Presenting the Presenters in Munich – Day 2: The Hockey Business Forum
The 2024 Hockey Business Forum in Munich, Germany will see 20 presentations divided into two days. Tuesday will focus on two seminars – the morning will be dedicated to youth development and the afternoon to women's professional hockey. Wednesday will get down to business – the Hockey Business Forum
Below are the 11 presentations that will take place on Wednesday. Click here to view Tuesday's presenters.
For info on Official Partners of the 2024 E.H.C. Hockey Business Forum, click here.
For the full program of the 2024 E.H.C. Hockey Business Forum, click here.
E.H.C. Hockey Business Forum: Wednesday 30 October
SAP Garden – the game changer in Red Bull’s hockey business
In his capacity as Marketing Director, Rupert Zamorsky is responsible for the marketing and sales management of Red Bull's ice hockey department. With his 20 years of experience in the business, Rupert, together with his teams, drives the commercialization of the pro clubs in Salzburg (Austrian ICE League) and Munich (German PENNY-DEL). Over time, he has developed the entertainment and event elements at the Red Bulls' home games and constantly improved fan experience with innovative technology and creativity. Rupert, who was also one of the founding board members of the Champions Hockey League, has been involved in the SAP Garden arena project in Munich from the beginning and he will speak about the future potential of the building and its groundbreaking impact on the organization's business operations.
Changing the way we need to cultivate athletes
Peter Mattsson is an experienced manager and director with a background in leading National High-Performance teams and programs at the Swedish Golf Federation and the English Golf Union. Since leaving golf he has held various positions at the Swedish Sports Confederation, working closely with the Olympic Committee, and the Paralympic Committee. Peter joined the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in November 2023 as the Global Performance Director, where he provides strategic leadership to the Performance team of two centers, in Salzburg and in Los Angeles. Both with the purpose of giving “wiiings” to the Red Bull athletes, teams, and projects. In his presentation, Peter will argue that considering the backgrounds of many of the performance outliers, sports organizations may want to change the way they cultivate athletes.
Look, feel, smell; how a captivating arena experience works (revenue) magic
Sebastiano Mereu is a researcher at the Sports Business Research Academy and a lecturer in Marketing and Branding, as well as Data Analytics, at BHMS Business & Hotel Management School and Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. His primary research interests include the impact of sports arena experiences on revisit intentions, the uses and gratifications of attending sports events, motivations for watching sports documentaries, intentions to watch women’s sports, fan identification and loyalty, Web3 adoption, and driving social media engagement, among other topics. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Heriot-Watt University, UK, where his doctoral research focused on investigating the brand experience of online videos of professional football clubs. In addition to his academic work, Sebastiano works as a Digital Marketing and Communications Specialist for the Swiss National Museum.
How Kölner Haie increased by 3000 fans per game to become the top draw in Europe
Philipp Walter is the Managing Director of the Kölner Haie. He began his career as a radio reporter after studying at the German Sport University Cologne and joined the Kölner Haie in 2003, where he worked first as a press spokesman and later as Director of Marketing, PR and Sales for 13 years. From 2016 to 2018, Walter worked as Media Director in his hometown at SC Freiburg in the Football Bundesliga before returning to the Kölner Haie as Managing Director in 2018. It is his responsibility to secure and further develop Cologne as an ice hockey hotbed and to strengthen it as a business and sporting brand. In 2021, he was awarded the E.H.C.’s & Infront’s Leadership Award.
Torsten Pfennig has held various executive positions in professional sports since 2006. After working as media director for the Kassel Huskies ice hockey club, he moved to the same position at neighbouring football club KSV Hessen Kassel. The sports management graduate spent a total of seven years at the regional soccer league club, where he was also responsible for the commercial side of the business as office manager. After a year as managing director in the women's handball Bundesliga at HSG Blomberg-Lippe, the trained IT specialist has now been in charge at the Kölner Haie since 2017. Pfennig is regarded in the industry as an expert in finance, personnel development and digitalization. As Head of Finance, Digital and New Business, he played a key role in helping the “Sharks” set a new all-time record in European ice hockey with 16,993 spectators in 2023-24.
How ECA changed football – and what hockey can learn
In his role as Chief Executive Officer of football’s European Club Association, Charlie Marshall manages the ECA management and administration team and, together with ECA's Chairman, Executive Committee and Board, works hand-in-hand with ECA’s members and key stakeholders on a wide range of strategic, commercial and political matters concerning the development of club football across Europe. He also sits on the Board of Administration of UEFA Club Competitions SA, a joint venture company owned by UEFA and ECA, tasked with overseeing all UEFA Club Competitions commercial and business matters. In support of ECA’s broad strategic goals, Charlie has led the transformation of ECA’s management and administration, securing significantly increased funding, capabilities and headcount and turning these into impactful outcomes for its members. Charlie joined ECA in November 2018 with an extensive background of international executive experience at the intersection of sports, media and technology. Charlie will present how ECA has changed how football is governed in Europe, and what hockey can potentially learn from that.
