New SportNXT conference announces speakers for April event

Postponed from 2021, the organisers of Melbourne’s inaugural SportNXT conference have announced international speakers including Formula1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, US Women’s National Soccer Team Captain Megan Rapinoe and World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe as global keynote presented.

Scheduled to be held from 6th to 8th April at the new CENTREPIECE venue at Melbourne Park, SportNXT will be gathering global, regional, and domestic sporting leaders and athletes who will probe the issues and opportunities for the sector in years to come both in Australia and internationally.

Among other eminent sporting leaders speaking at the conference are Andrew Georgiou, President of Eurosport (Discovery); Heidi Browning, the Chief Marketing Officer of the National Hockey League; Alan Gilpin, Chief Executive of World Rugby and Tyler Bern, Head of Content at Amazon Prime Video (ANZ).

They feature alongside Josephine Sukkar, Chair of the Australian Sports Commission; former Austalian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop; AFL and Qantas Chair Richard Goyder; Telstra Chief Executive, Andy Penn and Chair of the Advisory Committee for Rugby World Cup 2027 bid, Sir Rod Eddington.

Introducing the event, SportNXT Chairman, Eddie McGuire commented “This event has been in the making for some years and we’re extremely proud of not only the calibre of speakers we’ve secured, but also delegates we’re attracting. We’re confident attendees will find it an extremely rewarding and inspiring professional development opportunity.

“Forums like these are breeding grounds for cutting-edge innovation, sector-shaping ideas and investment and best-practice collaboration. Businesses in our industry can’t afford to miss being part of this discussion, those in attendance will help shape their business into the future with world leading expertise.”

“Corralling the brightest minds in sport into one place for a future-focussed forum promises so much for the sector  there will be no issue too big to tackle or opportunity too far-fetched to realise with this group.”

The conference’s agenda has been put together by McGuire along with sport executives Scott Dinsdale and Bart Campbell, and will cover myriad important themes and topics, including:

• COVID’s impact on the sector and charting success in a new world;

• Accelerating women’s sport;

• Sport and media in 2030;

• Sport and indigenous peoples;

• Sport and society - advocacy, sustainability, diversity and diplomacy;

• The future of data and technology, including a focus on blockchain;

• The future fan - marketing and fan engagement in a digital age and visioning the ‘future of live’; and

• Emerging trends - the rise of Asia, evolving investment models, gaming and more.

SportNXT offers both an in-person live summit experience for Australian and Asia-Pacific attendees and a digital-only pass for international delegates if they are unable to attend in person.

Click here for SportNXT details on these in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Images (top, clockwise from top left): NBA Commissioner Adam Silver; US Women’s National Soccer Team Captain Megan Rapinoe; World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe; AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan; Australian Sports Commission Chair Josephine Sukkar and Telstra Chief Executive, Andy Penn and (below, clockwise from top left), Formula1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali; World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin; former Austalian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop; Walt Disney Company (ANZ) Managing Director and Western Bulldogs President, Kylie Watson Wheeler; NHL Chief Marketing Officer Heidi Browning; NRL Chief Executive Andrew Abdo and Eurosport (Discovery) President Andrew Georgiou.