Widely acknowledged to be an industry leader and trendsetter, Kim Skildum-Reid is a corporate sponsorship strategist, trainer, coach, and writer with 24 years' experience and a blue-chip client list from around the globe.

Corporate Leadership Committee

Rob Assimakopoulos
Senior Vice President Marketing & Commercial Assets, CFL

Rob joined the Canadian Football League as the Vice President of Marketing in August, 2007.  In that role, Rob defined and sharpened the League brand positioning, led the creation and execution of new marketing initiatives and delivered plans to drive sustained growth across the League’s licensing business.  In May 2008 Rob was promoted to Sr. Vice-President, Marketing and Commercial Assets, assuming additional responsibility for Partnerships sales and Broadcast/Digital Media assets. 

Rob began his career with Ford Motor Company of Canada as a Financial Analyst. He then joined the Brand Marketing Team at Procter & Gamble Canada, where he worked in the Canadian Oral Care and fabric care divisions, before going on to P&G's Global Strategic Planning group in Cincinnati, where he led marketing strategy and innovation for P&G's global fabric care business.

Rob joined Molson Canada in 2001 as Director of Marketing Innovation. He led several business development and innovation initiatives, including the launch of Molson's first-ever owned import brand, A Marca Bavaria. Rob was promoted to VP Marketing in 2003, and after launching several new initiatives and building Molson's innovation pipeline, he moved over to spearhead the re-launch of the Molson Canadian brand in 2004.  Rob also led the re-branding of the Molson corporate brand, and assumed responsibility for Molson’s value brands and their super premium/imports brands portfolio, including Rickard’s, Heineken, Corona, Miller, Tiger, and Foster’s.

Ayala Deutsch
Senior Vice President & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, NBA

Ayala Deutsch is Senior Vice President & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at NBA Properties, Inc. in New York, where she oversees the acquisition, protection and enforcement throughout the world of intellectual property rights belonging to the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Basketball Association Development League (NBA D-League) and USA Basketball. Her specialties include trademark law, copyright law and internet law. 

Ms. Deutsch received her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1989.  Ms. Deutsch joined NBA Properties in January 1998 and was named to oversee the intellectual property department in September 2000.  Prior to joining the NBA, Ms. Deutsch was an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York, where she specialized in intellectual property litigation and arbitration.  Ms. Deutsch formerly was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Trademark Association and currently chairs the International Amicus Committee.  Ms. Deutsch also co-chairs the New York State Bar Association Committee on Sports Law and Deutsch is an Adjunct Professor of sports law at Cardozo School of Law.  Previously, Ms. Deutsch served as a member of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Marc Reeves
International Commercial Director, National Football League

Marc Reeves joined the NFL in 2010 as International Commercial Director. In this role, Marc is responsible for marketing, fan development, sponsorship and commercial efforts for the league outside of the US, which is broadcast in over 230 countries.

Prior to the NFL, Marc was a Vice President of IMG’s Consulting division in 2000 responsible for client management and West Coast business development. In that role, he was responsible for oversight and management of numerous corporate client accounts, including Visa, Electronic Arts and Safeco Insurance. He advised companies in global strategic direction and marketing activation around various sports and entertainment properties including the FIFA World Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Rugby World Cup, NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, Fashion Week and numerous music and lifestyle events. Marc also worked on the development and implementation of strategic sports and entertainment marketing initiatives for DHL, 24 Hour Fitness, 2K Sports, Kia Motors, Crowne Plaza, Wells Fargo, McDonald’s, Intel, Target and Sega, among others. Prior to joining the consulting division, Marc was responsible for business development efforts of IMG owned properties including the US Open of Surfing, Sony Ericsson Open, Bank of the West Classic, Battle at Bighorn, Mervyn’s Beach Bash and Deutsche Bank Championship. In addition, he was an initiating leader in the growth and development of emerging business areas of IMG, including Action Sports, Online Marketing, and Video Gaming.

Stuart Cameron
Vice President Regional Sponsorships, MasterCard Worldwide

As MasterCard’s Vice President, Regional Sponsorships Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa, based in Singapore, Stuart is responsible for developing the region’s sponsorship strategy, negotiating sponsorship contracts and managing key sponsorship properties across the sports, entertainment & lifestyle segments including Rugby World Cup 2011, Mumbai Indians and Asia Fashion Exchange. Previously, Stuart was based at MasterCard’s head office in New York, where he managed MasterCard’s Global Entertainment Sponsorship Team that included managing global relationships with NBC•Universal and Universal Music Group.

Prior to joining MasterCard Stuart worked in multiple industries, including travel and tourism, high-tech, and beverage and in multiple markets, including England, Ireland and New Zealand. Stuart earned a B.Com from the University of Canterbury and a MBA from Darden Business School, University of Virginia.

