CSI Complete Leaders in Football Parent Company Takeover

Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) has completed the acquisition of the parent company of the popular ‘Leaders in Football’ conference, find Executive Sport Ltd (ESL).

London-based CSI was founded by Russian investors Vladimir Antonov and Roman Dubov alongside Chris Akers, a former CEO of Leeds United. The company also recently completed the takeover of North One Sport, the global promoter of the World Rally Championship, Isle of Man TT race series, Velux 5 Oceans Race and Clipper Round the World sailing events.

ESL has attracted more than 1,000 director-level delegates from over 45 countries through its flagship Leaders in Football operation in the past three years. ESL has also branched out into Leaders in Performance and Leaders in Sponsorship, while the annual Leaders in Sport gathering in Spain has also proved popular with industry executives.

James Worrall, the founder and CEO of ESL, stated: “The last three years have been incredibly exciting and rewarding as we have built a number of high level events from scratch under the ‘Leaders in’ brand. I would like to thank my staff for their outstanding work and I am delighted to say that my team will continue our roles under the Convers banner.”

Antonov added: “Convers Sports Initiatives are delighted to acquire a controlling interest in such a young, dynamic company as ESL. We will bring our experience and network to the table to assist ESL to become a truly global brand.” The annual Leaders in Football event will take place at Chelsea FC in London on October 5-6.