Nearly 200 members gathered in Lower Manhattan for a half-day of conversations spanning sports, media, and culture.
On Friday, April 24, Boardroom Members Club hosted its first members-only conference in the Financial District—a half-day of curated programming, networking, and conversations with leaders across sports and entertainment. Included with both membership tiers, the event brought together nearly 200 attendees.
At Convene One Liberty Plaza in Lower Manhattan, guests checked in, grabbed their badges, and made their way to a gifting station stocked with custom Members Club duffle bags, copies of Boardroom’s inaugural print magazine, mini bottles of Don Julio 1942, and more. Golden Supply & MFG. Co. was also on-site, offering live embroidery of initials and custom designs.
“It’s amazing that in only a year’s time we have this community together,” said Boardroom’s CEO and co-founder Rich Kleiman during his opening remarks ahead of the first panel. “The whole point of this, as I’ve said numerous times, was understanding how valuable this is. You don’t really realize it until you have it in your life — having a community around you and having people to call on and to learn from as you grow in business and you grow in life is paramount.”
Moderated by Madelyn Burke, an anchor for ESPN’s Sportscenter, the first conversation of the day centered on the state of the sports ecosystem and featured speakers Beth Sidhu, CEO of SPORT BEACH, Shana Stephenson, Chief Brand Officer for the New York Liberty, and Amber Sabathia, an agent at CAA Baseball and co-founder of both the Pitch-In Foundation and Grapefruit Media.
“Sport is everywhere and it is only increasing in its influence,” said Sidhu, noting that major brands like Adobe and Sephora weren’t even playing in the sports space a few years ago, but are now creating major activations and campaigns around the industry and its stars. “I remember when I started working in sport, I couldn’t understand why more beauty brands, women-centric brands, did not invest in women athletes or women’s sports teams,” added Stephenson. “Now it’s normal.” As to where they think the industry is headed, they each named a league they believed is poised for major growth in the near future: women’s flag football, volleyball, and softball — and, perhaps it goes without saying, the NIL space.
Next, the panelists for “The Agency Perspective” were introduced by moderator TJ Adeshola: Daniel Nunez, Chief Creative Officer of The Team, Christine Su, founder and CEO of The Lede Company, and Jessica Benjamin, VP of Client Strategy at WME. “What I love about the folks up here,” Adeshola said, is that they are part of the contingent of people in small rooms “actually determining the types of things that will break through culture.”
Though their respective agencies do different things for clients, a couple through-lines came to light. “A lot of times we’ll work with clients and they’ll be like, ‘Well, I just want to be cool again.’ Well, every brand wants to be cool, but what does that mean? What are your goals?” said Su. Being “cool” won’t necessarily translate into sales, but it may help future-proof your company. “That’s a conversation that we’re having a lot on the brand side,” said Benjamin. “What are we doing to make you competitive for tomorrow?” And if they could leave the audience with one takeaway? “Play the long game,” urged Nunez.
After a short break for lunch, the next panel, moderated by Kleiman, focused on MLB, and how recent rule changes implemented by Commissioner Rob Manfred have helped the game grow. The three panelists who discussed the recent evolutions included Noah Garden, Deputy Commissioner of Business and Media; Uzma Rawn Dowler, CMO & SVP, Global Corporate Partnerships; CC Sabathia, six-time All-Star and MLB Special Assistant to the Commissioner. Between the pitch clock, bigger bases, and the introduction of ABS, the league has recently instituted several changes that have impacted the game dramatically. “When we talk about change, it’s interesting because really it’s just bringing the game back to what I grew up on,” said Garden. Now, families are back in the ballpark during the week since games are shorter. From a player perspective, the changes have been equally welcome.“Nobody wants to be at the ballpark for eight hours,” said Sabathia. “We want to get to the action.”
The other hot topic of the panel was the massive success of this year’s World Baseball Classic and one of the league’s biggest stars, Shohei Ohtani. “When you get off the plane in Tokyo, he’s on every single billboard. He’s in every single ad. It’s insane. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” said Garden. “He’s maybe one of the greatest talents that ever played the game.” “The best,” agreed Sabathia.
The final conversation of the day centered around music as the center of culture, featuring panelists Brandon Panke, VP of business development and operations at Live Nation, Shari Bryant, CEO of The Knip Agency and former co-president of Roc Nation, and music exec “Lenny S.” Santiago, who worked with and managed artists like Jay-Z and DJ Khaled. Moderator Paul Beckles, GM of Boardroom, led a conversation that touched on how the music industry has changed in the last twenty years, why residencies are cool now, and the need for the next generation of stars.
“For me, what’s next in the business is building superstars,” said Bryant. “If you look at the top 200 charts, it’s the same artists that have been around for 10, 15 years. It’s not really anything new. And I think we need some real intention and focus on building that next wave.”
The afternoon concluded with a reception in the main Convene space, bringing members and panelists together to network, share what they learned throughout the day, and toast to the next one. As Beckles said to close out the festivities, “We are very, very grateful for you guys. Boardroom will continue to expand and grow. We ask that you continue to stay on the ride with us.”
Click here to learn more about Boardroom Members Club.
Photos by: Dominique Oliveto
