Dr. Danny Alexander Jordaan
Vice President of the South African Football Association,
Special Advisor of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup

Daniel Alexander Jordaan, is currently the Vice President of the South African Football Association and recently Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa, life’s history is enriched with a variety of dynamic paths that eventually earned him the position at the top of the World’s most prestigious international sporting event.


Popularly known as Danny, he has over the years been a Senior Lecturer, Politician, Sports Administrator, Businessman and a Political activist in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. He was also an active sportsperson participating in various sport including soccer, cricket and hockey.

ACADEMIC
He studied at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, and the University of South Africa in Pretoria completing a Bachelor of Arts, Diploma in Higher Education, Honours Degrees, and was recently honoured with a Degree Doctor of Administration (D ADMIN) (HONORIS CAUSA) from the University of South Africa. He was further honoured with a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the Nelson Mandela University (HONORIS CAUSA), as well as, a Doctor of Philosophy from his alma mater, University of the Western Cape.

POLITICS
He joined the South African Student Organization (SASO), and the South African Black Students Intervarsity Council (SABIC) where he served as a member of the National Council. SASO was a black student movement led by Steve Biko in the 1970’s.

After completing his studies he returned to Eastern Cape to join the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the South African Council on Sport (SACOS), both bodies being pivotal in the national struggle against apartheid. He became the Vice President of SACOS in the Eastern Cape whilst serving as the President of the Eastern Province Soccer Board.

In 1984 he became the Deputy President of the South African Soccer Federation. These organizations pursued the ideals of
1. A single non–racial football organization; 2. A non- racial democratic SOUTH AFRICA (an end to Apartheid).

In 1994 he served as a member of parliament (National Assembly) under President Nelson Mandela. During this period Danny served as a member of the Department of Trade & Industries Delegation for the South Africa – European Union Trade Agreement. He also served on the presidential task team to deal with the transfer of diplomatic recognition from Taiwan (a partner of apartheid South Africa) to the People’s Republic of China (Beijing).

FOOTBALL
In July 1991 he presented South Africa’s case for re-admission to the CAF delegation in Johannesburg South Africa as the Acting President of South African Football. The CAF Delegation was led President Mr Issa Hayatou. Later in 1991, he was elected to serve as Vice President of SAFA.
In 1997 he was appointed as Chief Executive of the South Africa FA and in 1998 he was seconded to serve as the Chief Executive of the 2006 FIFA World Cup South Africa Bid.

In September 2000 Danny Jordaan returned to the post of Chief Executive of the South African FA until 2001. In December 2001 he was again seconded to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Bid South Africa.

The COMMERCIALIZATION of South African football was his key responsibility as CEO and in this area he helped to transform the economy of South African Football raising the revenue from 3, 2 million USD to 35 million USD. He introduced a financial assistance programme as well as, providing transport in the form of busses and cars for the benefit of the regions of the South African Football Association. As part of the international program he arranged various international matches.
Danny Jordaan delivered various papers at numerous international conferences dealing with the global economy, the Football economy, marketing, African Football, as well as, racism in Football. He has also served as a venue director at various FIFA events i.e. World Youth Championship, Confederations Cup and the Senior World Cup. He researched and analysed the 1994 FIFA World CupTM USA & 1998 FIFA World Cup FranceTM in preparation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Bid. The South African Bid was ranked equal to the German World Cup Bid.

He served in various capacities in relation to the FIFA World Cup – 1994 – World Cup USA – investigate, and research of the FIFA requirements and demands of the World Cup.

He served on the FIFA Marketing & Television Board from 1998 to 2004 and from 2004 to current he serves as a member of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee Germany.

Mr. NG Ser Miang
Vice President
International Olympic Committee (Speaking via video link)

Mr NG Ser Miang is the Singapore Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary and the Kingdom of Norway.  He was appointed a Justice of Peace in September 2005.  He was a Nominated Member of Parliament from June 2002 till 1 January 2005.

