenol, cold plunges, acupuncture and so on. And when those lost their effectiveness, they took opiates prescribed by team doctors. It wasn’t until his playing days were over that he discovered that former teammates who smoked cannabis were far less reliant on opiates for dealing with pain than he was. After experimenting with cannabis for pain management, Washington became an outspoken advocate for medicinal cannabis use, even going so far as to sue the Attorney General and Department of Justice to decriminalize the drug. In our conversation, Marvin shares insights on how players are introduced to powerful medications at a young age, and how that continues through college and the pros. We talk about his cannabis advocacy, the drugs neuroprotective properties that serve as an alternative to traditional painkillers, and his work with Leafwell, a telemedicine company aimed at normalizing cannabis in healthcare. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    35 min
  4. The Power of Communication: How GoRout Technology is Disrupting the Sports Industry

    MAR 4

    The Power of Communication: How GoRout Technology is Disrupting the Sports Industry

    So a little personality quirk about me: I love to drive. On a long road trip, I’ll turn off the radio and cruise in silence. It’s one of the few times I can really just let my mind just unspool. This episode’s guest also loves to drive. In fact, Mike Rolih, the founder and CEO of GoRout, loves driving so much, he became a limo driver after his baseball playing career wound down. He would spend hours driving thinking about what his next career step might be. And then inspiration struck. After stopping to watch a friend coach a high school football practice, Rolih was taken aback about how a smoothly running practice descended into chaos when it came time to learn new plays. Surely, he thought, there’s a better way to do this. And so the life long tinkerer began working on what eventually would become GoRout, a technology company that’s taking the football, baseball and softball by storm. Our conversation is a must listen for any would be entrepreneurs, as Rolih talks about lessons learned throughout the development and go-to-market phases. He recounts some early product hurdles, how he develops his sales teams, how he’s pivoted, and where things head from here for his exploding company. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    45 min
  5. Interview with Jess Smith, President of the Golden State Valkyries

    MAR 3 · BONUS

    Interview with Jess Smith, President of the Golden State Valkyries

    On March 1, 2025, I had a chance to do a live interview with Jess Smith, President of the Golden State Valkyries, for the USF Sports Management Program. In our conversation, Jess talks about the decision to join the Valkyries, building the team’s front office, how she’ll evaluate success in this first year of operation, and what’s left to do with a little more than 2 months before the first tip off in franchise history, Special shout outs to USF Athletics’ Isabella Bruenner and USF Sports Management Program’s Brent von Forstmeyer for pulling together such a fun and informative evening. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    34 min
  6. Chris Pearlman, CEO of Aggregate Sports

    FEB 18

    Chris Pearlman, CEO of Aggregate Sports

    There’s a line from Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” that’s always stuck with me. It’s when the memory of Willy Loman’s successful older brother Ben is encouraging him to persevere when the going gets tough. Ben says, "The jungle is dark but full of diamonds, Willy. One must go in to fetch a diamond out." This episode’s guest, Chris Pearlman, the CEO of Aggregate Sports? Well, suffice it to say he knows a thing or two about fetching diamonds out. Pearlman is a sports business lifer, getting his start with legendary sports agency, ProServ. After some stops along the way, including managing all business operations for the Premier League’s Swansea City FC, Chris is now out on his own with Aggregate Sports. His goal? Finding diamonds by aggregating the rights for multiple national governing bodies of Olympic Sports. In our conversation, Chris shares insights from his diverse career journey in sports business. We go into his grounded approach to sports business, bridging cultural issues as COO of Swansea City, the decision to launch Aggregate Sports with longtime colleague Rem de Rohan, and much, much more. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    41 min
  7. Catching Up With: Episode 8 Guest Ashley Chalk Is Helping Build the TGL

    FEB 11 · BONUS

    Catching Up With: Episode 8 Guest Ashley Chalk Is Helping Build the TGL

    In this episode of "Catching Up", we reconnect with Episode 8 guest Ashley Chalk, who left Chip Ganassi Racing to become the VP of Partnerships for the Tomorrow Golf League. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    20 min
  8. Mac Barnhardt, Partner at Rock Empire Sports

    FEB 4

    Mac Barnhardt, Partner at Rock Empire Sports

    Was there ever a point where you thought you wanted to be a sports agent? Look, most of us have. Call it the “Jerry Maguire” effect. The 1996 Tom Cruise movie was a first exposure to sports business for a lot of people. And it made the job seem pretty cool, right? Going to games with a lanyard around your neck that provides all kinds of access, rubbing elbows with athletes and owners, being down on the field, etc. My guest, Mac Barnhardt of Rock Empire Sports, has been there and done all that. The long time golf agent has represented household names like Davis Love, Justin Leonard, and David Duval. He’s attended the events. He’s both hobbed and Nobbed with golf’s gliteratti. He’s lived the dream. But he’s also seen the nightmare, too. He’s been fired from companies he started. He’s elevated proteges only to be betrayed by them. He was even forced to leave the industry for a couple of years. So suffice it to say Mac Barnhardt has seen it all and learned even more. In our conversation, he shares a lot of that hard earned wisdom, goes into how he went from loading baggage for Piedmont Airlines to representing golf’s greatest players, and shares how he maintains perspective through the highs and lows of being a sports agent. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    42 min
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5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Winner of Sports Podcast Awards' Best Sports Business Podcast of 2024: Silver Medal. In this podcast series, ADC Partners co-founder Dave Almy hosts conversations with sports business professionals who are shaping the future of the industry. With interviews featuring brand representatives, team presidents, sports marketers, and even mascots, the 1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations podcast has insights for everyone involved in the sports industry. ADC Partners is a San Francisco Bay Area based agency specializing in sports business, sports marketing and partnerships. More information is at www.adcpartners.com

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