Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan brings you the stories of the sports industry week, while Editorial Director James Emmett brings you a couple of heavyweight brand CMO conversations from last week's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

At the Sport Beach, hosted by Stagwell, he sat down with Don McGuire, CMO of Qualcomm, a B2B company that, through its Snapdragon brand, is about to become much more visible, as Manchester United's new front-of-shirt sponsor.

Then he catches up with Mark Kirkham, CMO of International Beverages at PepsiCo, who reflects on how the best storytelling in sports marketing happens - and where it's happening in 2024.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are out and about, sharing their sports industry week.

James is in Cannes, taking in the beaches, making note of the activations and soaking up the vibes at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - and asking what sport is doing there, who it wants to meet, why so many athletes have turned up and where sport actually fits in the minds of the big brands and agencies who have decamped this week to the South of France.

Meanwhile, David’s had a slightly shorter trip, to Chiswick Park in West London, where he reflects on hosting part of IMG Networking Week, IMG’s latest internal engagement initiative - and picks up a few tips including how to remember names and the art of the elegant conversation exit.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan take an amble through the sports industry week, joined by Seven League and Rematch Founder Richard Ayers.

They discuss how politics and sport are mixing during the UK General Election campaign, and as French President Emmanuel Macron calls a snap election just weeks before Paris hosts the Olympics.

It’s a free-flower of a conversation, taking in evolving agency models; what Richard plans to digitally transform next; table tennis and badminton’s incessant rise; how government sports policy is formed, and the impact a future UK sports industry trade body could have; creating live, theatrical ‘immersive’ experiences inside and outside sports venues, and the evaporating barriers between the physical and digital worlds.