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Sports Business Awards

Sports Executive of the Year

Photo by: WME-IMG


Ari Emanuel / Patrick Whitesell


Co-CEOs, WME-IMG


In the days after WME-IMG announced its $4 billion acquisition of the UFC, Dana White was ecstatic. The UFC president was already envisioning the places his sport could go with co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell charting the course as new owners..

“I think Ari is going to sell this deal in ways that we wouldn’t have,” White said. “He’ll monetize it all in ways we wouldn’t have. … This is what he does.”.

WME-IMG’s charge into the UFC, on the heels of acquiring Professional Bull Riders the year before, reflects the company’s eye on properties it can own, grow and diversify across the athletes, events and sponsorships it represents..

Emanuel and Whitesell also partnered with Turner to launch ELeague, a professional esports league that premiered in 2016, and with that extended their commitment to finding new business opportunities at the intersection of sports and entertainment.


Photo by: TURNER


David Levy


President, Turner


Turner President David Levy was beaming as he stood on the NRG Stadium court in the hours before the 2016 Final Four was about to tip off. Levy spoke of media history that was about to be made, as this would be the first time the Final Four and championship game would be carried on cable.

Levy did not stop with the NCAA tournament, a deal that he and CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus extended through 2032.

Among Turner’s progressive moves: Esports is among the hottest sectors in sports, so Levy launched the ELeague with WME-IMG. Leagues are trying to attract younger fans, so Levy cut some commercials out of TNT’s Monday night NBA telecasts and launched “Area 21” to keep younger viewers tuned in. Turner’s beefed-up Bleacher Report has grown so much that it now reaches more than 250 million people each month across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.


Photo by: CHICAGO CUBS


Tom Ricketts


Chairman, Chicago Cubs


Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts transformed the so-called Lovable Losers into epic sports history, overseeing the demise of the club’s infamous 108-year title drought with last year’s dramatic seven-game World Series victory. Going far beyond on-field success, Ricketts also led a top-to-bottom overhaul of the franchise, reshaping business operations and preserving Wrigley Field for generations to come with a large-scale renovation of the ballpark and immediate Wrigleyville neighborhood.

For many years one of baseball’s underperforming franchises, the Cubs under Ricketts’ leadership have become an industry force, pop culture phenomenon and community anchor as the club set records for merchandise sales, registered strong increases in every other line of revenue and deepened its ties to the city of Chicago and its residents. Ricketts has also become a highly influential voice within baseball at large, and is a member of MLB’s Executive Council.


Photo by: NBPA


Michele Roberts


Executive Director, National Basketball Players Association


Facing her biggest test since becoming the first female head of a major sports union in North America, Michele Roberts successfully negotiated a seven-year collective-bargaining agreement with the NBA that increased roster sizes, returned licensing and marketing rights to the union, and provided a host of benefits for players, all without a stoppage in play.

The new CBA includes tuition assistance for players who want to go back to school and a retiree health program for players with at least three years of service in the NBA. By bringing players’ marketing and merchandising rights in-house, the union is free to sign competitive licensing and sponsorship deals, explore additional player-only licensed product agreements, and stage and sell its own events.

Roberts’ work since her appointment in 2014 has moved the union and the league toward an era of partnership to the benefit of the players.


Photo by: NBA


Adam Silver


Commissioner, National Basketball Association


Adam Silver presides over an NBA that under his leadership finds itself in an unprecedented era of prosperity. Over the past year, Silver has negotiated a new collective-bargaining agreement with the players, ensuring labor peace in the league that this year is expected to reach a record $8 billion in revenue. His dealmaking ability has brought a true sense of partnership with the players as he focuses on player-related health issues by decreasing the length of the NBA preseason and reducing the number of back-to-back games.

Silver’s open and progressive approach in running the NBA also has led to bold new initiatives such as the creation of the NBA’s new esports league and the first naming-rights deal for the D-League, with Gatorade. With the rebranding, the D-League will become the G-League.

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SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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