Lynn Berling-Manuel
Chief Marketing Officer, American Youth Soccer Organization

Ryan Eckel
Head of Marketing - Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, India, Puma

Kevin Plumb
Commercial Solicitor, Premier League

Erica Kerner
Global Olympic Games Director & Head of London 2012 Project , adidas

David Bedford
Marketing & Communications Director, Canadian Olympic Committee

Miguel Portela
Legal Counsel - Intellectual Property, FIFA

Barbara Emener Karasek
Director of Corporate Marketing, PGA

Lisa Mark
Senior Director Marketing Services, Mizuno

Lisa Mark is a strategic brand marketer with over 15 years of experience in consumer products, sporting goods, entertainment, & management consulting.  With a proven track record of delivering exceptional results across a variety of industries and business challenges, Ms. Mark’s experience spans marketing for brands across all stages of the product life cycle, including start-ups, growth, and mature brands. As Senior Director, Marketing Services for Mizuno USA, Inc., Ms. Mark spearheads the marketing strategies & tactics for the U.S. operations of Mizuno Corporation, a global sporting goods firm. 

Ms. Mark joined Mizuno Corporation in 1997 and quickly became the driving force behind creating a compelling brand strategy and brand positioning for the Mizuno brand in the United States, which, in turn, propelled the brand to significant gains in brand awareness, market shares, and profitability.  Leading all brand marketing efforts for Mizuno in the U.S., Ms. Mark oversees brand strategy, advertising, promotions, packaging, experiential marketing, in-store merchandising, tradeshows, public relations, digital/social media/ e-marketing, and market research across the full spectrum of Mizuno USA’s sports categories, including golf, baseball, softball, volleyball, running, and track & field.

Angie Burton
Executive Group Marketing, Absa Bank

Daniel Courtemanche.
Senior Vice President Marketing & Communications, Major League Soccer/ Soccer United Marketing

One of the original members of the Major League Soccer staff, Dan Courtemanche manages internal and external communications for MLS, and serves as a member of the marketing team for the League and its sister company, Soccer United Marketing.

Courtemanche returned to MLS and SUM in March of 2005 after serving in various capacities with the League Office from 1995-2001.  Prior to returning MLS and SUM, Courtemanche served as the Dodge Tour de Georgia’s deputy executive director and was vice president of business development and communications for the Women’s United Soccer Association. Courtemanche started his career with Atlanta-based sports and event marketing firm Strategic Sports Specialists in 1990.

Gavin Cowley
Marketing Director, adidas South Africa

Faculty

Rory Squires
Managing Editor, The Sport Briefing

Rory Squires is the Managing Editor of The Sport Briefing, a premium sports business and administration news service.

Rory previously had editorial responsibility for the Sports Media, Football Insider, Sport Cities & Venues, Sports Betting Update and Soccerex Business News publications.
He also served as the Editor of Sport Insider, the official bulletin and magazine for the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), and he has been the official conference summariser of the SportAccord Convention since the 2008 event in Athens.

Rory has chaired public panel sessions at the Soccerex London Forum and the Sport & Technology Conference.

Before specialising in sports business and administration news, he worked on the Press Association's international sports desk and was a freelance writer for a number of national newspapers in the UK. 

Ed Meikle
Partner and the Head of the Brand Protection Group, UK National Law Firm Watson Burton LLP

Ed Meikle is a partner and the head of the Brand Protection Group at UK national law firm Watson Burton LLP.  Ed specialises in advising on the capture, protection, commercialisation and enforcement of all intellectual property rights, and has acted for many well-known sports clubs, sports governing bodies and sports clothing and apparel manufacturers.  He is a nationally-recognised leader in his field, with particular expertise in advising on the legal issues involved in the development, management and protection of brands, recently advising football clubs on:

• Closing fake Twitter accounts
• Removing infringing content from Facebook
• Shutting down unauthorised mobile phone apps on iTunes
• Co-ordinating the cancellation or transfer of numerous unauthorised domain name registrations

Legal directory Chambers UK says Ed is “highly regarded in the marketplace, particularly for his trade mark-related work”, whilst the Legal 500 reports that clients are “very confident in the advice” of Ed Meikle and are impressed by his team’s “quality of work, professionalism and rapport”.With offices in London, Leeds and Newcastle, Ed’s team acts for national and multinational businesses, including FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies.