EU's Super League ruling and potential consequences for hockey
Mark E Orth is one of the most trusted experts on sports law in Europe and he regularly speaks at German and international sports law conferences. The University of Bayreuth educated lawyer co-founded the Munich Antitrust Law Forum which has since developed into a high-calibre network of antitrust lawyers. Mr. Orth’s clients include international sports federations, Bundesliga football clubs and individual athletes as well as trade unions, sporting goods manufacturers and television companies. Mr Orth also regularly acts for political decision-makers when antitrust law issues need to be clarified prior to the adoption of regulations relating to sports law. In addition to European antitrust law, his in-depth legal knowledge also includes US antitrust law and Swiss antitrust law.
In his presentation, Mark will explain how the EU’s Court of Justice ruling on football’s Super League can potentially affect European ice hockey and if this means that the international sports federations’ monopoly is no more.
How to successfully position a 2nd-tier national league
Gabriel Monidelle, CEO of Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan, is a trailblazer with over 25 years of experience shaping the fast-paced entertainment industry. From music and film to football, he’s held executive positions, and for the last four years, he’s been at the helm of HockeyAllsvenskan, transforming it into a rising force in Swedish sports. Under his leadership, the league has exceeded expectations, achieving record-breaking growth in attendance, TV ratings, and digital engagement—despite operating in the shadow of Sweden's top league, the SHL. Monidelle has fostered a vibrant, fast-paced culture where every move is focused on creating buzz, driving ticket sales, and securing sponsorships. In his presentation, Gabriel will share the secrets of how to position a second-tier league for success and thrive in today’s ever-changing landscape of endless content and shifting consumer habits.
Building the PWHL's foundation to ensure its success over the long term
Chris Burkett is the Vice President of League Operations at the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Prior to joining the PWHL, Chris was involved in the negotiations leading to the PWHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CB), in addition to working across a broad range of sports, media, and labour matters. He will lead a presentation about the record-setting first season of the PWHL and a look ahead at the league's plans for continued growth. The PWHL was the Sports Business Journal's 2024 "Breakthrough of the Year" Award winner.
How hockey clubs can transform their organizations with AI-powered content
Ido Ratzon leads WSC Sports' business development team across central, northern, and eastern Europe. WSC Sports is the pioneer in AI-powered sports content technology, empowering over 500 of the leading sports brands worldwide such as the NBA, NHL, ESPN, IIHF and several European sports leagues. Ido will share best practices and actionable steps ice hockey clubs can take to transform their organizations, unlock new marketing and commercial opportunities, and build new growth verticals for their brands in a digital fast-changing world.
Benefits of disclosed player salaries & why clubs should never pay agents
Claes Elefalk is one of the most respected and arguably the most experienced player agents in European hockey. He started with player representation in the early 90s when the agent business was not yet established and fully accepted in the European sporting community. Elefalk was part of IMG’s player representation division before he joined Creative Artists Agency and their division CAA Sports in 2006. Elefalk represents some of Sweden’s most accomplished players and continues to do so even after their retirement; Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Niklas Kronwall and many others. Claes is also one of the few hockey agents that earlier also represented soccer players, for example, Sweden national and Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg. In his presentation, Claes will talk about agents’ ethics and explain, among other things, why agents should not be paid by clubs and that player agents should not represent coaches. He will also talk about women’s hockey as an enormous opportunity for hockey to grow and why he immediately took his players out of the KHL after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Why Bayern Basketball, SAP Garden and the Euroleague are a perfect match
Marko Pesic is one of the most successful and prolific executives in European basketball. The 47-year-old German is the CEO of FC Bayern München Basketball, a club he joined in 2011, initially serving as Sports Director of the then-newly promoted Bundesliga team. With Pesic at the helm, Bayern Basketball has won the German title four times, including last spring in 2024, and Bayern is also one of the thirteen licensed clubs in Euroleague Basketball. Coming from one of the most famous basketball families in Europe, Marko won six German championships as a player in Berlin, celebrated five cup victories, and won bronze at the 2002 World Championship and silver at the 2005 European Championship with the German national team, which he represented on 97 occasions. Marko will explain the meteoric rise of Bayern Basketball which eventually led the club to become a co-tenant in the SAP Garden with Red Bull Munich and suggest that arena-sharing may be the future in pro sports. He will also speak to the success of the Euroleague, which has led to the participating clubs playing half of their season’s schedule in Europe.
