The Business of Sport

Indy Khabra is a global ad technology executive, entrepreneur, and industry thought leader. He is the Co-Founder of Livewire, an award-winning gaming marketing company launched in 2021 that helps the world's leading brands connect with highly engaged gaming audiences at scale. With deep expertise across strategy, data, technology, and emerging media, Indy leads Livewire's global growth, working with clients including NFL, Live Nation, DAZN, Verizon, Nike, Uber, and Amazon. Prior to Livewire, Indy held senior leadership roles at Dentsu, where he led the Data, Technology, and Programmatic division, earning multiple industry accolades as part of the group's executive team. Recognised as a Top MarComm Leader in Campaign's 40 Under 40, Indy is a regular contributor to leading industry publications and events, including Digiday, WARC, Campaign Asia, and Advertising Week, where he shares insights on the future of media, gaming, and advertisingInnovation

Born and raised on Cape Cod, MA, Buckley was introduced to sailing by his single mother who worked multiple jobs and sports became both an outlet and a foundation for discipline, resilience, and drive. What started as an unexpected extracurricular pursuit quickly grew into a defining passion that shaped his personal and professional trajectory. From high school waters to global competition, Buckley's career ascended quickly. He went on to become a 2-time world champion sailor, competing at the highest levels of the sport and earning recognition for his strategic sharpness and relentless competitiveness. His experience across international racing circuits provided not only athletic success but also an insider's understanding of the opportunities and shortcomings of sailing as a spectator sport. In November 2023, Buckley and tech entrepreneur Ryan McKillen led the acquisition of the U.S. SailGP Team, marking a historic moment for professional sailing. As CEO, Buckley has built one of the most diverse and high-profile ownership groups in the sport's history, with investors including Issa Rae, DeAndre Hopkins, Gary Vaynerchuk, Avenue Capital Group's Marc Lasry and Carolyn Tisch Blodgett's Next 3. This groundbreaking roster underscores his vision: to align sailing with culture, entertainment, and mainstream sport in a way never done before.

A multiple world cup medalist in the sport of Olympic Sailing, and an athlete on the Canada SailGP team, Isabella Berthold also leads a Next Gen Legacy Fund, focused on providing financial support to youth athletes in British Columbia. Isabella is also a professional cyclist, racing a European focused UCI Road Calendar. A former venture capital analyst, Isabella believes that responsible business, is good business. She believes that sport and sustainability can work side-by-side to develop innovative products and business models that drive real change, fast-tracking our journey towards a smaller carbon footprint. Working in Venture Capital around health, Isabella, who captained Canada's Women sailing in 2024's Americas Cup in Barcelona, is passionate about sustainable cities, and the circular economy.

From having Olympic Games accreditation at the age of just 4, to leading one of the world's biggest broadcast operations, Ursula Romero has a fantastic story to tell. The daughter of early pioneers in major event broadcasting, Ursula is the CEO of ISB, International Sports Broadcasting. With over 20 years experience providing coverage of global sporting events, Ursula and ISB are now transitioning away from mainstream sports to providing a platform for emerging sports and events.

Michael Payne has been at the forefront of Sports Marketing for over 40 years, most of that time spent leading and advising on deals around the Olympic Games. Payne has brokered over 25 billion dollars worth of deals and sold his first sponsorship package at the age of just sixteen! He worked alongside all of the great leaders who built the industry – from two decades at the IOC with President Samaranch, and in those early days Horst Dassler of adidas, to over a decade with Bernie Ecclestone at F1 as his right hand person, to now Chairing Volleyball World - a joint venture between FIVB and the private equity group CVC. Payne already has a Sunday Times - Best Sports Book of the Year (2022) and his latest work - Fast Tracks & Dark Deals, How Sport Became Business and Business Became Sport - is available to order now. It tells the story of how the industry started in the 1970's and looks to the future – focussing on what sport and the business of sport holds in store for the next 50 years.