Kim Skildum-Reid
Corporate Sponsorship Strategist, Consultant

Widely acknowledged to be an industry leader and trendsetter, Kim Skildum-Reid is a corporate sponsorship strategist, trainer, coach, and writer with 24 years’ experience and a blue-chip client list from around the globe. Current and past clients include Target Corporation, Walt Disney Company, Dubai Government, Singapore Sports Council, Qantas, Mazda, ANZ Bank, Air New Zealand, ABN AMRO, Lion Nathan, Optus Communications, Telstra, Volvo, Telecom NZ, General Motors Holden, QBE Insurance, and many more.

Before moving to Australia in 1992, Kim worked for numerous Fortune 500 companies on sponsorships of some of America’s biggest events, concert tours, and sporting organisations. Now based in Sydney, she provides high-level sponsorship consulting, training, and coaching to clients on five continents.

Kim is co-author of two of the world’s bestselling sponsorship books, The Sponsor’s Toolkit and The Sponsorship Seeker’s Toolkit (now in its Third Edition). Kim also wrote controversial industry book, The Ambush Marketing Toolkit, which was released in September 2007. All three were published by McGraw-Hill.

Jeffrey Bliss
President, The Javelin Group

Jeffrey Bliss is president of The Javelin Group, a global team of experienced marketers focused on building new revenue and brand equity for industry leaders. Jeff has over 30 years of senior management and marketing experience across a range of Fortune 500s, start-ups and global organizations.

He was most recently President/CEO of the Sara Lee Olympic Partnership that drove $500 million in incremental retail sales and created $200 million in new business for 23 Sara Lee brands, including Champion, Hanes, Coach and Hillshire Farm in 17 countries. Opportunities were created through new channels and partners; new products/categories; e-commerce and digital media; major property opportunities (sports, entertainment, cause-related); and internationally via acquisitions and partnerships. Jeff was previously CMO/SVP of World Cup USA 1994 responsible for all marketing and revenue generation, including over $500M in retail sales that resulted in a $50 million+ surplus that funded the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Jeff was also Director of Corporate Relations for the 1984 LA Olympics responsible for the 120 corporate sponsors and suppliers that resulted in an Olympic record $223 million surplus used to fund the Amateur Athletic Foundation.

Jeff was in senior brand management with top marketers including The Gillette Company/P&G, Xerox Corporation, H.P. Hood and New Balance, Inc., building revenue and brands on a national and global scale. He was subsequently a marketing/management consultant with MCA and Fusion 5 for major retail and package goods clients. He was selected as ANA/Brandweek Marketer of the Year in 1996.

Peter Larum
Senior Vice President, Marketing, Global Brands Group

Peter is a specialist in brand marketing. In his current role, he heads GBG’s global marketing division responsible for the brand development and marketing support services of the intellectual properties that Global Brands Group represents.
Previously, Peter was the Head of Licensing for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games where he worked across several Sydney 2000 Olympic Games divisions including brand marketing, sponsorship, consumer products, torch relay and ticketing.
Throughout his professional career, Peter has also held senior marketing roles in internationally recognised advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion and consumer products licensing organisations including Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Ogilvy & Mather and Foote Cone Belding.

Rick Horrow
CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures; Sports Business Analyst for CNN, Fox Sports, and the Fox Business Channel

As CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures, Rick Horrow has been the architect of 103 deals worth more than $13 billion in sports, performing arts, and other urban infrastructure projects.  Horrow is also Sports Business Analyst for CNN and the FOX family of media properties, including FOXSports.com, FOX Sports Radio, and the FOX Business Channel.
In May 2008, Horrow joined Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. of counsel to enhance the firm’s sports and entertainment law and facilities development practices.
A popular speaker, writer and commentator on the business, law and politics of sports, he has been a regular guest on Fox Sports “Best Damn Sports Show, Period,” and PBS-TV “Nightly Business Report.” His clients have included the NFL, Major League Baseball, PGA Tour, NASCAR, Great White Shark Enterprises (Greg Norman), Ladies Professional Golf Association, Major League Soccer, General Sports Venue/AstroTurf, Cisco Systems, CA, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Golden Bear International (Jack Nicklaus), Portland Trail Blazers, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and the State of West Virginia.  

Matthew J. Mitten
Professor of Law and Director, National Sports Law Institute, Marquette University Law School

Professor Mitten is the Director of the National Sports Law Institute and the LL.M. in Sports Law program for foreign lawyers at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He served as the Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from July 2002 to June 2004.  He currently teaches courses in Amateur Sports Law, Professional Sports Law, and Torts and has also taught Antitrust Law, Comparative Sports Law, International Sports Law, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and a Sports Law seminar.

