Lucy Wray has announced that she will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of Saracens Group.
Wray spent four years in the role and will step down at the end of the month with Mark Thompson, the former Burnley Chief Operating Officer, set to replace her.
The Wray family have been involved with Saracens since 1995, when Nigel Wray first invested in the club.
Lucy Wray, said, “Now is the right time for a new adventure and to put myself and my family first albeit this has been a hugely difficult decision to make. I have been so honoured to be responsible for this incredible club. I have always felt that Saracens really belongs to the fans and the people who care so deeply for it. I have grown up with Saracens as part of me and I will never stop wanting the club to thrive. Thank you to all our staff and players of all three teams – I hope you know how much you all mean to me. I will always be a fan.”
Neil Golding, Chairman of Saracens, added, “We understand Lucy’s decision and wish her the best for the future. I would like to warmly welcome Mark Thompson as our new Chief Executive Officer. Mark was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Burnley Football Club with considerable leadership responsibilities. Mark has tremendous experience in revenue creation, media & marketing, value creation and industry innovation.”
E1, the new all-electric race boat championship, has announced that ITV and CBS Sports will be broadcast partners for its inaugural season.
The deal will bring the championship to audiences free-to-air across the UK and North America.
In the UK, national broadcaster ITV will broadcast the competition across ITV4 and ITVX with the first race kicking off in Jeddah on 2nd February 2024.
Additionally, E1’s official YouTube channel will stream the events for a global audience.
Richard Botchway, Assistant Commissioner for Sport at ITV, said, “ITVX and ITV4 are thrilled to announce a deal to showcase the excitement of E1, the world’s first all-electric raceboat championship.”
Rupert Hunter, Chief Commercial Officer of UIM E1 World Championship, added, “We are proud to be delivering a global event with two of the world’s broadcasting heavyweights that will take E1 to audiences in the UK and North America. These broadcast deals are of great strategic importance to E1 and we believe CBS Sports and ITV are perfectly positioned to deliver the drama of our World Championship racing proposition.”
The Scottish FA has partnered with Destination Sport Travel.
As per the agreement, Destination Sport Travel will support the Scotland national teams’ travel requirements ahead of this summer’s UEFA EURO 2024.
Destination Sport Travel currently works alongside Chelsea FC, City Football Group, Everton FC, the Football Association of Wales, Manchester United, Rangers Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Brendan Napier, Commercial Director of Scottish Football, said, “2024 promises to be an important year for the Scottish FA, with a number of major fixtures coming up for our national teams, so we are extremely pleased to have the support of Destination Sport Travel for our national team travel requirements.”
“Our men’s team competing at UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany will be a significant operation so having the expertise and experience that Destination Sport Travel bring to managing the travel requirements will be a major boost for the association and will help to ensure the team’s preparation goes as smoothly as possible.”
Extreme E, the electric off-road racing series, has announced global law firm Greenberg Traurig as the championship’s official legal services provider.
Ali Russell, Managing Director of Extreme E, said, “It is great to welcome Greenberg Traurig as our official legal services provider.
“Greenberg Traurig has an exceptional track record, especially across sports, media and entertainment globally, and we are thrilled to partner with them. Greenberg Traurig’s environmental and sustainability efforts are also hugely notable, and it is great to work with an organisation that shares the same ethos and attitude to climate change as Extreme E.”
British Cycling has appointed strategy and technology consultancy PTI Digital to develop a new digital transformation roadmap.
The agreement will see PTI analyse British Cycling’s entire technology estate – including processes, systems and suppliers – and ‘deliver a long-term roadmap that will drive efficiencies, increase memberships and create new commercial revenue.’
Stephen Brown, Director of Change at British Cycling, said, “Modernising our digital infrastructure is a key priority for us, as we strive to grow our sport and support more people to benefit from the joys of cycling. Our work with PTI will enable us to better connect with our communities, understand their wants and needs, and provide greater value for our participants and partners in the future.”
Ben Wells, Chief Executive Officer of PTI Digital, added, “Cycling has experienced a boom post-Covid, making British Cycling one of the most exciting organisations in British sport. However, as it represents seven quite different disciplines, all with different audiences and an elite calendar that never sleeps, the right technology and digital strategy is integral to success in every area of its strategy. We’re excited to be helping British Cycling make the decisions required to deliver even greater impact to the cycling community.”
London-based sports production and content business Sunset+Vine has been appointed to produce The Riyadh Cup.
The Riyadh Season Cup is part of the annual Saudi Arabian state-funded entertainment and sport festival known as
The Riyadh Season. This year, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will take on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. Both teams will also play Al-Hilal in the tournament.
Sunset+Vine will produce the Arabian studio output for the coverage which will be broadcast over four channels – MBC, BEIN Sports, DAZN and the Saudi Sports Channel (SSC).
Nick Moody, Head of Broadcast at Sunset + Vine, said, “We are honoured to have been chosen by Alamiya Media to produce these three programmes. It is also an acknowledgement of the editorial, creative and technical quality of our football production teams in both the UK & Italy who are coming together to deliver these productions.”
London-based sports management and marketing agency Areté has announced Tyson Henly as its first Chief Commercial Officer.
Henly was formerly at Nottingham Forest FC and AS Monaco as Chief Commercial Officer and has generated over £1.7 billion in sales revenue across various sectors.
Tyson Henly, the new Chief Commercial Officer, said, “I’m honoured to be joining the executive management team at Areté as their first Chief Commercial Officer at the start of a period of significant and aggressive growth. The strategic acceleration that Simon has envisaged for the business is both exciting and ambitious. So, I am very much relishing being a central part of that growth through building a highly successful and profitable Commercial division in the coming years.”
Simon Bayliff, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Areté, added, “Tyson’s appointment as our Chief Commercial Officer marks another pivotal moment for Areté’s present and future. With his extensive experience and profound insights into global sports marketing and sales, Tyson brings a dynamic energy that will drive our business forward. His strategic prowess and dedication to excellence perfectly align with our vision of empowering athletes, brands and rights holders to unlock their full potential. With Tyson at the helm of our new commercial division, we’re poised to chart new territories and redefine success for Areté in the sports industry.”
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