MISHA SHER
Bio
Misha Sher is Global Head of Sport, Entertainment & Culture at EssenceMediacom, an award-winning sports & entertainment marketing division of GroupM (WPP Group).
Industry veteran who has been at the forefront of the sports industry for more than 20 years, Misha has negotiated and advised on more £1B in sponsorship investments and activation with major sport & entertainment properties, including UEFA, IOC, NFL and F1 in more than 25 countries. He has worked with world’s leading brands like Toyota, Coca-Cola, eBay, Google, Uber, Richemont, American Airlines, Shell and Allianz in building powerful cultural platforms and represented some of the most iconic athletes like Pele, Brian Lara, Mesut Ozil, Vinicius Jr and Alessia Russo in building their personal brands.
Misha is a published author and a board director at European Sponsorship Association. He holds an MBA in Football Industries.
SHARON FULLER
Bio
Sharon Fuller is Head of Content and Social Media for NBA Europe and the Middle East, based in the NBA’s Madrid office. Sharon is overseeing the production of all regional content and the execution of the NBA’s localized social media strategy in Europe and the Middle East. Her role requires her to think innovatively and creatively about the best ways to connect with fans across different regions, platforms and channels though a local-first strategy.
Prior to joining the NBA, Sharon was a former Global Head of Content at Red Bull Media House, and head of BBC Sport’s live events service, also running her own agency, Rational Collective.
PATRICK CARBERRY
Bio
Paddy Carberry is the Head of Sports for the Guinness brand globally. Having joined the Diageo business 6 years ago, Paddy has worked across Diageo roles including leading rugby, football and horse racing as well many entertainment platforms for the business across the UK and Ireland. Paddy was integral to landing the global deal for Guinness and the Premier League, and works with Guinness marketing teams across the world to bring this partnership to life, as well as the Guinness Men’s and Women’s Six Nations. Prior to joining Diageo, Paddy worked at Vodafone Ireland in their sponsorship team, leading rugby and entertainment platforms. Paddy is a journalism and business graduate of Dublin City University and of the European Sponsorship association, and is a proud Gaelic speaker from Ireland.
THOMAS VAN SCHAIK
Bio
Thomas van Schaik is a highly experienced brand strategist and consultant who has worked in the sports industry for over 25 years. Throughout his career, he has had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s most well-known athletes.
Thomas started his sports journey with the NFL Europe and European soccer teams. Later, he joined Adidas in various executive global brand roles, eventually becoming the Global Brand Director. In 2015, he became the Chief Marketing Officer of the Dutch Olympic, Paralympic, and National Sports Federation.
Since 2019, Thomas has co-founded The Athlete Brand, the world’s first data-driven brand provider exclusively for elite athletes and has become an Associate of the Yunus Sports Hub. Thomas is the author of The Athlete Brand Book, a 600-page publication dedicated to empowering athletes to build their brands and boost their independence, influence, income, and overall societal impact.
RICHARD AYERS
Bio
Richard is a commercial hippy who founded leading European sports digital agency Seven League in 2012 and is seen as one of the leading thinkers in digital sports marketing, media and fan engagement. He sold to IMG in 2021 and continues to gaze into the future for them.
In the meantime, he founded a new business, Rematch, delivering immersive experiences in real and virtual worlds that take you back in time to re-imagined iconic sporting moments. They won awards with the debut show, Wimbledon Rematch 1980, telling the story of Borg v McEnroe.
Originally a BBC journalist who launched BBC News online in 1997, Richard has spent most of his career in media. His first sports business role was as Manchester City’s first Head of Digital in 2011-13.
PETER MORGAN
Bio
Peter graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Economics before co-founding the record label Lost My Dog, described by music publication Data Transmission as “one of the best house music labels to emerge in the UK this century”. Having gained experience activating a global audience of music fans through emerging digital channels, Peter joined global marketing agency Metia in 2006 and progressed to the role of Vice President, leading the agency’s demand generation practice that delivered integrated marketing programs in 89 countries and 39 languages worldwide – including for leading global brands including Microsoft, Amazon, and SAP.