Mr Ng is a Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  He serves in the IOC Finance Commission, IOC Audit Committee, IOC Co-ordination Commission for London 2012 and the 127th Session Bid Evaluation Commission.  He is also Chairman of the Singapore 2010 Inaugural Youth Olympic Games and the 1st Asian Youth Games Steering Committee.  He was a member of the IOC Solidarity Commission, the IOC 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Coordination Commission, the Olympic Congress 2009 Editorial Committee and President of the 117th IOC Session Singapore Organising Committee, 2005.  He was also Chairman of the Evaluation Commission for the 124th IOC Session in 2011 and the 125th IOC Session in 2013.
 
Born in 1949, Mr Ng graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) Degree from the then University of Singapore and was also conferred a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Transport (FCIT).

Mr Ng is the Chairman of TIBS International Pte Ltd.  He founded TIBS, the second bus company in Singapore in 1981 until its merger with SMRT in 2001.  He was Chairman of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Choice Homes Co-operative Ltd from February 1996 to September 2010. He is also Chairman of the NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd.  Currently, he serves as independent director on the boards of Singapore Press Holdings Limited and Yanlord Land Group Limited. 

He is the Chairman of Network China.  He served as a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) from 2001 to September 2008.  Mr Ng has served as independent director on several public listed and private companies ranging from insurance, finance, venture capital, leisure industries and transport.

Mr Ng is Chairman of the Singapore Olympic Foundation, the Singapore Olympic Academy Board of Governors, Vice-President of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Chairman of its Finance Committee.  He is also a member on the Resource Panel (Chinese Newspaper Division) of the Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.  He was Chairman of the Singapore Sports Council from 1991 till October 2002 as well as a member of the Steering Committee on Sporting Singapore and Chairman of the Sub Committee on Developing Sports Industry.
 
In addition to the Public Service Star in 1999, Mr Ng was conferred The Meritorious Service Medal by the Singapore Government in 2011. He also received the following awards, namely a Gold Medal by the International Sailing Federation in 1998; International Olympic Committee Centennial Olympic Games Trophy in 1996; International Olympic Committee Trophy “Sports and the Community” in 2006; Olympic Council of Asia’s Award of Merit in 2009; the NTUC May Day Award – Medal of Commendation in 1993, NTUC Friend of Labour Award in 2001, NTUC Meritorious Service Award in 2007 and the Outstanding Chief Executive of the Year Award (Singapore Business Awards) in 1992.

Juergen Mueller
FIFA Head of 2014, 2018, 2022
FIFA World Cups

Chris Foy
Head of Overseas Operations
VisitBritain

Tom Fox
Chief Commercial Officer
Arsenal

Diamil Faye
President and CEO
Jappo Sports & Events Management

Alexander Koch
Deputy Head of Corporate Communications
FIFA

Campbell Jamieson
General Manager - Commercial
International Cricket Council

Prof. Wolfgang Maennig
Professor of Economics
Hamburg University

Wolfgang Maennig is professor at the Department of Economics of Hamburg University. He was a visiting professor at the American University in Dubai as well as at the Universities Stellenbosch (South Africa) and Istanbul, at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and at the University of Economics Bratislava. He was also visiting scholar at International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and at Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt. His research concentrates on sport economics, transport economics and real estate economics and has been published in numerous academic journals, including Applied Economics, Economic Letters, Environment and Planning A, Labour Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Regional Studies, Journal of Sports Economics, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Real Estate Economics, and Transportation Research. He is co-editor of the International Handbook on the Economics of Mega Sporting Events. Wolfgang Maennig has worked as an expert for many bids of large sport events, eg. the Olympic bids of Berlin 2000, Leipzig 2012, Munich 2018 and the Athletics World Cup Berlin 2009. He was Olympic Champion (rowing, eight with coxwain) at the Olympics 1988 in Seoul and president of the German Rowing Federation, 1995-2001. In 2000 he received the Olympic Order.

Dora Bakoyannis, MP
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece
Mayor of Athens

Dora Bakoyannis is a Member of the Greek Parliament.

She has been Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009.

She was Mayor of Athens from 2002 to 2006, the first female Mayor of Athens in the history of modern Greece.

Dora Bakoyannis was elected as Member of Parliament for the Athens 1st Constituency in 1996, 2000 and 2007, coming first in votes in every election.

She was appointed Minister for Culture in 1992 and Under-Secretary of State in 1990.

