Sports Innovation Lab Launches Fourth Leadership Board Focusing On The Next-Generation Of Sponsorship

Continuing the successful leadership board program started in January 2019, the Sports Innovation Lab is launching the Sponsorship Leadership Board this week, focusing on how technologies are driving change and creating new opportunities across the sponsorship ecosystem.

Boston, MA. (September 24, 2019)__ The latest leadership board launching this week by the Sports Innovation Lab is bringing together thought-leaders from across the industry to discuss the future of sponsorship in sports. Sponsorship and advertising are major revenue pillars for the sports industry, but new technologies are changing the way that this part of the industry operates, from activation through measurement. The Sponsorship Leadership Board, beginning with a kick-off meeting this Thursday, is part of an executive leadership program developed by the Sports Innovation Lab designed to help prepare the sports industry for the Age of the Fluid Fan.

Focusing on the ways that technology is disrupting the entire sports sponsorship process, the board has three primary goals facing it over the course of its 12-month remit:

  1. To define sponsorship best practices In The Age of Fluid Fan.

  2. To provide examples of next-generation sponsorship categories.

  3. To develop a road-map of priorities for next-generation sponsorship success.

The board is holding its first meeting in New York City this Thursday, with the initial goal of getting acquainted and setting the initiative for the remainder of the work to be done. “Sponsorship is one of the primary engines driving the entire sports industry engine,” said Sports Innovation Lab CEO Angela Ruggiero. “But we’ve seen how new technologies, and changing expectations from fans, are changing how sponsorship is going to function in the years and decades to come. It’s essential that the sports industry begin to figure out how the next-generation of sponsorship in sports will look.”

The Sponsorship Leadership board members include:

  • Angela Ruggiero, CEO, and Co-founder of the Sports Innovation Lab

  • Josh Walker, President, and Co-founder of the Sports Innovation Lab and Board Co-chair

  • Joe Favorito, Independent Consultant, and Board Co-chair

  • Heidi Browning, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer at the NHL

  • Ricardo Fort, Vice President Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships at Coca-Cola

  • Nick Horbaczewski, CEO and Co-founder of the Drone Racing League

  • Michael Broughton, Senior Advisor Business Technology, Innovation & Investment Strategy at FIFA

  • Ian Sharpe, CEO at Promethean.TV

  • John Coombs, CEO & Co-founder at Rover

  • Brian Killingsworth, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at the Las Vegas Golden Knights

  • Kate Johnson, Vice President at Visa

  • Jason Griffiths, Vice President, Partnerships at the Los Angeles Rams

  • Anna Hu, CEO & Co-founder at Brizi

  • Jon Stainer, Managing Director, Americas at Nielsen Sports

  • Michael Goldstein, Vice President - Head of Sponsorships, North America at Mastercard

  • Jeff Meeson, Senior Vice President at Octagon

  • Ian Lawson, Vice President Global Partnerships at Spartan Race

  • Kevin Dunbar, Global Lead Brand Strategy & Content at Cisco

  • Jeff Mirmelstein, Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development at Blinkfire Analytics, Inc.

All board members receive access to Sports Innovation Lab’s market intelligence software and custom research produced exclusively for this annual program. The board will meet all together three more times over the course of the next twelve months, with periodic conference calls amongst the group as the Members works towards the goals of the board.

The executives on the Next-Generation Sponsorship Leadership Board join an exclusive roster of thought-leaders from three other leadership board initiatives started by the Sports Innovation Lab: The Athlete Data Leadership Board, the Smart Venues Leadership Board, and The Immersive Media Leadership Board. Companies represented in those boards include: the NFL, Kinduct, USC Center for Body Computing, ORIG3N, Atavus, Teamworks, UFC, MGM, Orreco, Whoop, NHL, Octagon, Chicago Cubs, The University of Michigan, The Goldwater Group, TD Garden, Venuetize, Armored Things, Ticketmaster, CLEAR, Legends, Aramark, the Dow Chemical Company, Satisfi Labs, Rossetti, Oak View Group, Fancam, Oracle Food and Beverage, Visa, JMA Wireless, Intel, LiveLike, Yahoo Sports, Cox, Dow Jones Sports, Nikkei, the Bundesliga, DraftKings, and Sportradar.

About Sports Innovation Lab

The Sports Innovation Lab prepares the industry for the New Age of Sport with a market intelligence platform that continuously mines the global sports technology market for trends. We service our clients with actionable research and intelligence that gives them an edge when it comes to winning the Fluid Fan.

Media Contact:

Abe Stein

abe@sportsilab.com

+1 (508) 789-3663

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