Peter joined legendary Italian football club AC Milan in March 2021 as Marketing & CRM Director and has contributed to the organisation’s successful financial turnaround, doubling commercial revenue through building a modern, global enterprise to grow and capitalise on the club’s popularity worldwide.
JONATHAN POTTS
Bio
Jonathan Potts is a sports business specialist across Marketing, Technology and Data with over 10 years of experience, primarily with the award-winning agency Two Circles, which has grown across Europe in the last 5 years. Jonathan made the move from London to focus on EMEA as Lead Consultant and is now based in Bern, Switzerland. In this role, Jonathan leads across a range of projects with rightsholders to help grow their audience, increase engagement and utilize technology that enables this.
Previously working in the UK with a focus on a range of sports from cricket to horseracing with a primary emphasis on D2C sales, specifically ticketing strategy and match day experience to drive acquisition and retention. Using data to make informed decisions has always been at the heart of the work Jonathan has led upon, across a variety of sports from the International Skating Union to the Olympics.
BEN WELLS
Bio
Ben Wells is CEO of independent Strategy and Technology consultancy PTI, based in the UK. PTI help sports and entertainment organisations become more profitable through a strategic approach to data and digital technology, driving revenue generation and operational efficiencies. Their clients include Arsenal, Aston Villa, Ascot Racecourse, Oakview Group and Co-op Live, Six Nations Rugby, British Cycling and Everton. Ben has experience across multiple business sectors, having consulted at Board level to sponsor brands (including at major events such as the FIFA World Cup) and held senior leadership positions in sports organisations, including Bath Rugby and Chelsea FC.
ALENKA POTOČNIK ANŽIČ
Bio
Alenka Potočnik Anžič, after concluding her sports career (as a Slovenian national basketball player) and studying economics, spent a good decade at the AV studio agency, where she advanced to the position of director and procurator of one of the largest marketing agencies in Slovenia. In 2017, she became the Director of Marketing Communications at Gorenje. Today, she leads the marketing team at Hisense Europe, which oversees the management of the Hisense and Gorenje brands across thirty European markets. Their portfolio of sports sponsorships includes UEFA EURO 2024, EHF EURO for women and men, the men’s handball Champions League, partnerships with football giants (Inter FC, PSG, and Real Madrid), as well as local sponsorships of Slovenian ski jumping teams and handball club Gorenje Velenje.
TANJA DIMITROVA
Bio
Tanja Dimitrova is Head of Sponsorship in Marketing at Lidl Slovenia. She is responsible for strategic leadership and management of Lidl’s national sponsorship strategy, as well as for the implementation of Lidl’s broader international sponsorships at the national level. In this role, she managed, among other, sponsorship activities for the UEFA EURO 2024 in Slovenia. With the UEFA partnership, Lidl, as a newcomer in football sponsorship, has reached an outstanding recognition and attained the set marketing goals at the level of Lidl International.
PEDRO OLIVEIRA CORTEZ DE MIRANDA
Bio
Pedro Oliveira Cortez de Miranda has over 20 years of experience in the fields of marketing, advertising and branded content in organisations such as Telefónica, Microsoft (Global Sports Content Manager), Real Madrid (Global Partnerships Manager). He is currently managing transversal projects at LALIGA, among them managing the title sponsorship with EA Sports. Pedro has bachelor’s degree in international studies with politics from Queen Mary University of London.
