Speakers & Guests 2026

​​Charles Bal

Havas Play | Chief Strategy Officer

Bio

Charles Bal is Chief Strategy Officer at Havas Play, where he leads the agency’s Planning and Data teams and drives growth for global brands through culture, fandom, and community engagement. With over a decade at Havas, Charles has held a range of senior roles, including Head of Digital and Deputy Managing Director, before stepping into his current position in 2025. At Havas Play, he has led major initiatives around global sporting events, including UEFA EURO 2016, Rugby World Cup France 2023, and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. His work focuses on building meaningful and lasting relationships between brands and communities, leveraging the agency’s proprietary strategic framework, “5 to Play.” Charles holds a PhD in Marketing, with research focused on fan emotions and sponsorship effectiveness.

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​​Alessio Punzi

World Athletics | Head of Running & Mass Participation

Bio

Alessio Punzi is Head of Running & Mass Participation at World Athletics, where he oversees the federation’s global programmes across road, trail, masters, and virtual running. Working closely with race organisers, national federations, host cities, and technology partners, he helps bridge the gap between the sport’s traditional structures and the broader running industry. His responsibilities include event quality, participation growth, education, and integrity initiatives, including large-scale anti-doping programmes that support the long-term credibility of athletics. Through his work, he contributes to the development of running as both a competitive sport and a mass-participation movement.

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​​Rory Natkiel

Box Count | Founder

Bio

Rory Natkiel is the founder of Box Count, a sponsorship effectiveness consultancy, and the Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum. He is the author of The Sponsorship Effect, the largest IPA-aligned statistical analysis of sponsorship effectiveness to date. Before founding Box Count, he served as Chief Strategy Officer at Sid Lee Sport and Head of Strategy at Iris Worldwide. Rory believes live sport is the last great monocultural activity in an era of fragmented media and fewer shared experiences, while sponsorship remains one of the most misunderstood and underrated marketing platforms available to brands. Through his writing and speaking, he explores how creativity and integrated channel planning unlock that value, and why the industry still struggles to measure it properly.

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​​Giancarlo Bernini

Elevate | Chief Business Officer, Europe, Asia and Latin America

Bio

Giancarlo Bernini is Chief Business Officer for Europe, Asia and Latin America at Elevate. A seasoned international executive, he specializes in helping brands, rights holders, and sports properties unlock growth through data-driven insights, technology, and commercial innovation. Before joining Elevate, he held senior leadership positions at Visa, Sony, and WWE, where he led commercial strategies for some of the world’s most recognized sports and entertainment properties. With extensive experience across global markets, he brings a broad perspective on sponsorship, fan engagement, revenue generation, and the future of sports business. Giancarlo holds an Executive MBA from London Business School.

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​​Alex Balfour

Generate Digital | Co-founder

Bio

Alex is the co-founder of Generate Digital, which identifies, engages and commercialises digital audiences for sports and entertainment brands, including the IOC, the Premier League, UEFA, the All Blacks and the NBA. Alex was previously a Senior Digital Consultant to TEAM, which managed all sponsor and broadcast rights for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Prior to that, he was Head of New Media for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). At LOCOG, he built a team from scratch that delivered 77 digital channels and more than 100 social media presences to a worldwide audience of over 150 million during the 2012 Games. Before that, he was the founder and Chairman of CricInfo, before the business was sold to ESPN in 2005. Alex’s career in digital media began in 1994. He edited GE’97, the UK’s first General Election website, and developed the first online government consultation. He later became part of the team that produced the Guardian newspaper’s first websites.

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​​Sabrina Ratih

G2 Esports | Chief Operating Officer

Bio

Sabrina Ratih is Chief Operating Officer at G2 Esports, where she helps drive the organisation’s global growth, commercial strategy, and audience development. A passionate brand marketer with more than 15 years of international experience, she has built her career at the intersection of brands, entertainment, and emerging technologies. Before joining G2, Sabrina founded Value of We, a consultancy that helped global brands including Ralph Lauren, DHL, and Jägermeister connect with next-generation audiences through innovative digital and Web3 experiences. As part of her work at Value of We, she helped shape G2’s commercial agenda from 2018 onwards, before joining the organisation as Interim Commercial Director in 2021 and being appointed COO in 2022. Prior to that, Sabrina spent seven years at Red Bull, where she established and led the Global Partnerships division, developing long-term commercial and licensing partnerships with brands including Adidas, Amazon, Audi, Intel, Lufthansa, and TAG Heuer.

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​​Feng Tao

Eoselite | Founder

Bio

Feng Tao is one of China’s leading sports marketing experts. With more than 20 years of experience in sports marketing and event operations, he has built bridges between Chinese brands and some of the world’s most valuable sports properties, guided by a philosophy of internationalisation, localisation, and specialisation. Throughout his career, he has helped create a number of groundbreaking business cases that have shaped the development of China’s sports industry. He has been involved in major international partnerships and projects with the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, UEFA, Alibaba, Alipay, Hisense, and Mengniu. He also played a role in Wanda Group’s acquisition of Infront Sports & Media and has worked for leading sports marketing organisations, including World Sport Group. Feng Tao pioneered the introduction of FIFA World Cup Hospitality programmes to the Chinese market and has been involved in a wide range of international sports marketing projects linked to the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro, PGA Tour, French Open, Copa América, and other world-class sports properties.

​​Aleš Petejan

Mastercard | Marketing Director for Slovenia and Germany

Bio

Aleš Petejan is Marketing Director for Mastercard Slovenia and, in May 2026, also temporarily assumed responsibility for leading Mastercard’s marketing activities in Germany. He is responsible for strategic brand development, merchant engagement, marketing partnerships and the activation of key sponsorships. Before joining Mastercard, he gained experience on both the client and agency sides of the industry. He has received numerous national and international marketing awards and is particularly recognised for developing Mastercard’s innovative activations in Planica, connecting sport with technology and inclusion. Under his leadership, Mastercard Slovenia earned numerous awards for marketing and communications excellence, including being named Advertiser of the Year in 2024 and Brand of the Year in 2025. He holds a master’s degree in business studies from the University of Maribor, earning his bachelor’s degree in 2001 and a Master of Science in Business in 2004.

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