2022 Speakers

Maurizio BARBIERI

CCO

Maurizio heads all the commercial and revenue related activities for Liberty Gaming Guild, a company of Synergia Capital. His job is to grow the community, putting players and brands and games in touch with each other to extract maximum value and ROI from these partnerships.
Prior to this, he joined Twitter in 2017 with the goal of growing communities, driving conversations around sport and gaming and creating new revenue opportunities for Twitter’s partners, by creating a lineup of programmes that would satisfy the ever-hungry-for-content audience in South East Asia. During his 4+ years at Twitter, Maurizio managed to create some amazing partnerships with the local broadcasters and associations, helping them find new ways to connect with fans and activate new revenue streams.
His strategic approach, his vision and ability to think outside the box to create new opportunities and solve for problems make Maurizio one of the most respected professionals in the sports industry at global level.
Other roles during his career have included Head of Sports for Samsung Asia in Singapore and MD of Advanced Media Solutions (MP Web) part of the Mediapartners Group acquired by Infront Sports and Media.

Wendy BASS

SVP Programming & Rights Management

Wendy Bass is Senior Vice President, Programming and Rights Management at NBC Sports. Bass is responsible for developing the strategic programming and content vision across linear, digital, audio and DTC. Prior to her most recent roles, Bass was SVP, Business and Legal Affairs at NBC Sports where she oversaw the negotiation and administration of major national and regional rights agreements, including the NFL, NASCAR, Premier League and FIFA as well as contracts for premier on-air talent.

Chris BEVILACQUA

Co-Founder & CEO

Chris Bevilacqua is the Co-Founder and CEO of Simplebet. Over the past 30 years, he has established himself as a leader in the sports and media business, including being at the forefront of two transformative eras in sports media history. He was previously the Chairman and CEO of CAA Sports Media Ventures (a joint venture between CAA and Evolution Media Capital) and founded College Sports TV Networks, which was sold to CBS in 2006 and evolved into CBS Sports Network.

Justin BLAIR

CEO

With over 20 years in the sports content / production space, Justin's scope of experience includes producing 400+ live broadcasts for clients including the UFC and AEG. Blair's Henimo Group is at the forefront in today's ever changing social media landscape. Most recently Henimo Group was one of 29 companies worldwide invited by Meta to join Facebook / Instagram's exclusive Third Party Partner Program. Henimo Group specializes in Live / Post production, content creation and social media optimization.

Steve BYRD

Head of Sports Content & Partnerships, US

Steve Byrd is head of sports content & partnerships, U.S. at Sportradar. A thirty-year veteran of the sports industry, Steve joined Sportradar’s U.S. operation as chief commercial officer in May 2015. After building out the U.S. sales team, Byrd transitioned into his current role in May 2017.

Jed CORENTHAL

Chief Marketing Officer

Jed Corenthal is an experienced executive and entrepreneur, merging content with technology building companies in Real-time video streaming, OTT, mobile marketing and the development of virtual goods and branded emoji’s. Mr. Corenthal spent his first 15 years in senior marketing and business development roles at SONY, the AVP and the NFL.
Currently, Mr. Corenthal serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Phenix. Phenix builds global IP video solutions. The company has built technology from the ground up to deliver high quality, synchronous streams to broadcast size audiences with less than 1⁄2 second of latency, or delay.

Tomash DEVENISHEK

CEO & Founder

Tomash is a technology industry veteran with a vision of elevating digital sports consumption experiences to match those of other apps such as TikTok and Instagram. His company Kero Sports works with some of the largest names in sports to deliver curated in-game betting experiences that make fans watch longer and be more engaged with the broadcast.

Alex DROSIN

Head of Worldwide Business Development

Alex heads up Worldwide Business Development for Deltatre. Previously, Alex launched Massive in North America which was sold to Deltatre in November 2018. Alex is a co-founder of Glowcast Ventures, which has incubated multiple business ventures over the years and was President of Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video Enterprises. He began his career as a journalist at The Wall Street Journal/Europe and has over 30 years of experience across traditional and digital media. He has acted as an Advisor to numerous startups.

