Sebastian Lancestremere

Senior Executive with 25 years of international experience in the IT Industry at Microsoft and startups in developed and emerging markets in Latin America, Europe and World Wide. Well-rounded Managing Director who has consistently delivered outstanding performance: setting up new business units, growing market share and developing talent, leading innovative and strategic projects for the company and expert in digital transformation. Business leader who focuses on how Information Technology can help organizations take advantage of the Digital Economy while contributing to a better society.

Javier Martínez

Passionate Sports, Travel-Leisure & Entertainment Senior Executive:
+ 25 years translating passion/epic stories into outstanding business results at World leading Companies such as:
• The Walt Disney Company (VicePresident, 2001 – 2014, in seven different Markets)
• Atletico de Madrid Football Club (Business & Experience Managing Director, 2014-2017).
• Global Sports Innovation Center powered by MICROSOFT (Ambassador/Mentor, 2017-present) .
• MANCHESTER CITY Football Club ( Fan Innovation / Senior Strategic Advisor , 2017-present)
Now, an independent Senior Advisor helping companies CONVERTING emotionally CLIENTS INTO FANS, and Clubs’ FANS INTO loyal CLIENTS!
Javier is also an Inspiring KeyNote Speaker and dynamic Tech Innovation Landscape activist.

Minerva Santana

Juan Iraola

In charge of defining and implementing the digital strategy across all the areas and business within the club, with the main goal to be closer to people and fans, improving the processes and business operations and identifying new revenue streams.

MA degree in Industrial Engineering obtained from the University of Navarra. Consultant and project manager during more than 25 years in different sectors as sports, advertising, software development and consultancy, aerospace, machine building, automotive, retail; leading projects mainly focused on ERP, CRM, Business Intelligence, defining and implementing Marketing Online and Digital Transformation Strategies.

Iris Córdoba

She has developed her professional career linked to enterprise development and the support of SMEs from the public and private side, with special focus on culture sector, Spanish language-related economy, entertainment and sports industry, both in Latam and in Spain. Specializing in project management, networking creation and business development. Since the beginning of 2015, she has launched the Global Sports Innovation Center promoted by Microsoft, a collaborative initiative between the public, private and academic sectors, which aims to promote innovation in the sports industry, creating an ecosystem composed by nearly 200 companies and institutions that generate synergies and value projects in the sector.

Iris actively participates as a speaker, mentor and jury in startup competitions and in events linked to sports and technology on national and international levels such as Sports Analytics World Series, The SPOT, TEKAN TEN by Asics, WFStartcup by GSIC, among the others. In 2016, she was recognized as one of the 10 most influential women in the sports industry according to the ranking published annually by Metadeporte magazine. Likewise, in 2017 she was a candidate to be one of the top 100 women leaders in Spain of the magazine Mujeres y Cía. She is an active member in various forums, such as the CSD woman, the Sports Committee of the Spanish Association of Women Marketing, Soccer in Words from the Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library or Engagement de Mujeres y Cía. She is also a member of World Football Summit Advisory Board.

Francisco Calvello

Entrepreneur, businessman, former football player and journalist with a track record of over 16 years in the world of football and 9 in the world of business and sports management, Francisco is an expert in the development of global business with a focus on football and tourism. Working experience in diverse markets and cultures, such as Argentina, Spain, England, Germany, Italy, USA, India, South Africa and Kuwait, among others.

At 25, after having worked as an international football specialist in Argentina’s Diario Olé, he decided to focus on his passion: making ideas come true with a global outlook. In 2011, already residing in Spain and amid a voracious economic crisis, he founded his first company, Astorini Media, to later dedicate heart and soul to the world of football by creating Spocs Center Madrid – the first private training centre in Spain for team-less football professionals, which was attended by more than 150 players from 35 different countries. Since that moment, he has been linked to innovation and the development of global football-related projects.

He is currently in charge of the Football and Travel company, where he helps professional football clubs expand internationally through the development of tourism-sports experiences aimed at fans across the globe.

Vanina Farber

Vanina Farber is an economist and political scientist specializing on social innovation, entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility, with also almost twenty years of teaching, researching and consultancy experience, working with academic institutions, multinational corporations and international organizations. She is the holder of the elea Chair for Social Innovation.

In her research, Vanina is interested in studying and fostering the application of innovative, practical, sustainable and inclusive market oriented approaches that aspire to change the world by eliminating the root causes of social ills. Her research focuses on scaling up social businesses and on innovations in inclusive value chains, especially last mile distribution. She has done research in European and Latin American countries and published several articles, including “Barriers and public policies affecting the international expansion of Latin American SMEs, evidence from Brazil, Colombia and Peru” Journal of Business Research, 2015.

Vanina is also interested in education and pedagogy. She has studied how case based/experiential learning affect the intention of graduate students to become social and responsible entrepreneurs. Some of the results can be found in the article “In Alain Gibb’s footsteps: Evaluating alternative approaches to sustainable enterprise education,” published in the International Journal of Management Education in 2016. She currently opened a third line of research focusing on the personality traits of social entrepreneurs. Do social entrepreneurs think differently? Are there different personality traits, risk profiles or social anchors that differentiate social from purely commercial entrepreneurs? What makes, if anything, a social entrepreneur different?

Prior to coming to IMD, Vanina was Professor and Chair of Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Inclusion at Universidad del Pacífico, Peru, were she also was the Dean of the Graduate School of Business from 2014 to 2016.

