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The Assembly 2022 Recap

 

The Assembly – June 22-24, 2022

The Assembly: Pro Sports Leadership Retreat and Workshop is for professional sports business leaders who are not only influential in setting an agenda and strategy for their organization, but who are also invested in a more diverse, inclusive, and fair future across all aspects of professional sports. At our core, we believe the professional sports industry is at an inflection point. Coming through a time of so much uncertainty - driving innovation, bolstering financial performance, capturing new markets, and increasing customer loyalty hinges on adaptability and agility. Diverse and inclusive teams do this best.

Pro Sports Assembly members from professional teams, leagues, unions, and venues will work together to:

  • identify the most critical issues facing the industry
  • workshop solutions and
  • determine a leadership agenda for the membership body of Pro Sports Assembly.

The agenda also includes social activities and adventures around the city – including the new OVG Moody Center, Austin FC Q2 Stadium, and Huston-Tillotson University (Austin’s oldest institution of higher learning and only HBCU).

The Assembly is perfect for senior leaders and rising stars, women and men who handle business and sport operations, and those who influence decisions in their departments, organizations and communities - and, most importantly, those who are motivated to the professional sports ecosystem.

Attendees will leave The Assembly with tools to:

  • Engage → with a broader network of professional sports leaders
  • Empower → others to make an impact from their position and with their platform
  • Educate → their colleagues and partners with data and new perspectives
  • Equip → and guide important decisions being made in their organizations
  • Elevate → and advocate for leaders addressing the most pressing issues in professional sports

The Assembly is for current PRO+, PRO Premier and Pro Sports Assembly organization members. Please note, the event will be closed to media and attendees are asked to strictly follow Chatham House rules.

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Workshop and Retreat Agenda

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22

AFTERNOON
  • 3:00 Name Badge and Swag Bag Pick Up
  • 3:00 The Assembly Committee Meeting
EVENING
  • 5:30 Welcome Reception presented by Fairmont Austin and Austin Sports Commission
  • 7:30 Group Dinners
  • Hospitality Suite Opens

THURSDAY, JUNE 23

People, Policies and Pro Sports - Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Title IX - presented by Sendero Wealth Management

As we embark on our first Leadership Retreat and Workshop we'll focus in on the People (AKA workforce) and Policies in pro sports. June 23rd is when the "work" in our workshop begins - and it also marks the 50th Anniversary of the landmark gender equality legislation Title IX. What better place to be than in a room full of your PRO friends leading the way! Cynt Marshall, Cassandra Carr, Ken Shropshire, Oracio Galindo, Xavier Gutierrez and Iris Diaz will lead conversations about how policy has transformed professional sports, where it's fallen short and what the future may look like. Arizona State University is leading the workshop using their SPARK method, which will be a great tool for your leadership toolbox - one that you can use to lead innovation sessions with your own team.

MORNING
  • 8:00 Registration Opens
  • 8:00-5:00 The Retreat Opens
  • 8:00 Networking Breakfast
  • 9:00 Workshop Begins
  • 9:30 Opening Keynote: The Impact of Policy on Pro Sports, Reflecting on Title IX with Cynt Marshall and Cassandra Carr
  • 10:00 State of the Industry - What does the data tell us about our workforce and fans?
  • 11:00 Spark Session with Global Sport Institute: Find, Grow, and Keep Talent
AFTERNOON
  • 12:30 Lunch break
  • 1:15 The “Rules:” Policies that do and don’t work with Ken Shropshire, Oracio Galindo and Jason Jenkins
  • 2:00 SPARK wrap-up
  • 3:30 Break for The Retreat
EVENING AT THE MOODY CENTER
  • 5:00 Fireside Chat with Iris Diaz and Xavier Gutierrez presented by Oak View Group and the OVG Arena Alliance
  • 7:00 Reception and Tour
  • 9:00 Hospitality Suite Opens

FRIDAY, JUNE 24

(re)Defining DEI: Dividends, Earnings and Investments hosted by Austin FC

The workshop on Day 3 will be led by Rob Kaplan, Harvard Business School style where he will challenge the way that we think about DEI in business. We will take learnings from Day 2 to diagnose where we are as leaders, consider what to do together and independently, and explore how to leverage our leadership influence for lasting impact on front offices, our community and pro sports as a whole. (re)Defining Diversity, Equity and Inclusion through an economic lens may complicate our thinking, but it helps guide better decisions across all facets of business. During this workshop we will dive into two live case studies - one with Commissioner Jessica Berman and Michele Roberts and the second with Ashley Bell, David Gould and Lester Jones.

MORNING
  • 8:00 Registration Opens
  • 8:00 Networking Breakfast
  • 9:00 Buses to Q2 Stadium
  • 9:30 Workshop Begins
  • 9:45 Live Case Study #1: An Insiders Assessment: Why & How to Lead for Impact with Commissioner Jessica Berman and Michele Roberts
  • 10:45 Workshop with Rob Kaplan
AFTERNOON
  • 1:00 Lunch in the Field Club, presented by Levy
  • 2:00 Live Case Study #2: Leadership Leverage with Ashley Bell, David Gould and Lester Jones
  • 3:00 Wrap up
  • 3:30 Happy Hour and Q2 Stadium Tours
  • 4:30 Buses Return to Fairmont Austin
EVENING
  • 7:30 WWE Smackdown at the Moody Center

The Assembly Sponsors

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PLANNING COMMITTEE

  • Co-chairs: Brittanie Boyd, Philadelphia 76ers, and Antony Bonavita, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Casey Africano, LA Rams
  • Justin Bokemeyer, NBA
  • Emma Cohn, Austin FC
  • Andrea Rivera, Atlanta Hawks
  • Bridget Gannon, National Basketball Retired Players Association
  • Emily Jaeneson, Reno Aces
  • Lisa Jones, Cleveland Cavs
  • Jessie Lantz, PNC Park, Houston Dynamo and Dash
  • Christine Lawrence, WWE
  • Melanie Lee, MLB
  • Jacques McClendon, LA Rams
  • Pasha Moore
  • Anthony Pardo, MLB
  • Seth Roberts
  • Alison Roscoe, Austin FC
  • Gene Tinner, UFC

United in Game Plan. Diverse in Council.

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