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Leonard Armato, shown in 2013, has a vested interest in beach volleyball in Rio.
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I had a drink Monday with Management Plus Enterprises Founder & CEO Leonard Armato at the Bar Astor on Ipanema Beach, just as a hot, sunny day turned into a rainy, windy night here in Rio. As the former CEO of the AVP World Tour and current owner of the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball, Armato is taking a special interest in the Games’ marquee event on Copacabana Beach.
■ What’s on your agenda here in Rio?
ARMATO: One of the great things about the Olympics is you get to connect with a lot of old friends and business relationships that you otherwise would be traveling all over the country or world to meet up with. So I get to see people like Chris Curtin from Visa, who I haven’t seen in awhile, John Lewicki from McDonald’s, John Slusher from Nike -- just different folks I’ve had relationships over the years, and they’re all in one place at one time. So that’s fun, that’s exciting. Katie Bayne from Coke.
And it’s also a chance to experience the Olympic Games, which is awesome, and I’ve done every one of them pretty much. And to come to Rio and to also be able to experience the culture of Brazil and Rio, in connection with the Olympics, is certainly worthwhile as well.
■ How does this compare to the other four Summer Games you’ve attended?
ARMATO: It reminds me a little bit of Athens. Because Athens is a third-world country, and they were really working on the infrastructure to get it done for the Games, a little bit like Brazil. And some of the venues aren’t really finished, and it seems to me that some of these venues after the Games are over are going to be a little like eyesores or white elephants. But having said that, Brazil’s really embracing the Games and the culture is infectious.
■ Beach volleyball is a major point of emphasis for these Games. Has it lived up to the hype? There’s been empty seats, cold weather …
ARMATO: I think it has and it will continue to get even more exciting because Brazilian teams are moving forward in the matches. Tomorrow night, Kerri Walsh Jennings, who we manage, will be going against a Brazilian team in the semifinals to get into the Gold-Medal match, so that will be crazy. There was a match today when a Brazilian men’s team beat an American team, and they’ll move on (Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt beat Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucerna in three sets). The venue is spectacular, you can see the ocean from the venue, it’s in an iconic place. [Editor’s note: On Tuesday, Cerutti and Schmidt of Brazil advanced to Thursday’s men’s Gold-Medal match, while Walsh Jennings and Ross lost to the Brazilian women’s pair and will play in tonight’s women’s Bronze-Medal match.]
■ How do you parlay an exciting Olympic beach volleyball tournament into greater prominence for your own event?
ARMATO: The Olympic movement gives beach volleyball a great platform and showcase. We hope to expand upon that. The sport needs to become a little bit more popular in the mainstream of the U.S. It’s a little bit too much of a niche sport, and that’s why I think our festival concept is really strong.
■ So there are new fans watching this week who might not otherwise?
ARMATO: I think the Olympics give the sport the mass visibility and top-of-mind interest, and it’s incumbent upon us to take advantage of that. We’re lucky that the week after the Olympic Games, all the top athletes are coming to Long Beach, Calif., to play, and we get to showcase what we do, which is music, open competition and beach lifestyle. Hopefully we’ll get a real bump from that and people will want to watch Kerri Walsh Jennings after her performance here in Rio.