Jeremy DUJARDIN

Global Technology Head - Media & Entertainment Services, Tata Communications

A seasoned solution-oriented leader with more than 20 years of experience in developing, implementing and operating media transmission networks, products and services. A global strategist with in-depth technical knowledge, refined business acumen and management skills focused on driving innovation and in the live sports and entertainment sector.

Paul FINSTER

VP, Business Development

Paul Finster is VP of Business Development helping accelerate strategic sales, channel development and strategic partners at Amagi.
Before joining Amagi, he has run global teams at MediaKind and Evergent. Paul has spent many years in the media technology industry managing Encoder deployments, CMS sales, DTC/OTT architectures, SSAI monetization, company due diligence and acquisitions. He spent 4 years running the Solution Architecture team for the Media Practice at Accenture and over 8 years at Ericsson Media including 2 years as an expat in Hong Kong driving solution sales in Asia.

Eric FISHER

U.S. Editor

Eric Fisher is the US Editor for SportBusiness, joining the organization in 2019, and he leads North American editorial for the global sports industry intelligence service. Fisher has covered sports business for more than a quarter century, having previously written for Sports Business Journal, the Washington (DC) Times, and Easton (Maryland) Star-Democrat. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University.

Pedro FREIRE

Programming Head

Pedro has worked in the media industry for 30 years, occupying different positions in TV production, with a few stints in radio, web and graphic production as well. After graduating in Journalism, Pedro went to work for Torneos y Competencias (TyC), and later held various roles at this multimedia group. He is currently in charge of TyC Sport's acquisitions and programming of multiplatform contains, and is also engaged as professor at Universidad Argentina de la empresa (UADE).

Boris GARTNER

CEO LaLiga North America

Boris is Chief Executive Officer of LaLiga North America, a joint venture between Relevent Sports Group, the premier international soccer events and media business in North America and Asia, and LaLiga, Spain’s top-flight soccer competition and professional association.

Tony GRILLO

Chief Strategy Officer

Tony Grillo is the Chief Strategy Officer at GreenPark Sports, overseeing marketing, business development, analytics and investor relations. Grillo leads a team that helps to secure and manage licenses from key IP holders, build the GreenPark fan community, measure and report on key product metrics across the company and explore diversified revenue opportunities for GreenPark, both virtually and in real life. Before joining GreenPark Sports, Grillo spent most of his career in sports with the PGA TOUR, where he managed prominent brand partnerships including Mastercard, Nike, Adidas, Microsoft and Topgolf, among others.

Bo HAN

Founder & CEO

Bo is the founder and CEO of Buzzer, the new mobile platform delivering short-form access to the best moments in live sports. Founded in 2020 and officially launched in October 2021, Buzzer's mobile platform identifies, notifies and provides short-form access to the best moments in live sports - personalized based on each fan’s preferences. Partners have included NBA League Pass, WNBA League Pass, PGA TOUR, the NHL, DAZN and FanDuel.

Ken KERSCHBAUMER

Executive Director, Editorial

Ken Kerschbaumer is executive director, editorial services, of the Sports Video Group and SVG Europe. He has been writing about how sports networks and leagues use video and audio technology to deliver a quality TV experience since 1991 when began his career at Television Broadcast magazine and TVB Europe.
In 1998 he was named editor of Digital Television magazine before joining Broadcasting & Cable in 2000 as senior editor, technology.
He left Broadcasting & Cable in 2005 to begin SVG. Today the organisation has a global presence as it supports advances in sports content creation and distribution.

Meghna KRISHNA

Chief Revenue Officer

Meghna Krishna is the Chief Revenue Officer at Videoverse. As part of her job she is responsible for revenue maximization along with facilitating strategic partnerships and innovative marketing solutions for the overall growth of the company. Her unique leadership shines through her ability to build passionate teams focused on delivering the best quality services to their clients.