She was elected in 1989, 1990 and 1993 as Member of Parliament for Evrytania, the constituency of her late husband, the journalist and scholar Pavlos Bakoyannis, following his assassination by a terrorist group.

Born in 1954, she studied Political Science and Communication at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich. She continued her studies in Political Science and Public Law at the University of Athens. She speaks fluently English, French and German.

In 2010, she received the National Order of the Chivalry of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic. In 2009, she was named as the first female foreign associate of the French Academy in Humanities and Political Sciences. The same year, she was also awarded the title of Honorary Senator by the European Academy of Human and Political Sciences in Salzburg. Bakoyannis was voted World Mayor in 2005. Since 2006, she has been included in the Forbes annual list of the Worlds’ Most Powerful Women for three consecutive years.

She is married to Isidoros Kouvelos and has two children, Alexia and Kostas.

Boutros Boutros
Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Emirates

Boutros Boutros is head of Emirates' Corporate Communications, responsible for all marketing and communications activities across the globe for the 40-plus businesses under the Emirates group umbrella. His remit includes - Advertising, Sponsorships, Events, Promotions, Merchandising, Public Relations, Internal Communications, Internet Communications, Social Media and Passsenger Communications & Visual Services.

In his 18-year career with Emirates, Boutros has played a key role in building the company's global brand presence through strategic sponsorships and integrated marketing communications programmes. He oversees a team of over 100 professionals and more than 100 global agencies, representing the full marketing spectrum, in delivering creative marketing communications campaigns and solutions for Emirates.
Boutros has over two decades of experience in journalism, public relations and marketing communications. Prior to joining Emirates, he was the London-based Business Editor of leading Pan-Arab daily newspaper Sawt Al Kuwait, and was previously Managing Editor for Al Hawadeth, a weekly Pan-Arab magazine. 

He was also Accounts Manager with Dubai-based PR agency Bain Communications, where he managed a variety of clients in the aviation, motoring and tourism industries; and had worked at P.S.L London, a multinational Advertising and Marketing firm in London specializing in the Middle East.

Ken Fuchs
Vice President
Yahoo! Media Network, Sports & Games

Pere Duran
General Manager
Turisme de Barcelona

Graduate in Public Management and Business Administration from ESADE.

He has been involved in the tourism sector since 1980. He worked for four years in leading travel agencies specialising in congresses and incentive travel.

At the end of 1984 he joined the Barcelona Tourist Board. In 1986 he became manager of its department, the Barcelona Convention Bureau.

He was manager of the "Patronato de Turisme de Barcelona" from 1988 until its dissolution in 1993. He has been President of the European Federation of Conference Towns (1995-96)

Since 1994, is manager of the “Consorcio de Turisme de Barcelona”.

Since July 2000 he was appointed general manager of the said Consorcio de Turisme de Barcelona.

He was a member of the Tourism Advisory Committee of the Catalan Government.

Member of the Technical Committee of the Strategic Plan of Tourism of the City of Barcelona 2010-2015.

Tim Brouw
Senior Partner
MPG Global

Tim Brouw has over 20 years experience in the field of architecture, architectural planning and strategic planning including extensive experience in the design and leadership of medium to large‐scale projects in the Middle East, Australia, China, North America and Canada. Tim has a proven track record in projects in the public and private sector with an emphasis on quality residential, commercial, mixed‐use, hospitality, sports & stadium developments and Olympic Games venues in Sydney, Athens and Beijing.

Tim has established excellent working relationships with project teams, consultants, Authorities and clients to obtain the best outcomes.

Tim is a Senior Partner with Major Projects Consult. Prior to this he was Director, Major Projects of AECOM Major Projects Group, where he led the global Major Events and Venues practice from the Group’s head offices in Dubai. His current focus is on the strategic development and planning of major land/mixed use developments, urban city regeneration and major events/venues planning and execution. He has extensive design management and project director experience on major hotels, leisure and resort complexes throughout the Middle East and Asia regions.

