Episodes

  • The United States of Soccer (Series): Charlie Stillitano, Executive Chairman at Relevent Sports

    The United States of Soccer (Series): Charlie Stillitano, Executive Chairman at Relevent Sports
    Aug 9 2021
    On this series of “Intersections: a podcast by The Connect”, we wanted to go a bit deeper on the analysis of football or soccer as a business from the United States perspective, and setup a series of conversations with executives and personalities that we admire, that through their vast experience as player, investor, team owner, agent, business developer, and promoter, we would extract a wealth of knowledge about the next decade of football business, and how North America is positioned as the next frontier for growth. For Episode 5, the final of this current series, we have someone that is regarded by the industry as a whole as one of the top soccer business executives in the world, Charlie Stillitano, Executive Chairman at Relevent Sports. Of deep Italian and soccer heritage, Charlie is a lawyer and former All-American soccer player at Princeton, and has played a vital role in the development of soccer in the United States in the last 30 years, from his appointment as venue director for Giants Stadium at the 1994 World Cup, going through the formation of Major League Soccer in 1996, when he became became the general manager of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. His deep connections into the global soccer world led him to create in 2003 the promoter ChampionsWorld, before moving on to Creative Arts Agency (organizers of the World Football Challenge) in 2007. The latter acquired by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross' agency, Relevent Sports in 2012, from which Charlie leads a multinational team of professionals that developed and run the International Champions Cup, and the joint-venture with Spanish LaLiga to develop LaLiga's brand and business in North America. Watch more: https://linktr.ee/TheConnect www.TheConnect.co
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    48 mins
  • The United States of Soccer (Series): Justin Papadakis, COO & Chief Real Estate Officer at USL

    The United States of Soccer (Series): Justin Papadakis, COO & Chief Real Estate Officer at USL
    Aug 2 2021
    On this series of “Intersections: a podcast by The Connect”, we wanted to go a bit deeper on the analysis of football or soccer as a business from the United States perspective, and setup a series of conversations with executives and personalities that we admire, that through their vast experience as player, investor, team owner, agent, business developer, and promoter, we would extract a wealth of knowledge about the next decade of football business, and how North America is positioned as the next frontier for growth. On Episode 4 we welcome Justin Papadakis, who is the current COO & Chief Real Estate Officer of United Soccer League (USL), the largest, fastest growing professional soccer organization in the United States. In his current role, Justin oversees numerous departments that are critical to the league’s success, including expansion, digital media, emerging technology, finance, human resources, and stadium development where the USL currently has a slate of more than 15 soccer stadium developments, for a total sum of more than $500 Million of stadia development investment value, part of more than $2 Billion worth of city-centre entertainment district developments, that place a USL soccer franchise at the center of it all. Watch more: https://linktr.ee/TheConnect www.TheConnect.co
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    41 mins
  • The United States of Soccer (Series): David Wright, Chief Commercial Officer at US Soccer

    The United States of Soccer (Series): David Wright, Chief Commercial Officer at US Soccer
    Jul 26 2021

    On this series of “Intersections: a podcast by The Connect”, we wanted to go a bit deeper on the analysis of football or soccer as a business from the United States perspective, and setup a series of conversations with executives and personalities that we admire, that through their vast experience as player, investor, team owner, agent, business developer, and promoter, we would extract a wealth of knowledge about the next decade of football business, and how North America is positioned as the next frontier for growth.


    On Episode 3 we have David Wright, Chief Commercial officer at the U.S. Soccer Federation. David is a senior marketing executive and business leader, who has also led exponential growth for emerging sport properties, including Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS) / Soccer United Marketing (SUM), evolving them from commercial startups into widely recognized leaders within the sport and entertainment industry. Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 award recipient who excels at establishing culture, driving strategy, and leading growth organizations focused on maximizing marketplace positioning, fan engagement, and enterprise revenue.


