During the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sports Innovation Lab, a market intelligence firm for sportstech, launched is first-ever Leadership Boards for the sports industry.
Each Leadership Board addresses a specific challenge facing sportstech and then convenes thought leaders to collaboratively solve for the issue, under the independent guidance of Sports Innovation Lab. The inaugural Leadership Board is focusing on athlete data, with the goal of creating measurement standards that athletes, teams, leagues, and sportstech companies can integrate into future initiatives.
The members of the Athlete Data Leadership Board were publicly unveiled at the CES Sports Zone ahead of their first board meeting, and include members from leagues, tech, and academia:
- Co-Chair: Dr. Leslie Saxon, Professor of Medicine and Executive Director of University of Southern California’s Center of Body Computing
- Co-Chair: Josh Walker, Co-Founder and President, Sports Innovation Lab
Damani Leech, Senior Vice President, Football Strategy and Business Development of NFL - Lawrence Epstein, COO of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)
Dr. Travis McDonough, CEO of Kinduct - Kate Blanchard, COO of ORIG3N
- Karen Bryant, CEO of Atavus
- Sean Sansiveri, Vice President of Business, Legal, Health & Safety at NFL Players Association
- Zach Maurides, CEO of Teamworks
- Scott Butera, President Interactive Gaming of MGM Resorts International
- Will Ahmed, CEO and Founder, Whoop
- Dr. Brian Moore, CEO of Orreco
- David Lehanski, SVP, Business Development and Global Partnerships of NHL
- Jeremy Aisenberg, VP Strategic Initiatives, Octagon
- Robert Basham, Director Special Projects/ Assistant Director Player Development, Chicago Cubs
- DraftKings
“Through conversations with sports leaders and from what we see daily in our software platform, we know that by creating standards around athlete data for performance and fan engagement, this Leadership Board will help shape the future of sport,” said Angela Ruggiero, CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab and a four-time Olympian. “Sports executives have been waiting for a solution, or trying creating one in isolation. By bringing the proven model of Leadership Boards to the sports industry, our intention is to accelerate the process by creating consensus and providing actionable solutions for the business of sports.”
“A diversity of ideas makes for creative solutions,” said Damani Leech, senior vice president, Football Strategy and Business Development at NFL. “Our foundational premise of creating athlete data standards is that they will lead to measurable improvements in health, safety, and performance for athletes in every sport.”
Beyond Athlete Data, Leadership Boards will convene around other trends that Sports Innovation Lab analyzes through its proprietary software, including, but not limited to: esports, Smart Venue, Immersive Media, and Next Generation Sponsorship. To deliver the innovative results needed to solve industry-wide challenges, each Leadership Board is invite-only, determined by Sports Innovation Lab’s research and knowledge of the companies leading each sector. Participation in a Leadership Board includes the following benefits:
- Networking: Collaboration with like-minded C-suite execs through quarterly board meetings
- Thought leadership: The ability to forever influence the future of sports through each individual’s participation
- Promotion: Inclusion in press, promotional materials and events
- Research access: Access to Sports Innovation Lab’s software platform, and all the data-driven insights that come with it, as well as weekly and monthly curated research from Sports Innovation Lab
For more information about Leadership Boards, reach out to us via our contact form at www.sportsilab.com.