Roland LANGE

Head of Partnerships

Roland Lange is the Global Head of Business Development for Kiswe, and was formerly with Google/YouTube, ABC News, and Source3, a start-up sold to Facebook in 2017. He leads a global team approaching the biggest names in sports, entertainment and broadcasting, including ESPN, the NBA, UMG, Globo, Sky, TV Tokyo and many others. Roland went to Cornell University and is a 2x Jeopardy winner.

Anna LOCKWOOD

Head of International, Telstra Broadcast Services

Anna Lockwood is an experienced media industry executive, and is currently the Head of Global Sales for Telstra Broadcast Services, based in London. She leads a team that works at the convergence of the traditional broadcast industry with leading-edge telecommunication and digital platforms, with a focus on bringing innovative solutions and services to the media and sports business. In addition to her role at Telstra, Anna is a board member of the EGAA (Esports Games Association of Australia), represents Telstra on the Board of Directors of IABM, is an advisory board member and mentor at RISE - a group for women in broadcast, and is active in industry initiatives around sports, innovation and women in technology.

Olek LOEWENSTEIN

President of Sports Content

Olek Loewenstein is President of Sports Content at TelevisaUnivision, the world’s leading Spanish-language content and media company, where he leads all sports content operations for the USA and Mexico to solidify, maintain, and grow the company’s position in the market as "The Home of Soccer."

An accomplished executive with wide-ranging experience across content, financial strategy, and production functions, he is responsible for all content produced by TUDN - a bi-national state of the art sports content production operation serving a broad portfolio of Univision and Televisa’s over the air and cable television channels, as well as both companies’ digital publishing and streaming platforms.

Anmol MALHOTRA

Global Head of Sports Partnerships

Anmol Malhotra oversees sports partnerships globally at Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, leading relationships with leagues, broadcasters, and rights holders including the NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, FIFA, Fox, Turner Sports, and NBC. In this role, he also focuses on strategy for several content partnerships and sales initiatives with leagues, teams, and athletes to help them engage new audiences, experiment with innovative forms of distribution and achieve their business objectives. In addition, Anmol helps manage international growth initiatives with sports partners across Asia, Europe, MENA, and Latin America.

Will MCDONOUGH

VP Business Development Sports Partnerships

Will McDonough currently leads business development for Team Whistle’s sports agency group. Team Whistle is an entertainment and sports media company that creates, curates and distributes positive, brand safe and relatable content experiences across the passion points defining today’s generation. He is a brand and sports partnership specialist with over 15+ years within the sports, entertainment, and gaming/esports spaces developing and leading brand and partner strategy. He’s worked at NBC, MTV Networks, Live Nation, Major League Soccer, COPA90 and VENN. He currently resides in New York with his wife and children.

Anthony MESA

VP Sales

Anthony heads North America sales for ViewLift, a leader in end-to-end streaming platform and OTT solutions. Anthony has worked in the CDN and OTT space since 2008 providing critical solutions to sports, broadcast media, and entertainment businesses.

David MILLER

Vice President & Assistant General Counsel

David Miller is Vice President & Assistant General Counsel for the PGA TOUR. David primarily works on the PGA TOUR’s media and gaming businesses. He represents the PGA TOUR with respect to all matters in the gaming industry, including integrity, governmental affairs, market access, social responsibility, data distribution, sponsorship, and

Peter MURRAY

CEO

Peter Murray, a senior sports executive, is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Murray oversees all business strategy and operations, fighter roster, event management, production, content, and marketing for the mixed martial arts league.

Heidi PELLERANO

Chief of Commercial

Heidi Pellerano joined Concacaf in February 2019 and is responsible for leading the Commercial division. In this capacity, Pellerano is responsible for developing and managing strategic partnerships to maximize the commercial opportunities of the organization. She has direct oversight of the departments of Business Development, Partnership Marketing, Digital and Emerging Technologies, Media Distribution, and Broadcast Productions. She is also a member of the executive leadership of the Confederation. Prior to Concacaf, Pellerano was an Executive Vice President at Wasserman where she was responsible for leading Wasserman’s brands division and multicultural practice.