Tim has many years of international working experience, including many years in senior managerial positions with leading architectural practices, including large engineering and development firms as the clients representative. As Project Director he led the Jebal Hafeet Glazier Sports Development, a 2,200 hectare mixed use site including an iconic 5.2km ski slope, 8no 5 star hotels, golf courses, residential, water parks etc; 750 hectare White Bay development in Um Al Quwain including two new islands; 150 hectare Al Barari and unique Coconut Island Hotels & Spa.

Tim’s real passion is major events and sporting venues where he has led teams in Sydney, Beijing and Athens Olympic Games create the vision, develop and implement some of the most challenging infrastructure and iconic design venues that have won numerous awards and still stand today as being the most successful events in the history of the Olympic Movement.

Tim has won several awards for architecture throughout Australia and has authored numerous publications and technical papers in stadium design. He lectures extensively in major sporting events around the world and sits on technical judging panels for innovation and design for the next generation of architects and entrepreneurs.

He regularly lectures at international seminars and conferences on the subject of architectural influence in the world of major projects. He was a key guest lecturer at the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Sports Leadership Development at Ohio University,USA.

Robert Brophy
Chief Financial Officer
International Rugby Board

Born and educated in Dublin, Ireland
Graduated with a first class honours degree from Trinity College, Dublin and subsequent Masters in Business and Accounting from UCD.
KPMG Ireland and South Africa 1988-1992
Spent 4 years 1992-1996 with Grand Metropolitan Foods Ireland (now Diageo)
Joined IRB in 1996 and has helped grow the organisation from 6 staff to the current 76 with corresponding growth in turnover and scale of operations.
Keen sportsman, has represented Leinster Rugby at Under 19 level; 8 handicap golfer and keen tennis player.
Recently represented the IRB as Secretary-General at the IOC General assembly and ASOIF meetings around London 2012.

Business specialist areas are global financial and taxation challenges; event risk management; broadcasting and commercial negotiations.

Lars Haue-Pedersen
Managing Director
TSE Consulting

A trusted strategic counsellor to numerous international sports executives and organisations, Lars, who holds a Master of Sciences in Economics from Odense University, Denmark, is the Managing Director of TSE Consulting. Since founding TSE, he has distinguished himself as a master strategist and educator in the sports management field. He has helped build strategic management plans and international growth strategies for major international sports organisations, developed management training courses for sports organisations and event owners, and worked with national and regional governments on leveraging sports as an economic development engine. A respected academic expert on sports economics and management, Lars has lectured at numerous international universities across Europe, including the University of Lausanne (SUI), The International Centre for Sports Studies, Neuchatel (SUI), University of Applied Sciences, Kufstein (AUT) and the International Business Academy of St. Petersburg (RUS). He is also a regular speaker at many international sports conferences, including SportAccord’s “City Forum”, the USOC’s “Olympic SportsLink” and international events conference “City Events”. Further to his work for TSE Consulting, Lars provides independent expert statements for the Regional Court in Lausanne in court cases related to sports economics

Malcolm Tarbitt
Director Security & Risk Advisory
International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS)

Malcolm has over 30 years experience in major events, law enforcement, and security, including:

• Head of Game Wide Logistics & Security, Arab Games 2011 in Qatar
• Head of Event Logistics & Security, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup™ & 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™
• Security Consultant for South Africa’s 2004 Cape Town Olympic Bid, 2006 & 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Bids, & 2005 IWCC Cricket World Cup
• Logistics Director & Security, 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup™
• Head of Security for a former South African State president
• Brigadier, South African Police Service

Carter Pate
Chief Executive Officer
MV Transportation

Mr. Pate is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MV Transportation, Inc. headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

MV Transportation, Inc. is the largest private provider of paratransit services and the largest privately-owned passenger transportation contracting firm based in the United States. The company employs more than 16,000 dedicated transit professionals and operates more than 200 paratransit, fixed-route, shuttle, school bus and Medicaid contracts in 27 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Saudi Arabia. MV also operates transportation management and logistics contracts in the United Arab Emirates and the UK, to include London and Glasgow.

Mr. Pate comes to MV Transportation with more than 34 years of consulting, management and executive leadership experience spanning the full spectrum of business operations and finance in both the public and private sectors. He has worked extensively with Federal, State and Local governments, including the Department of Defense, Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Transportation and NASA.

