Event Details
According to Forbes, the average value of the top 20 teams in the world is USD1.44 billion, 24% more than a year ago. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid both sit at the top of the heap with valuation of about USD3.5 billion. This is no accident. If you dig down beneath the surface of the seemingly effortless grace of the top players flying around the pitch, one can understand how this sporting and commercial excellence has been inspired and achieved. The values that have been applied are not revolutionary in and of themselves, but the stories explaining their application are diamonds in the rough that will be useful to business in China and around the world.
Joan Oliver is in a unique position to share stories about the development of soccer globally. He had some interesting jobs at FC Barcelona (FCB) from 2003 to 2010, during the administration of Joan Laporta. Before joining FCB he led one of Spain’s largest sports media rights companies and served as the CEO of Catalunya’s largest television stations. For FCB, originally he was the head of global media rights and international business strategy. In 2008 he took over as Chief Executive Officer. During this period, FCB moved from #23 in the world to #1. Its valuation increased from USD338 M to USD1 B. In 2009, FCB won six national, regional and international Cup Championships. In 2012, the core team of FCB was the core of the Spanish team that won the World Cup. Mr Oliver has spent the last five years taking the lessons of FCB and applying them to China and the sports industry here.
AmCham China Sports Committee believes that there are many lessons in sports that can be applied to the development of business. This series on Case Studies in Sport is meant to highlight these lessons by bringing in leading figures in the sports world and providing them a forum to share their stories. On November 7 at 4:00 pm, AmCham China, partnering with EUChamber, is pleased to be able to launch this series with Mr Joan Oliver.
Some more background on FC Barcelona can be found here.