text: Kevin Sim was appointed as the Head of Asia Pacific for Bundesliga International in February 2018. In his new role, Kevin will focus on developing Bundesliga’s strategy for Asia with the goal of maximizing Bundesliga’s presence in the region, and driving reach and engagement for Germany’s professional
  soccer league. Kevin Sim was previously Director of Global Media Rights at mixed martial arts promoter,
  Martin Slumbers has been Chief Executive of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews since October 2015.
  Born in Brighton and educated at Lancing College, Martin gained a BSc in Production Engineering and Economics from the University of Birmingham. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in London before following a career in investment banking, first with Salomon Brothers International in London and Hong Kong, becoming Chief Financial Officer in Asia and then Europe.
  In 1998, he joined Deutsche Bank and held a number of senior executive roles including Global Head of Deutsche Bank’s Investment Banking Operations and in 2007, Global Head of Global Business Services. He is a keen golfer and a member of Worplesdon Golf Club in Surrey, playing to a handicap of two.
  Melvin Byres is the Founder of the Business Of Sport Network, a networking club for those working on the commercial side of sport, which currently consists of 1000+ members across Hong Kong and Singapore. Melvin is also the Founder of MSB Concepts, a sports agency specialising in consulting and event management for sports events, projects to date including the Hong Kong Sevens, Volvo Ocean Race, Formula E and the Premier League Asia Trophy. Prior to starting BOSN and MSB Concepts Melvin spent four years at the Hong Kong Rugby Union, with the most recent role being Head of Sponsorship, Events & Strategy.
  Michael Patent is the Co-Founder and President of Culture Group, a pan-Asian entertainment marketing agency with offices in Bangkok, Manila and Shanghai. He is an entertainment and brand marketing executive with a fifteen-year history of developing creative partnerships at the intersection of culture and content. With the belief that brands should ‘create culture, not rent media’, the agency works alongside clients to leverage the power of passion points including gaming, music, sports, K-Pop, food, fashion and design. Clients include Globe Telecom, for whom they serve as entertainment marketing agency of record, as well Tencent, Riot Games, and artist management firm Roc Nation.
  Originally from the Bay of Plenty - New Zealand Nigel Cass has been involved with rugby for a significant period, first as a senior staff member of New Zealand Rugby from 2001 to 2007 - including the chairmanship of the Wellington International Sevens - and then as General Manager Tournament Services for Rugby New Zealand 2011 until early 2012. He previously worked at the Hilary Commission with responsibility for Local Government Liaison and Active Living and managed the development and roll out of the “Push Play” campaign. Nigel re-joined New Zealand Rugby in the new position of General Manager Strategic Relationships and Planning in May 2012 and has recently been appointed into the newly created position of Chief Rugby Officer.
  Richard joined the NFL as Managing Director of NFL China on December 1st 2010. He has more than 25 years of experience in sports event management, sales, and marketing with a strong focus in media rights and market strategy.
  His previous work experience in China includes driving a Chinese media joint venture partnership responsible for launching China’s first nationwide HD sports channel; and founding The Young Company, which provided consulting services in production, distribution and media rights in China for leading sports leagues, broadcasters and commercial sponsors.
  Prior to living in China, Richard worked at ESPN STAR Sports as Vice President of the Event Management Group and Programming Development, where he managed over 100 events in 13 different countries over 8 years across Asia. His management experience also includes a number of years in Taipei managing Sports International, Entertainment Plus Ltd when it was the largest professional sports management group in Taiwan. Richard has managed over 150 professional tournaments in 10 different sports throughout his career.
  Richard was a student at Beijing Normal University in 1990. After graduating Cum Laude from Boston University with a double major in International Relations and East Asian Studies, Richard earned his MBA from the University of Chicago. He speaks, reads and writes Mandarin Chinese.
  Having joined the Union in 2003, Robbie McRobbie is responsible for the Commercial Department, Operations Department and the Community Foundation.
  Prior to the Union, he spent 11 years in the Hong Kong Police Force, where he served in a number of roles including Police Tactical Unit Instructor, Assistant Manager of the Police Officers' Club and presenter of the "Police Report" TV show.
  He represented Hong Kong at "A" level at both 15s and 7s and is a two-time winner of the Police RFC "Raz Erasmus Award".
  He is Director of local charity, Operation Breakthrough, which uses sport as a medium to help at-risk local youngsters.