Prior to joining MV in August 2011, Mr. Pate was the Global and U.S. Managing Partner for the Capital Projects, Infrastructure and Government practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”), headquartered in New York City. As Managing Partner, Mr. Pate directed more than $300 million in global transportation, infrastructure and capital improvement public and private sector projects for PwC in the areas of: high speed rail, toll roads, light rail, airports and seaports.  In this role, Mr. Pate worked extensively throughout Europe, notably Russia and the UK, as well as the Middle East, Brazil, China, Singapore, and Australia.

Mr. Pate is an acknowledged leader in transformational change, financial and operational controls, balance sheet restructuring, asset and cost realignment, workforce optimization, systems integration, and primary and secondary financing.

Prior to joining PwC, Mr. Pate was the Founding Partner of Pate, Winters& Stone, Inc. (PWS) providing management and consulting services in the areas of: crisis management, turnarounds, balance sheet restructurings, workouts, and bankruptcies of public companies.  He also served as Interim President, CEO, and a member of the Board of Directors of Sun Coast Industries, Inc., where he led the company from the NASDAQ exchange to the NYSE in less than one year.

Mr. Pate has been featured in countless news articles for publications such as, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Fortune Magazine, USA Today, Newsweek, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Business Journal and D Magazine. He has also been regularly featured on CNN, CNN-FN, CNBC, AT&T Broadband, Daily Deal, Money Talks, and other news programs. Mr. Pate’s book, The Phoenix Effect: Nine Revitalizing Strategies No Company Can Do Without, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., was released in March 2002. It has been translated into five languages, is used in business school courses, and is a featured course at Southern Methodist University.

Mr. Pate is a graduate of Greensboro College where he earned a B.S. degree in Accounting. He has served on the Greensboro College Board of Trustees since 1996, recently serving as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Pate also received his M.S. in Accountancy and Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas and holds the following certifications and clearances:

 Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York, Virginia, District of Columbia and Texas
 Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
 Certified Forensic Public Accountant (FCPA)
 Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM)
 Certified Insolvency Reorganization Accountant (CIRA)
 Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP)
 Member American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

Mr. Pate resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife of 35 years, Angela. They have three grown sons and one granddaughter.

Derek Wilson
Director
Derek Wilson Architects Ltd

Derek has over 20 year’s post-qualification experience. Almost his entire career has encompassed work on sports projects including the design and delivery of stadiums, masterplans, strategies, briefs and venue reviews.

He has played a key role in the development of statutory and other guidance including:

• Board Member of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (formally Football Licensing Authority) – regulating stadium safety in England and Wales and authors of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (the ‘Green Guide’); Accessible Stadia, Concourses etc.
• Member of the Institute of Structural Engineers’ Advisory Group on Temporary Structures (AGOTS)
• Member of the BSi and CEN Committee for Spectator Facility design since 1991

Derek’s experience includes some of the highest profile sports projects, such as the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal FC, Croke Park Stadium, Dublin, Sydney 2000 Olympics, Turin 2006 Olympics, Sochi 2014 Olympics ,Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Le Havre’s new stadium in France. Furthermore his work on the McAlpine (now John Smith) Stadium and the Reebox Stadium received the RIBA Building of the Year and Building Construction Industry Building of the Year awards, respectively.

He has a comprehensive understanding of both the Olympic Stadium and wider Olympic Park having developed the masterplan and provided all the venue designs for the Bid Book. Subsequently he acted as Head of Design for LOCOG covering the major Olympic and Paralympic competition and non-competition venues.

Simon Cory Wright
Director
TSE Consulting Middle East

As Director of TSE Consulting Middle East, based in Doha, Simon has over 20 years sports management and marketing experience. Passionate about the business of sport, Simon has a proven track record in guiding major event hosting strategy and building high-profile sports brands.

Simon’s career began in his native New Zealand, managing the sport sponsorship portfolio of the country’s largest financial services company, AMP. He helped run university skiing in his spare time, managing the New Zealand University Ski Team at the 1995 Winter Universiade in Spain and notably securing the first-ever television coverage of NZ university ski racing.

Moving to the UK, Simon became Marketing Manager of the PGA European Tour, where he negotiated some of the largest sponsorship deals in golf, presided over branding, marketing and economic impact studies for two Ryder Cups, and managed the re-branding of the European Tour in 2008.

