Charles Bal
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.
Alessio Punzi
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.
Rory Natkiel
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.
Giancarlo Bernini
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.
Meet some of the speakers & guests from past editions:
MARC CUBAN
Dallas Mavericks | Owner
ALEKSANDER ČEFERIN
UEFA | President
PATRICK NALLY
West Nally | Founder
MICHAEL PAYNE
Payne Sports Media Strategies | Chairman – CEO
KIM SKILDUM-REID
Power Sponsorship | Founder & Director
MATT ROGAN
Two Circles | Co-Founder
SHAUN WHATLING
Redmandarin | CEO
NASSER AL-KHELAÏFI
PSG | President & CEO
JOHAN ELIASCH
International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) | President
RICHARD AYERS
IMG | Advisor & Rematch | Founder
SALLY HANCOCK
Y Sport | Managing Partner
PAUL ROGERS
AS Roma | Head of Digital
SCOTT KEGLEY
Minnesota Vikings | Executive Director, Digital Media & Innovation
MARZENA BOGDANOWICZ
The FA | Head of Marketing & Commercial (Women’s Football)
MISHA SHER
Essence Mediacom | Global Head of Sport, Entertainment & Culture
SHARON FULLER
NBA (EMEA) | Head of Content & Social Media
LUKA DUKICH
Chicago Bulls | Senior Manager of Digital Content
DIDAC LEE
FC Barcelona | Board Member
PATRICK CARBERRY
Guinness | Global Sports Marketing Manager
THOMAS VAN SCHAIK
The Athlete Brand | Co-Founder
PETER MORGAN
AC Milan | Marketing & CRM Director
BEN WELLS
PTI Digital | CEO
PEDRO OLIVEIRA CORTEZ DE MIRANDA
LaLiga | Senior Sponsorship Manager
AMAR SINGH
MKTG | Head of Content & Communications
ARTHUR GUISASOLA
TikTok | Global Partner Manager (Sport)
CRAIG HOWE
Rebel Ventures | Founder & CEO
PETER SCOTT
Warner Bros. Discovery | VP of Emerging Media & Innovation
JERRY NEWMAN
Facebook EMEA | Head of Sports Partnerships
JOEL SEYMOUR-HYDE
Octagon | Head of UK
JOHN ALLERT
McLaren Group | Marketing Director
ALEXANDRA WILLIS
AELTC | Head of Communications, Content & Digital
FREDDA HURWITZ
Gingernut Thinking | Founder
CARSTEN THODE
Synergy | Chief Strategy Officer
JERAMIE MC PEAK
Super Bowl 2017 Host Committee | Social Media QB
JEREMY EDWARDS
Activative | Director of Content
ELLIE MOSS
Cake | Strategy Director
COLIN JACKSON
Wings for Life World Run | International Sport Director
PABLO DOPICO
Sportradar ad:s | Director of Growth
ZARAH AL-KUDCY
WSL Football | Chief Revenue Officer
PRIMOŽ ROGLIČ
5-time Grand Tour Winner
TINA MAZE
Alpine skiing great