Professor Mitten earned a B.A. in Economics from The Ohio State University and his JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Toledo College of Law. He is a member of the Order of the Coif and served as a Note & Comment Editor for the University of Toledo Law Review’s editorial board. He practiced antitrust and intellectual property law with Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia from 1984-1989. He taught at South Texas College of Law in Houston from 1990-1999 and has been a visiting professor at the University of Toledo College of Law as well as a visiting lecturer in sports medicine at The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine. Matt has been appointed a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School in Australia (2006, 2008, and 2010) and is a member of the International Advisory Board for its Graduate Diploma in Sports Law program. He also has taught sports law courses at the University of Barcelona in Spain and the University of Queensland in Australia.

Ralph Cindrich
CEO, Cindrich & Company

Ralph Cindrich is a member of the Texas and Pennsylvania bar. He was a 1972 5th round NFL draft choice and played professional football with the Houston Oilers and the New England Patriots for four years from 1972 to 1975. Ralph played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh where he was a two-sport All-American and All-East in football (1969, 1971) and wresting (Eastern Champion, 4th NCAA, 1969). He went to South Texas College of Law while playing with the Oilers in 1975 and started representing players in 1977.

He has had involvement in every NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement as a player and agent. In 1988 he joined International Management Group as President of the football division for approximately three years. He returned to operate as Cindrich & Co. after IMG and then joined 5-time Super Bowl Champion owner Eddie DeBartolo’s firm as Chief Operating Officer in 2006.  He now serves as a consultant to DeBartolo. Ralph is a Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated Attorney, the highest attorney rating.  He is on the list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Who’s Who, and others. His legal experience includes business law, murder trials, and Tax Court litigation. Ralph is also an expert witness; retained in such notable cases as OJ McDuffie, Kory Stringer, and the David Griggs death case. He has spoken at numerous Bar Association functions, law schools, and colleges.

Robert Macdonald
Senior Fellow, Sports Law Program, University of Melbourne

Robert is a Senior Fellow in the Melbourne Law School Sports Law Program and has over 10 years of academic experience. He is also a Senior Research Consultant for Twenty3 Sport & Entertainment, where he is the leader of the governance and economics projects.

Robert holds a BCom (Hons) and an LLB from the University of Melbourne, and is completing a Doctorate, 'League Structures, Labour Markets and Competitive Balance: A Study of the Australian Football League' in the Faculty of Business & Economics at Melbourne. His research on the economics of Australian sporting competitions has been published in several academic journals, book chapters, trade journals and newspapers. He has lectured at Melbourne, La Trobe, Griffith and Victoria University in the fields of sports management, sports law, sports economics, industrial relations, human resource management, and governance.

Robert has consulted to the Australian Football League and parties involved in basketball and motorsport on matters of league structure, labour market regulation, competitive balance and team sponsorship. While Managing Director of sports consultancy Premiership Strategies International Pty Ltd, he was one of the developers of the well regarded ‘Premiership Strategies’ sports marketing and sponsorship conferences, held in 2003 and 2005 in conjunction with industry association the Australian Marketing Institute.  Robert has been a member of the Editorial Board of the Sport Management Review, and currently contributes to thesportseconomist.com blog. He has also held a directorship of University College (University of Melbourne).

Brian McNamara
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP

Brian J. McNamara is a partner with Foley. A member of the firm's Intellectual Property Litigation; Electronics; and Trademark, Copyright & Advertising Practices, his legal skills include patent, trademark, and copyright protection, licensing and litigation, and the protection of trade secrets. He is also a member of the Sports Industry Team.

Bill Cooper
Partner, twentyten group

Having joined the recently launched twentyten group, a full service sports and entertainment agency out of Vancouver, Bill Cooper is the former director of commercial rights management for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Given the remarkable success of the 2010 Games with respect to brand management and delivering on its promise of exclusivity for partners to the Games, Cooper is well positioned to share best practices for IP asset management in Canada and beyond.

In his role as Director of Commercial Rights Management for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Cooper managed the use of the Olympic and Paralympic Brands as well as servicing the marketing rights for all Non-Commercial partners to the Games. These responsibilities involved striking a healthy balance between ensuring the requisite protection of the marketing investment made by sponsors and partners while at the same time allowing for meaningful community engagement with Canada’s Games.

Colin McLeod
Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Retail Studies, Monash University

Dr. Colin McLeod recently joined Monash University as an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing and the Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS).

Colin worked at the AFL for 6 years, including a role as Head, Research and Innovation at the Australian Football League, having previously been General Manager – Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs. Colin was previously Executive Director, Marketing and Brand Management at Goldman Sachs JBWere, following several years as Group Marketing Manager for Telstra's Mobiles division.

He joined Telstra after an academic career including appointments at the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Business School and the Haas School of Business at the University of California – Berkeley and honorary appointments as a Senior Associate of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Fellow of Monash University. Colin holds a BA, an MBA and a PhD, with the Commercialisation of Innovation as the topic of his doctoral thesis.