This is episode three of a four-part series created in collaboration with Redtorch called What's Sport Selling?

It's a conversation with John Ridgeon, the chief executive of World Athletics.

Previous episodes in the series:

UP443 Big Sugar, Big Pharma...Where's the Big Sport Lobby?

UP458 Fitness, Toxicity and the Importance of the ASICS Message

Jon Ridgeon bio
Athletic Career (1980s-1990s)

• Born: February 14, 1967, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk
• Key Achievement: Silver medal at the 1987 World Championships in Rome in 110m hurdles
• Olympic Participation: Represented Great Britain at 1988 Seoul Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics
• Personal Best: 13.29 seconds in 110m hurdles (British record holder)
• Education: Magdalene College, Cambridge

Business Career (1998-2019)

• Fast Track Sports Marketing (1998-2012): Founding and managing partner of Fast Track.
• Broadcasting: TV commentator for BBC and BSkyB
• Achieve Events: Director where he helped build the mass participation events business until its acquisition in 2015
• European Sports Championships: Director of the 2018 multi-sport championship event

World Athletics Leadership (2019-Present)

• Appointment: Appointed CEO in December 2018
• Mandate: Working alongside President Sebastian Coe to modernize and grow athletics globally

This podcast is sponsored by Redtorch, a global research & creative agency passionately dedicated to making sport more relevant.
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