    Watch more: https://linktr.ee/TheConnect

    www.TheConnect.co
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    50 mins
  • The United States of Soccer (Series): Jordan Gardner, Investor and Chairman & co-Owner FC Helsingør

    The United States of Soccer (Series): Jordan Gardner, Investor and Chairman & co-Owner FC Helsingør
    Jul 19 2021
    On this series of “Intersections: a podcast by The Connect”, we wanted to go a bit deeper on the analysis of football or soccer as a business from the United States perspective, and setup a series of conversations with executives and personalities that we admire, that through their vast experience as player, investor, team owner, agent, business developer, and promoter, we would extract a wealth of knowledge about the next decade of football business, and how North America is positioned as the next frontier for growth. Episode 2 is with Jordan Gardner, who is an investor and sports executive with a diversified multi-club investment portfolio in football (soccer) and wine. Currently Chairman of the Board, Managing Director & Co-Owner for Danish Professional Football Club FC Helsingør, responsible for all day-to-day operations, strategy and leadership at the club. His investment portfolio also includes a minority stake in Swansea City AFC (United Kingdom), co-ownership of Dundalk FC (Rep. of Ireland), investment into a group bidding on an A-League (Australia) expansion franchise, and ownership of a vineyard at the Vines of Mendoza in the Uco Valley in Argentina. Jordan was previously Vice President, Investment & Business Strategy for the digital media company JUGOtv before it was acquired by Relevent Sports Group, and was the owner & CEO of an event ticketing and technology company based in San Francisco. Watch more: https://linktr.ee/TheConnect www.TheConnect.co
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    27 mins
  • The United States of Soccer (Series): Brad Friedel, Player Agent and former USMNT Goalkeeper

    The United States of Soccer (Series): Brad Friedel, Player Agent and former USMNT Goalkeeper
    Jul 11 2021
    On this series of “Intersections: a podcast by The Connect”, we wanted to go a bit deeper on the analysis of football or soccer as a business from the United States perspective, and setup a series of conversations with executives and personalities that we admire, that through their vast experience as player, investor, team owner, agent, business developer, and promoter, we would extract a wealth of knowledge about the next decade of football business, and how North America is positioned as the next frontier for growth. In this episode we kick off the series with a conversation with Brad Friedel, who is now a football agent and is former goalkeeper of the US Men’s National Team and professional clubs like Galatasaray, Liverpool FC, Blackburn Rovers, Columbus Crew, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur. Find Us Online OUR LINKS Credits - Hosts: Rayde Luis Baez, Twitter: @RaydeLuisBT - Executive Producer: Luis Manuel Baez. - Editor(s): Luis Manuel Baez LinkedIn About Us Intersections podcast dives into the overlapping layers of brand partnerships, and the overall sports and entertainment business world.
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    48 mins
  • Why The Super League became a Super Flop

    Why The Super League became a Super Flop
    May 1 2021
    The sports industry was turned upside down, when 12 of the most important sports companies on the planet -that happen to be the top 12 soccer clubs- decided to roll out an alternative competition structure, that was called to substitute the current UEFA Champions League. In a radical, but expected, turn of events the house of cards came down, with a great dose of vonspiranpic rhethoric, sparkled with misinformation, poor execution, and an evident lack of dialogue from stakeholders. On this special episode Rayde, Luis and Vedran give their perspective on the whole ordeal, and come out the other side with a clear understanding that for this to be solved, and for the sake of fans, there’s an impending need for the parties appoint appropriate negotiators and address the Governance and the Financial Operations issues as they are, putting aside futile competition model excuses. Find Us Online OUR LINKS Credits - Hosts: Rayde Luis Baez, Twitter: @RaydeLuisBT, Vedran Kusljugic & Luis Manuel Baez. Twitter: @LuimaBT, - Executive Producer: Luis Manuel Baez. - Editor(s): Luis Manuel Baez & Vedran Kusljugic. LinkedIn About Us Intersections podcast dives into the overlapping layers of brand partnerships, and the overall sports and entertainment business world. The Connect is Rayde Luis Baez. Rayde Luis Baez, is a Dominican born, passionate partnership builder based in Europe with strong relations with the top brands and properties across the world. Find out more at: https://theconnect.co/
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Dídac Lee (Galdana Ventures) | Overcoming the unknown and working towards fulfilling your life dreams