Simon left to advise the City of Madrid on it’s bid to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, which was followed by a move to Qatar to help guide the country’s historic winning bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Now settled in Doha, Simon joined TSE Consulting in 2011 to establish TSE’s Middle East office.

Ingmar De Vos
Secretary General & CEO
Fédération Equestre Internationale

Ingmar De Vos, Secretary General & CEO, FEI

David Sidenberg
Partner & Head of Strategic Consulting
BMI Sport Info

Following a successful career with one of the leading Sport Sponsorship agencies, Sidenberg launched Sponsor Value Research Services, the strategic arm of BMI Sport-Info.  Spanning areas such as strategic fit assessment, rights packaging & commercialisation, target market penetration, sponsorship audits and fee analysis, broadcast & new media rights, David has provided analysis & consultation for Commercial Partners such as; Vodacom, Telkom, Coca-Cola, BP, Liberty Life, Discovery Health, Nike, ABSA and Sasol, - for Sporting Federations such as; Swimming SA, Boxing SA, Premier Soccer League (PSL), FIFA, 2010 LOC, SASCOC, PBL, TSA, UCB, SARU as well as for government, sponsorship agencies and all major broadcasters.

Recent Published Studies / major projects include:

• Deputy Minister of Sports Steering Committee member representing business for the delivery of the first South African Sports Plan (2011).
• Acting Chairperson for the National Sports Plan Funding Framework Task Team (2011)  
• South African White Paper on Sport, 2011 – Sport Sponsorship & Broadcast 
• AUB / UNESCO Feasibility study on the proposed launch of an African Audiovisual Observatory.
• BMi Top Sponsorship Decision Makers Survey –[1998 – 2011] 
• Socio-Economic Impact Assessment for Gauteng Future Champions (2009-2011) and SoccerEx (2007-2009)
• UK Sport, Canadian Olympic Committee & The Supreme Council for Sport (ZONE VI), “A Case for Sport in the SADC Region” 
• Gauteng Sport Recreation Arts & Culture - “Home of Competitive Sport” Strategy 
• BMI Adult SportTrack Report (1987- 2006) – Annual Tracking study on trends amongst adult Participants and Spectators per sporting code.

Heidi Ueberroth
President of International
NBA

Heidi Ueberroth joined the NBA in 1994 and has been instrumental in expanding the league’s global presence. In November 2009, she was named the first President of NBA International and is responsible for leading the NBA's operations outside the United States. She oversees a staff based in 14 offices worldwide that manage the NBA's international business activities across television and media, marketing partnerships, consumer products, events, marketing communications, and new business initiatives. Under her direction, NBA games and programming are televised to 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. Ueberroth played a central role in the formation of NBA China L.P., an entity that conducts all of the league's businesses in Greater China. She serves on NBA China's Board of Directors and was instrumental in securing strategic partnerships with the Bank of China, Legend Holdings, the Li Ka Shing Foundation, China Merchants Bank, and ESPN. Prior to joining the NBA, Ueberroth worked in sales and programming roles at ESPN and Ohlmeyer Communications Co. based in New York and Paris, France. Ueberroth's accomplishments have led to numerous honors. She has been named to Business Week's list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Sports and has received similar distinctions from the American Advertising Federation (AAF), Advertising Age and the Sports Business Journal. She is a Director of the Pebble Beach Company and of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, and is a trustee of the Cancer Research Institute. She also served on the Advisory Board for the 1999 Women's World Cup. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Ueberroth resides in New York City.

Kevin Roberts
Editorial Director
SportBusiness Group

Kevin Roberts was the launch editor of Sport Business International in 1996. Since then he has overseen the development of the monthly magazine and Sportbusiness.com, the world’s leading on-line source of information about the business of sport. Today SportBusiness Group also publishes the specialist newsletters TV Sports Markets and Sports Marketing Frontiers, provides contract editorial services for a range of clients and operates conferences. Roberts was previously a director of Plus Public Relations Ltd and cut his teeth in the business of sport in the early 1990s. As deputy director for communications at CPMA Group, he was responsible for the company’s PR and for media management at the 1991 Rugby World Cup and World Student Games among other projects. He has chaired and spoken at numerous international conferences including the International Olympic Committee’s Conference on Sport and New Media, SportAccord, the FT Sports Marketing Conference, the Australian Leaders in Sport Conference, Soccerex, Rugby Expo and various editions of Sportel in Monaco and Miami. He is a shareholder and chairman of the International Sports Event Management Conference held for each of the last eight years in London. He is a regular media spokesman on sport sector issues and has written for a range of national and international publications. Today Roberts combines his role at SportBusiness with wide-ranging communications consultancy in sport.