From 2005 to 2017 she was also an Adjunct Professor for IE Business School, Spain, where she taught Economic Environment and Country Analysis in blended programs and designed and co-directed the training course for professors “Leadership in Blended Education”.

Vanina has worked as a researcher and consultant for different international organizations and national institutions in Switzerland, Spain and Peru.

Vanina holds a PhD in business administration (economics) from the University of Memphis in the USA.

Konstantinos Pelechrinis

Kostas is an Associate Professor at the School of Computing and Information at the University of Pittsburgh. He holds a PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Riverside and his research interests include network analysis, data science and applied machine learning with an emphasis on applications in urban informatics and sports analytics. He is a recipient of the prestigious Young Investigator Award from the Army Research Office for his work on heterogeneous networks, while his research is also supported from the National Science Foundation. He has collaborated with professional sports teams.

Franco Segarra

Mike Yang

USA, Greater China and International Sports Industry, Sports Technology and Innovation Serial Entrepreneur/Investor/Corporates

Key Missions:
1. Gather and fulfil the high-end Sports demands and opportunities of China market, provide comprehensive solution package from global resources; and add unique values and increased volumes of the selected projects
2. Provide high quality service system and contents to help overseas Sports companies gain success in the China market
3. Provide high quality service system and contents to help China Sports companies gain success overseas
4. Systemically assist high-tech and all kinds of innovations to apply in Sports industry
5. Synergise the Finance Industry and Capital Market with sports industry and sports innovation
6. Promote Sports Industry’s integration with different industries, increase sports consumption, China and International Dual Circulation, Global sports services trades and developments 

Matteo Montanari

With 20+ years of International and Multicultural Executive and Commercial experience at leading companies, since 2001 in Telco, Media and Internet ecosystem, he’s got a proven track record of success in managing innovative business. Pioneer in digital transformation initiatives and in mobile solutions for value added services and payments, he’d been succesfully driving new business development on several vertical industries: Entertainment, Sport, Finance, Publishing and Media.
He’s based in Florence, Italy, cradle and soul of the “Digital Renaissance”, six centuries after the wave of innovation that build the new world in which we’re living now! 

Unmish Parthasarathi

Unmish’s love affair with digital video started in 2000, when he was deputed from the London newsroom of Sports News Television (IMG’s JV with the Associated Press) to create a wholesale service offering for “portals”. Next came a startup, creating Champions League match highlights for six Vodafone markets and Robbie Williams concerts, followed by the iPlayer at the BBC, ESPN Player in Singapore, KL and Hong Kong, BallBall in Indonesia, Vietnam & Japan, and, most recently, selling highlights to the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup into 140+ countries. eSports is now in focus for this Cricket Tragic, and he’s using digital video as a central catalyst to forge partnerships with brands, agencies, media, event venues and fans.

Sam Li

Experienced global sports industry executive; advisor, mentor, and investor to early stage sports tech startups.

Currently runs all international aspects of Sina Sports and Weibo Sports, one of the largest sports digital media and social media platforms in China.

Broad and extensive experience in working with startup founders on strategy, networking, fundraising, deal sourcing, and legal issues. Main verticals of focus include media content, broadcast technology, fan engagement, social media, esports, betting and fantasy sports, athletes performance, health and wellness. Advisory and investment portfolio of over 20 startups. Mentor/judge of several sports focused accelerators including Techstar Sports, Stadia Ventures, Microsoft Global Sports Innovation Center, HYPE Sports, and startupbootcamp.

Former Vice President at NBA and speaker at industry conferences including Leaders, SportsPro, SportsAccord, Sportel, APOS, All That Matters, SPIA, Soccerex, etc. 

Rodrigo Garza

Former Olympic athlete, Partner at Fund Sports Business, Ambassador of GSIC
Seasoned global brand marketing and sponsorship executive with 15 years of vast experience creating and delivering high-impact strategic programs that drive branding and market dominance in ever-changing, dynamic environments. A champion of managing highly complex and detailed projects from initial scope, planning, execution, and follow-up; expertise in new market identification, and strategic positioning for digital marketing that drives traffic, engagement, new lead generation, and retention. Respected leader motivates by example, which drives organizational teams to give 100% effort and loyalty.
A few of his credential include:
• International Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Member of Spanish Experts in Sports Marketing Association
• Postgraduate Diploma, Digital Marketing
• Bachelor of Business Administration
• Field Hockey Olympic Medalist, 2008
• Participated in 3 Olympic Games: Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008

Ricardo Gomez Silva

Currently working as a partner of SSTUDIO Marketing & Entertainment (2003 ~ to date), Ricardo Gomes Silva is responsible for the advertising creation, strategic planning, marketing, development, management, promotion and public relations of entertainment events that gather thousands of people, some of them broadcasted live to national and international TV channels.
Sports specialist with twenty five years experience in Sports and Event Management across all levels -local, state, national and international sporting organizations, including 15 years with the KT & Octagon as New Business , Planning, Operations Director on a wide range of sports modalities and events as professional tennis, golf, box, Xtreme, Indoor Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Handball, Marathon, Track in Field, Polo, Indoor Football, Para-olympic modalities, Swimming, Basketball, Mix Martial Arts, Professional Soccer, Beach Soccer and others.
He was responsible for the following sports events: Peace Cup Professional Soccer Tournament, IV IBSA Pan-American Games, XVII International Law and Enforcement Games, Brazilian College Games, Brazilian Law and Enforcement Games (19 countries), Mix Martial Arts International Championship, Summer Sports Festival, III IBSA World Championship (63 countries) route to Beijing, and others.