NIKO KUŠAR
Bio
Niko Kušar is head of advertising at Telekom Slovenije, focusing on media buy strategies and above the line communications. His career path led him from product management to head of marketing and marketing communications, brand identity and corporate marketing resources as well as CRM management and marketing automation. Through his marcom career Telekom Slovenije has received several awards, such as the title of the most effective advertiser Effie 2012, gold and two silver Effie Slovenia awards, two titles Advertiser of the Year as well as grand prix awards at SOF, awards at Sempl, Gold Quill, Digital communications Awards, Sporto, Diggit, Outstanding and others. He participated as a juror of the 1st and 2nd level jury of Effie Slovenia Euro Effie, chaired the jury of WEBsi 2014, participated in the jury of the SOF and Sporto Awards. He is a member of SOZ and DMS.
ALEX CARERA
Bio
Alex Carera founded the management agency A&J All Sports in 1997, at just 22. In following years he became one of the leading figures in the cycling sports management world, having managed three Grand Tour winners in his career: Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Tadej Pogačar. Between 2003 and 2006, Carera was the President of the International Association of Cycling Agents (AIAC). He also co-founded World Association of Riders’ Agents (WARA) in 2023, contributing to the representation and protection of athletes’ interests globally. Alex Carera currently manages numerous high-profile athletes and cyclists, among them UCI’s No. 1 cyclist, 3-time Tour de France winner and world champion Tadej Pogačar.
TIJANA POPADIĆ
Bio
Tijana Popadić is a co-owner and director at SportIT, a sports marketing agency based in Belgrade. She is very passionate about sustainable and creative businesses and is most proud of the Schneider Electric sponsorship of the Serbia Business Run series, which has positioned sustainability as a main topic in the business and sports communities, as well as the Peloton conference—the first sports business conference in Serbia. She is invested in communication, innovation, improvement, and creativity. She is a regular judge on the European Sponsorship Awards panel, evaluating the best campaigns in the European sponsorship landscape.
VALENTINA ERČULJ DŽUBAN
Bio
In 2021, Valentina Erčulj Džuban joined Atlantic Droga Kolinska, the strategic business area Argeta Delicacies Spreads, as the Head of brand sponsorships. Before that, she developed the area of sponsorships at Petrol and managed several successful campaigns, including the multiple-awarded sponsorship campaign Winning Service EuroVolley 2019. Valentina is a marketing expert who, during her career, gained experience in the field of public relations, B2B and product marketing. In the last nine years, however, she managed to combine her two passions – sports and marketing. She is regularly educated in the field of sports marketing, this year she also completed the ESA diploma.
MAŠA PUKLAVEC POLUTNIK
Bio
Maša Puklavec Polutnik is the Global PR Manager at the Slovenian Tourist Board, the organization responsible for promoting Slovenia as a tourist destination. She manages high-impact media campaigns across international markets, consistently raising Slovenia’s profile through compelling storytelling and strategic partnerships. Leading the Global PR team, she ensures that Slovenia’s tourism messages remain impactful, authentic, and strategically aligned across platforms, with the flexibility to adapt to live events. A significant part of her role involves building partnerships and managing communications with Slovenia’s esteemed tourism ambassadors, including global icons like NBA star Luka Dončić, world-class cyclists Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič, Olympic champion Janja Garnbret, and world best chef Ana Roš.
KATARINA KOŠMRLJ MUHA
Bio
Katarina Košmrlj Muha has over 15 years of experience in scientific and market research fields. She is involved in the full implementation of research, from defining the challenge with the client to formulating recommendations and guidelines based on the results. She works with both qualitative and quantitative approaches, specializing in survey methodology and the development of various indicators. As an athlete she is also deeply involved in projects related to sports. Among other things, she’s active by the SPORTO Brands research.
BRANKO ČAKARMIŠ
Bio
Branko Čakarmiš is a highly esteemed media expert in region with 30 years of experience in television industry. He is currently serving as Strategic Advisor for POP TV. He has been instrumental in driving digital transformation of the company and played a key role in the success of paid video on demand service Voyo. He worked in Slovenia as programming director and CEO of POP TV and in Croatia as CEO of Nova TV and RTL Croatia.
