Activation Love
Last week in Vancouver, I fell in love. Again.
In love with Vancouver? Maybe.
Sponsorship Transformation in Cricket
I was recently in Trinidad for the CPL Partner Summit and witnessed a transformation in sport sponsorship.
The World Cup Lab
Later this week, across the three countries currently known as North America, but some may call the Divided Americas, the largest and most important sporting event in the world will descend for the second time.
Laughter Really Is Medicine
June will mark my last days on the Foundation Board of the country’s largest mental health teaching hospital.
The Foundation, which supports the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, is a force for change, dedicated to raising awareness and funds to build a new hospital, hire talented new medical practitioners, and reduce the stigma around mental health.
The World’s #1 World Cup City is a Force of Nature
It seems every day, Vancouver is getting closer to proving out its official FIFA World Cup slogan.
I am in town this week for some of our son’s graduation from UBC and am squeezing in a few SponsorshipX prep meetings and feeling it on the ground. Industry media is also feeling it.
What the 19th Sponsorship Landscape Study Is Really Telling Us
Canadian sponsorship just hit $4.22 billion — the highest total ever recorded, with rights fees up 58% in a single year and brands reinvesting in women’s sport, evaluation, and fan experience at historic levels.
Canada Needs to Save the Caps
Last November, I attended the inaugural Northern Super League Final, game 1 (and 7 - boo) of the World Series, the Grey Cup, Vancouver Goldeneyes' home opener, and even a Steelers game in Ireland. But that wasn't the most exciting sports event of the year for me.
The NFL Draft was All Business
If you were one of the 805,000 record-setting fans who attended the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh last weekend, you experienced much more than a sporting milestone.
Put Your Business Hat On: Entrepreneurship Can Save the Arts
I spent two and a half days at the 2026 Canadian Arts Summit, organized by Business/Arts and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. I was a panellist and by default, an avid attendee. I love immersing myself in conferences. One delegate asked me why I stuck around after my talk. I said to learn!
Building Future Fans: What Girls Say They Need from the Industry
The last few years have been extraordinary for women's sport. From record‑breaking attendances to soaring broadcast numbers, we've seen proof that when visibility and investment align, audiences respond.
Pittsburgh Distilled
We've gathered on a beach in the South of France, where the Mediterranean made everyone braver, and the conversations ran long past sunset.
Let the Sponsorship Madness Begin
I was lucky this weekend, lucky to be in Chicago, lucky to be inside the United Center for the 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Championship, and lucky to be in a city that was fully alive for St. Patrick's Day.
Building a Team is Like Building a Sponsorship Portfolio
There is no question that, as business leaders, we use an overwhelming amount of sports analogies.
Is that because so many business leaders come to their roles after occupying similar positions in their playing career, even if it was their high school team?
What happens when labels meet logos?
What happens when labels meet logos?
That's what I set out to discover at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
How would a city so renowned for the Duomo, its architecture and its style, meld with an event that is driven so mightily by commercial interests?
Upon arrival in Milano, I had my answers.
Super Bowl LXROI
I am risking massive trademark issues by adding the ROI acronym to the Roman numerals representing the 2026 Super Bowl.
Hopefully, the event's patrons, who likely generated something in the neighbourhood of US$600 million for the Bay Area, will forgive me.
If ROI is under scrutiny, this room matters
This April in Pittsburgh, we’re bringing together leaders who are being asked harder questions, and who want better answers.
The SponsorshipX ROI Forum is a focused experience designed to help you make smarter sponsorship decisions, communicate value more clearly, and build confidence around ROI in a landscape that’s evolving fast.
SponsorshipX ROI Forum 2026
I’ve been thinking a lot about ROI lately.
Not ROI as a metric on a slide, but ROI as a feeling, the quiet confidence you have when you know an investment made sense. Or the knot in your stomach when you’re preparing to explain one that didn’t.
A look ahead
2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for sponsorship.
Looking ahead to 2026, we’re expanding the conversation beyond Pittsburgh. After the ROI Forum in April, we’ll be heading to Vancouver in June 2026 and London later in 2026, with more details to come.