    Dídac Lee (Galdana Ventures) | Overcoming the unknown and working towards fulfilling your life dreams
    Jan 27 2021

    Our guest for this special episode is Dídac Lee. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Galdana Ventures, a venture capital fund with over 1B USD invested across Silicon Valley, China and Europe. Dídac is a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience, having funded or co-funded and managed companies in the internet space, education and retail. He materialized his childhood dreams of becoming a board member for the team of his life, FC Barcelona, being on the Board of Directors for 10 years, and heading the Club’s most ambitious business process in decades transforming its digital output and putting in place a self sustaining content production structure, Barça Studios, that fuels FC Barcelona’s global digital engagement ambitions.

    A proud Figuerenc, Dídac talked talked with Rayde about his origins as one of the first Catalan children of Chinese descent born in the province of Girona, and how his journey has shaped his World view, and his mission in life and in business.

    #advertising #creative #innovation #digitaltransformation #sports #sportsbusiness #media #content #storytelling #sports #basketball #football #fcbarcelona #entertainment #sportsmedia #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #digitalmedia

    Find Us Online

    OUR LINKS

    Credits

    - Hosts: Rayde Luis Baez, Twitter: @RaydeLuisBT, Vedran Kusljugic & Luis Manuel Baez. Twitter: @LuimaBT,

    - Executive Producer: Luis Manuel Baez.

    - Editor(s): Luis Manuel Baez & Vedran Kusljugic. LinkedIn

    About Us

    Intersections podcast dives into the overlapping layers of brand partnerships, and the overall sports and entertainment business world.

    The Connect is Rayde Luis Baez.

    Rayde Luis Baez, is a Dominican born, passionate partnership builder based in Europe with strong relations with the top brands and properties across the world.

    Find out more at: https://theconnect.co/
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    56 mins
  • Cesar Ruiz (Microsoft) | How purpose is the main builder of the brand connection

    Cesar Ruiz (Microsoft) | How purpose is the main builder of the brand connection
    Jan 8 2021
    Our guest Cesar Ruiz is the Regional Vice President for Global Strategic Sales at Microsoft Global Advertisement. An advertising sales veteran, with vast experience in the media & sports industries across the Hispanic and General markets, now leading a multifunctional team at the avantgarde of platform offering in search advertising sales. Cesar’s experience has taken him through industry-leading multimedia companies in North America,, namely Tribune Media, Televisa, ESPN and BeIN Media, before his current appointment leading Global Strategic Sales on the US Eastern seaboard at Microsoft. On this episode, Cesar takes Rayde, Luis and Vedran through the shifting tides in the advertisement and media world, and where opportunities can be found in the new world of digital media. #sports #sportsbusiness #media #content #entrepreneurship #sports #basketball #nba #entertainment #sportsmedia #printmedia #digitalmedia Find Us Online OUR LINKS Credits - Hosts: Rayde Luis Baez, Twitter: @RaydeLuisBT, Vedran Kusljugic & Luis Manuel Baez. Twitter: @LuimaBT, - Executive Producer: Luis Manuel Baez. - Editor(s): Luis Manuel Baez & Vedran Kusljugic. LinkedIn About Us Intersections podcast dives into the overlapping layers of brand partnerships, and the overall sports and entertainment business world. The Connect is Rayde Luis Baez. Rayde Luis Baez, is a Dominican born, passionate partnership builder based in Europe with strong relations with the top brands and properties across the world. Find out more at: https://theconnect.co/
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    1 hr and 4 mins