Douglas Gremmen

My first official interview at IMG at the age of 19 lasted exactly 11 minutes before I was shown the door.   Why? I advocated how fantastic sponsorship was for brands but failed to name 10 out of 20 shirt sponsors in the Premier League.    How so is sponsorship relevant?  I quickly came to realize that sponsorship is about sales, hard core sales!  I also learned early on that many people where much more prolific in selling than me.   There are many great products to sell but only few can sell an average product well.  I had to diversify and differentiate in order to built a sustainable career and remain relevant.  In the end, the business of Sports & Entertainment runs on top line revenue and bottom line profit.   Subsequently understanding the full value chain from product to sales; from innovation to business case and from fan to consumer, has placed me in a strong position to guide rightsholders, technology companies and brands to more tangible returns.