  Accomplished executive, entrepreneur and futurist, Scott leads FutureNext’s advisory services to clients across telecommunications, media, entertainment, sports and retail, and oversees its ventures. Scott played founding roles at iconic Data Broadcasting and Ruckus, led digital transformations at Merrill Lynch, Bertelsmann, and Sony, and built Accenture’s media and entertainment practice in Asia Pacific. Scott is one of the region’s leading voices on the subject of digital and sport and chairs the Digital Advisory Panel to the Australian Sports Commission. He is a lecturer at The Australian Film, Radio & Television School and The University of Southern California, and a Senior Fellow at The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future.
  Talek Harris has been reporting on sports in Asia and around the world for Agence France-Presse (AFP) since 2002. During postings in Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore, and as Asia-Pacific sports editor since 2011, he has covered five Olympics, two football World Cups, the Rugby World Cup, tennis Grand Slams, swimming and athletics world championships, the Asian Games, golf, badminton, cricket and plenty more besides, much of it in China. Which adds up to a lot of awkward questions, some memorable interviews and the occasional scoop.
  Tenniel is the Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group, the owner and operator of the world’s largest golf and tourism facility, with luxury resorts in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Haikou, Yunnan and Chongqing and a profile that is global in its reach.
  Tenniel Chu is a pioneer in the China sports and leisure tourism industry. He has been at the forefront of ground-breaking ventures across golf, tennis, football, basketball and more, driven by a mission to bring China to the world and the world to China.
  Over the last 15 years, Thomas Klingebiel has established himself as one of the leading experts in the Asian sports media, marketing and technology industries. He joined Genius Sports Group as Commercial Director – Asia in 2016 and has been living in Singapore for over 10 years.
  Previously, he worked in various senior commercial roles at the Mediapro subsidiary Asia Sports Digital (ASD), Perform, Nimbus Sport International and Sportfive across media and commercial rights, digital advertising and content solutions.
  Thomas has played a key role in driving Genius Sports’ growth into one of the largest sports technology companies in the world, securing data and technology partnerships with the Football Association of Indonesia, the Philippines Basketball Association and many more. Genius Sports is now the trusted partner to over 500 sports organisations worldwide, providing cutting-edge software for the collection, management, distribution and commercialisation of official sports data.
  Director of Sports Operations at Weibo, senior experience in the sports industry. Familiar with Weibo product operation, product design, marketing, and other aspects.
  She joined Weibo in 2014, led the construction of the sports vertical community establishment, and created cooperation modes such as sports network like CCTV 5 and tournament network linkage, like NBA. Leading major campaigns such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2016 European Cup, the 2016 Olympic Games, the NBA, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
  As CEO, International, of ONE ChampionshipTM (ONE), it is no surprise that Victor Cui is regularly featured in global publications as one of the most influential figures in the world of martial arts. You only have to see his professional background to understand why his career trajectory has created a brand new paradigm for sports and martial arts in Asia.
  Prior to launching ONE Championship, Cui spent six years with the Event Management Group for Asia’s number one sports broadcaster – ESPN Star Sports (ESS). There, he successfully headed event business development across Asia, and project-led some of the biggest sporting properties and television event partnerships in the region.
  Before he joined ESS, he was the Director of Communications for the PGA Tour – Golf Canada, and also served as the Managing Editor for Canada’s number one golf publication during that same period.
  These roles allowed him to accumulate decades of world-class experience in the areas of international sports and marketing communications. Throughout his career, Cui has played an invaluable part in the likes of the Commonwealth Games, the World Championships, the Sydney Olympics, the PGA Tour Bell Canadian Open Championship, the LPGA Tour BMO Women’s Open, the X Games Asia, the World Series of Pool, and World Futsal. He also personally created and led a series of 12 Martial Combat events.
  Wei is the Beijing Representative at Chinese sports digital consultancy and marketing platform Mailman.
  She has accumulated extensive experience within the sports industry, having previously worked for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee where she lead the recruitment process of sports volunteers for data management and training. Wei also participated in the organization of the IAAF World Championships and took on the role as international liaison for the FIBA Selecting Committee.
  While in the US, Wei worked for ESPN Sports and was responsible for global sporting events management. Furthermore, she assisted Chinese brands in operating their first merchandise activation in the US, identifying high-level sports talent to act as endorsements.
  Wei’s current role at Mailman Group is to bridge the media and partner relationships between Mailman and prominent media platforms and companies, enabling Mailman to establish a meaningful business structure and framework so as to better serve the fans.
  Only an hour from Hong Kong, Mission Hills Dongguan Clubhouse covers an area of 65,000 square meters, making it the world’s largest golf clubhouse.
  A shining example of the scale and growth of China’s investment into the sports and leisure industries, the complex houses an exhibition center with a variety of function rooms, conference halls, media facilities and an auditorium, making it a popular venue for everything from international golf tournaments and summits, to large-scale exhibitions and cultural performances.