From fan communities and brand strategy to sponsorship effectiveness, participation growth, and commercial innovation, our first speakers bring global expertise and fresh perspectives from across the sports marketing and sponsorship landscape.
Get to know the first speakers joining SPORTO 2026 and the perspectives they will bring to this year’s conference in Portorož.
Charles Bal is Chief Strategy Officer at Havas Play, where he helps global brands grow through culture, fandom, and community engagement. Drawing on Havas Play’s proprietary 5 to Play framework, his work explores how brands can build meaningful relationships with fan communities and create value through authentic participation in sport and culture.
Alessio Punzi is Head of Running & Mass Participation at World Athletics, overseeing global programmes across road, trail, masters, and virtual running. Working with race organisers, federations, host cities, and technology partners, he helps shape the future of one of the world’s largest participation sports, with a focus on growth, innovation, education, and integrity.
Giancarlo Bernini is Chief Business Officer for Europe, Asia and Latin America at Elevate. Having previously held senior leadership roles at Visa, Sony, and WWE, he brings a 360-degree perspective to sports business, helping brands and sports properties unlock new revenue streams, strengthen commercial performance, and turn followers into fans.
Rory Natkiel is Founder of sponsorship consultancy Box Count and the Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum. A former strategy leader at Sid Lee Sport and Iris Worldwide, he is one of the leading voices on sponsorship effectiveness. His work explores why live sport remains one of the last great shared cultural experiences and how brands can better understand, measure, and unlock the value of sponsorship.
SPORTO 2026 will take place in Portorož, Slovenia, on 30 November and 1 December 2026, bringing together sports business professionals from across Europe to discuss the trends, ideas, and best practices shaping the future of sports marketing and sponsorship.
More speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Follow SPORTO on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X for speaker updates, programme news, and conference announcements. In the coming weeks, we’ll also share more information about the SPORTO Awards, where new developments are in store this year, as well as details about Road to SPORTO, taking place on 30 September, and the next edition of SPORTO Magazine, arriving at the end of October.
See you in Portorož.