Juan Carlos RODRIGUEZ

President of Sports, Univision

Juan Carlos Rodriguez is the President of Sports at TelevisaUnivision Inc., the world’s leading Spanish-language content and media company.

Rodriguez has positioned Univision’s sports brand, TUDN, as the Home of Soccer in the U.S. through the acquisition of exclusive Spanish-language media rights to some of the most important properties and tournaments in the sport, including 14 Liga MX clubs, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, the U.S. and Mexican national teams, Major League Soccer, UEFA national team competitions, the Concacaf Gold Cup and the Concacaf Champions League. Additionally, he has secured agreements with the FIA Formula One World Championship and Hispanic MMA franchise Combate Americas.

Oscar SANCHEZ

Director of Broadcasting

Emmy Award winning Director of Broadcast Operations and an Executive Producer at Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf). His previous experience includes successful roles at the FIFA World Cup in 2018, London Olympic games 2012, Copa America Centenario 2016, and more than 5000 football games produced in the last 8 years.

Santiago SLUZEWSKI MONTI

Commercial Director

Santiago (Uki) is TORNEOS’ Commercial Director. He is currently in charge of the acquisition and commercialization of events and competitions’ rights; the full organization, operational management and TV production of events such us Daytona Soccer Fest, Copa Argentina, Supercopa Argentina and Córdoba Open ATP 250 - among others - and a complete range of sports marketing services, including license management and e-commerce of the main clubs and sports federations.

Jose SOTOLONGO

Director, Sports & Entertainment Tourism

Jose Sotolongo, Director of Sports & Entertainment Tourism at the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, is charged with the attraction, promotion and retention of sporting events, sports conferences and sports conventions. Additionally, he also works with the Miami-Dade Film Commission to attract the production of motion pictures and television shows to Miami-Dade County. Most recently, Sotolongo led the Miami 2026 World Cup bid, which resulted in the destination being chosen as one of 17 potential host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He also played an integral role in the communities’ preparations for Super Bowl LIV as well as the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Angela SUGGS

President & CEO

As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Sports Foundation, Angela Adams Suggs works to support Florida’s $57.4 billion sports industry. In her role, Suggs leads the organization’s efforts to assist communities with securing, hosting and retaining sporting events and sports-related business through the Foundation’s grant programs; provide participation opportunities in the Sunshine State Games and Florida Senior Games; serve as Florida’s leading resource for sport tourism research and facts; assist in the promotion of targeted leisure sports industries in Florida; and assist national and state governing bodies to promote amateur sport development.

Eli VELAZQUEZ

Executive Vice President, Sports Content

Eli Velazquez is Executive Vice President of Sports Content for Telemundo Deportes. In his role, Velazquez leads the division’s multimedia content strategy including programming, acquisition, production, operations and editorial efforts. He is also responsible for coordinating resources across the company to provide Telemundo Network, Universo and the respective digital platforms with high-quality sports content. Additionally, Velazquez works closely with NBC Sports on major events, and ensures collaboration across divisions and businesses.

Lee ZOHLMAN

Director of Partnerships

Pepsi, Samsung, Globo, NBC, Audi, Morgan Stanley, TAG Heuer, Formula 1, Sports Illustrated. These are just a few of the companies sports marketing veteran Lee Zohlman has secured business with in his career. For over twenty years Lee has worked in the ever evolving sports business world representing athletes, brands, agencies and teams. His experience stretches from sponsorship to media rights with a network from Dubai to Monaco to San Francisco allowing him to cultivate deals across various sports, athletes and cultures. Currently, Lee heads up the Premier Partnerships division at OpenSponsorship, the world's largest online marketplace for athlete/team/brand partnerships.