Graham Clews
Sports Editor / Presenter
Emirates News, Dubai One TV

The Sports Editor and Presenter on the regions most watched English-language daily news broadcast - Emirates News on Dubai One TV, part of Dubai Media Incorporated. Conducted well-respected , one-on-one interviews with high-profile figures such as; Tiger Woods, David Beckham, Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton, Rory McIlroy, Sir Bobby Charlton, Lawrence Dallaglio and Andy Murray to name a few. Graham’s background includes a large, distinguished family history in the entertainment industry which includes many BAFTA awards and nominations, directing and producing awards as well as starring roles in high-profile BBC and other major channels’ programmes.

Lew Sherr
Chief Revenue Officer
United States Tennis Association

Lewis H. Sherr is the Chief Revenue Officer for the USTA. In this role, he is responsible for corporate partnership sales and business development for the USTA, the US Open, the Emirates Airline US Open Series, community-based programs and all associated USTA properties. In addition, Sherr oversees the Partnership Marketing, Licensing and Hospitality departments. He works out of the association’s national headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. Sherr initially joined the USTA in 2010 as Managing Director, Corporate Partnerships, before being promoted to his current position in 2011. Previously, he worked at The Madison Square Garden Company in New York, where he served as the Senior Vice President, Marketing Partnerships, for both MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment. In that position, Sherr secured the largest sponsorship agreement in MSG Entertainment history with the creation and sale of the MSG Concert Series naming rights platform to ABSOLUT. He also oversaw partnerships with brand leaders such as American Express, Coca-Cola, Delta, Hilton, JetBlue and T-Mobile. Prior to his time with Madison Square Garden, Sherr served as Vice President, Client Partnerships at Time Warner Global Marketing, and as Regional Vice President at Clear Channel Advantage, both in New York, where he elevated strategic marketing and sales dialogue with top advertisers and agencies and strengthened and expanded client relationships. Sherr started his career at Wilson Sporting Goods Company in Chicago, where he rose to Managing Director of the Golf Division in Tokyo and led all business and marketing activity for Wilson’s golf clubs and golf balls. Sherr, 46, is a graduate of Duke University, where he received both his undergraduate degree and his MBA. Sherr, his wife MaryBeth and three children reside in Princeton, N.J.

Alexey Sorokin
CEO
2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Local Organising Committee

Alexey Sorokin represents a new generation of sports leaders in Russia. He led a number of key sports projects in Russia, including UEFA Champions League Final of 2008. The ultimate success of the Moscow UEFA Champions League Final, where he served as a Project Leader, made Alexey Sorokin a well recognised figure in the international football family. Education: Moscow State Linguistic University Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Career: 2011 – present: CEO of the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM Local Organising Committee 2009 – 2010: CEO of the Russia 2018 Bid Committee. Secretary General of the Russian Football Union 2008 - 2009: Director General of the Russian Football Union 2004 – 2008: Deputy Chairman for International Relations at the Moscow Physical Culture and Sports Committee Personal details: Fluent in English and French. Married, with one daughter

Mr. Azad Rahimov
Minister
Ministry of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ali El Garni
Sports Editor
Sky News Arabia

Ali El Garni Sports Editor at Sky News Arabia Ali has worked as a sports journalist for more than 15 years, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to Sky News Arabia. He previously held the positions of either Editor or Senior producer at different Sports outlets including SNTV, and the positions of either Presenter or senior reporter with ART and Showtime Arabia. Ali also worked for Abu Dhabi Sports TV and IMG as a senior sports reporter and producer. He has established himself as the TV face of Premier League football in the Middle East and North Africa that the acquisition of his services and expertise were among the top priorities of channels winning the rights to broadcast the Premier League in the region. As a sports journalist, Ali has covered high profile sporting events such as the Fifa World Cup, the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. He holds dual British and Moroccan nationality and is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

