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.
ROB PILGRIM
Bio
Rob Pilgrim is a tech and media executive with over 12 years of experience, currently serving as the Head of Sport and Primetime Channels for YouTube across EMEA. In this role, he leads initiatives in the traditional media and entertainment space, focusing on helping broadcasters, rights holders, and federations utilize YouTube’s platform to reach wider audiences and drive business growth.
Rob’s passion lies in fostering innovative products and services that cater to the evolving needs of consumers in the entertainment industry. His work has been instrumental in raising the visibility and engagement of women’s sports content on YouTube. Since 2022, he has spearheaded the rollout of YouTube’s Primetime Channels product, a game-changer that brings paid-for SVOD and DTC services directly to YouTube’s massive audience.
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.
