Directors’ Club Makes Impressive Debut in Russia
February 13, 2015
The iSportconnect Directors’ Club made a hugely successful debut in Moscow yesterday evening bringing together a good sized and active crowd for this first event of its kind in Russia.
The event, in association with PwC, brought together a total of around 50 delegates who were treated to a truly impressive panel, which featured international and local speakers, and an interesting combination of people representing leagues, clubs and sponsors.
The panellists were Rick Parry, founding CEO of the Premier League and former chief executive of Liverpool FC; Sergey Pryadkin, President of the Russian Football Premier League; Roman Babaev, General Director of the CSKA Moscow Football Club; Irina Tikhomirova, Director of Marketing and Communications of the Dynamo Moscow Football Club; and Alexander Ovechkin, Head of Football Assets at Coca-Cola Russia (filling in for Coca-Cola Russia Director of Marketing Assets, Mickael Vinet).
The discussion sessions were led by co-moderators Michael Cunnah, Chairman of iSportconnect, and Oleg Malyshev of PwC.
It was a lively, impassioned conversation – that switched back and forth between English and Russian – on the challenges and opportunities of doing business in the Russian sport industry, with a focus on Russian domestic football.
Michael Cunnah said: “I thoroughly enjoyed today’s event, our first event here in Moscow. I have a feeling that we just scratched the surface.
“It was such a big topic that there were many aspects that we didn’t have the time to fully discuss. I hope that we will come back another day to continue the conversation and maybe chart some of the progress that has been made.”
International guest speaker Rick Parry was very well received by the local delegates who gathered for the event.
He shared experiences and brought insight from the early years of the English Premier League, pointing out that the Premier League faced many of the same challenges that Russian football faces today, and also pointing out that Russian football has some definite strengths to build on, such as a large population, a rich tradition and a potentially huge catalyst in the upcoming 2018 World Cup.
Speaking after the event, Rick Parry said: “Great to see decision-makers coming together to debate issues, problems and opportunities. We don’t try to impose English solutions; we say to people that we had some problems in England, we have some experience – and maybe some of that is relevant and can trigger solutions that are right for Russia.
“That’s never easy, but what I saw tonight is some energy, some desire and some enthusiasm to find solutions.”
The event was extremely interactive. The discussion soon spread from the panel out to the floor, with so many representatives of Russian and international sporting organisations, as well as Russian and international brands, in attendance.
Oleg Malyshev added: “I believe that the event was very successful. I am pleased that we were able to gather a really interesting group of decision-makers who are involved in either managing sports clubs or managing investments in and sponsorship of clubs.
“In particular, I think it was great that the format allowed us to have a truly open discussion on what we need to change and what we need to do to make sport a more successful business.”
Several delegates expressed their satisfaction with the format of the event – in particular the frank, open and informal tone. Several noted that opening up a dialogue among sports industry players was an important first step in addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities presented by today’s Russian football industry.
Many participants said they’d welcome the opportunity to attend any further such events and to chart progress against some of the points raised in last night’s discussion.
Panellist Sergey Pryadkin commented: “I liked the event and thought it was extremely useful. As leader of the Russian Football Premier League, I can say that we will continue to participate in and help support the organization of such events in Russia in the future.”
More pictures below
(Panellist Irina Tikhomirova, Director of Marketing and Communications of the Dynamo Moscow Football Club)
(Panellist Sergey Pryadkin, President of the Russian Football Premier League)
(Questions from the floor during the Q&A session)
(Delegates involved in the discussion)
(Alexander Ovechkin, Head of Football Assets at Coca-Cola)
(Roman Babaev, General Director of the CSKA Moscow Football Club)
(Networking in full flow in Moscow)
The Directors’ Club will be returning to London on 17th March, for more information visit the event webstte here.
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