Mr. Changhui Zhu
Director of the Administrative Office
Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee

Mr. Zhu was born in Jiangsu Province in July of 1965. After graduating from Nanjing University with a Bachelor’s degree in Law, he has worked in different fields relating technology, education, culture, sports and public health. As one of the staffs during Nanjing’s bidding, his responsibilities include presentation materials as well as the Candidature File. He now works as the director of Administrative Office of NYOGOC, in charge of Government Relations, City Operations as well as Knowledge Management.

Caroline Ramsay
Media Specialist
Major Events

Caroline worked for the Olympics Host Broadcaster as Director of Broadcast Services in Sydney, Athens and Beijing for 3 – 4 years at a time living in the Host City. Movingon via the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 she is now working for the Glasgow 2014 Host Broadcaster.With London the focus for the last couple of years Caroline was head of Broadcast Operations for the London Media Centre. She is delighted to return to Dubai where she has looked after the international broadcast requirements of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the last 2 years.

H.E Yousuf Yaqoob Al Serkal
First Vice President
UAE NOC

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H.E Laila Suhail
Chief Executive Officer
Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment

• Vice president of UAE women sports comittee • Board Member of the Dubai Sports Council, Member of executive office of Dubai Sports Council, Head of Women’s Sports Committee • Member of the Executive Committee of the Department of Economic Development in Dubai • Board Member, Dubai Shopping Malls Group (DSMG) • Board Member, Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group (DGJG) • Advisor, Character Dubai, INDEX Conferences & Exhibitions Organization Est. • Facilitator, Retail Sector participation in “Dubai Cares” initiative Ms Suhail was appointed to CEO of Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) in 2008 and is responsible for the overall strategy for the Establishment, steering the development of its public and private sector partnerships, and building Dubai’s retail & events sectors. Ms. Suhail was part of DEPE’s growth from its inception, she contributed significantly through her creative skills in creating new brands and festivals including Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS, 1998), DSS mascot Modhesh (2000) and Eid in Dubai (2008), and in 2011, Ramadan in Dubai and the Dubai Calendar www.dubaicalendar.com. It is this growth and success which contributed to Dubai being named as the Middle East’s World Festival and Event City 2011 by the International Festivals and Events Association. Ms Suhail has also played a vital role in building relationships with private sector partners and was instrumental in the establishment of Dubai Shopping Malls Group and Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group, in which maintains an active role, as well as building strategic partnerships with corporate sponsors for DEPE events. Ms Suhail has been at the forefront of the growth and success of the Dubai Shopping Festival and in 2000, was awarded the Government Excellence Award by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, for breaking the existing sales record and creating a new benchmark for the highest sponsorship revenues during the event. Ms. Suhail began her career at the Dubai Shopping Festival Office, now DEPE, in 1997, and was previously Chief Strategy Officer with the Festival, managing the marketing, communication, corporate alliance, media and PR departments. Laila Suhail’s most recent appointment came from His Highness Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, when he assigned her to head the Women’s Sports Committee as one of the active members of the Executive Committee of the Dubai Sports Council. She was also appointed as the vice president of UAE women sports committee.

Hassan Al Thawadi
Secretary General
Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee

Hassan Al Thawadi holds the position of Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the organisation responsible for coordinating amongst government agencies within the state to ensure infrastructure and development projects are delivered in readiness for the event in 2022. His appointment in March 2011 as Secretary General follows on from his role as CEO in Qatar’s 2022 Bid Committee, in which he worked closely with Bid Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, promoting Qatar’s revolutionary and ultimately successful attempt to bring the FIFA World Cup to the Middle East for the first time. A graduate in Law from Sheffield University, Hassan is also General Counsel at Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Qatar Holding – entities founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to diversify the country’s economy and that have recently invested in Porsche, Volkswagen, Barclays Bank, the New York Stock Exchange and Harrods. Prior to joining QIA in 2006, Hassan worked for Qatar Petroleum.