Sam Parton

CEO and Founder, Open Play

Best pitch presenter you’ve ever seen

My colleague Nikhil Obhrai – our Business Development Director at OpenPlay -  so full of energy and enthusiasm

Best sports marketing campaign (that wasn’t yours)

Beats Headphones when they gave them to the athletes at the London Olympics, such clever marketing to make the most of that international spotlight.

Best agency (that isn’t yours)

Dirt and Glory Media, Nigel and Ben are an awesome team

Best young industry talent

Nikhil Obhrai

Best sporting event attended

Wimbledon final, Pat Rafter - Goran Ivanisevic which went to 5 sets having been rained off on the Sunday

Best sporting event on TV

The Ashes, nothing has the drama, egos, rollercoaster of emotions

Best brand ambassador

Harry Kane, eloquent speaker as well as footballer

Best industry event or conference

Elevate for the fitness industry

Best film containing a scene depicting the sports business

Jerry Maguire, especially when he says “Show me the money”

Best book recommendation 

Twenty Something, hilarious diary of being a twenty year old in London even though sadly I’m now not.

Best bar or pub

South London Pacific (now closed down), easily the best bar in London. In second place is Ayers Rock in Lyon, France

Best restaurant

Corleone’s in Colliers Wood, best pizza this side of Napoli

Best holiday resort

Lydia World, Turkey, all-inclusive and has literally everything you could want in one place

Best box set

Peep Show it’s literally timeless

Best influence on your career

Frederic Garner my old boss at Business At Work in Paris, as gave me the courage to start my own business. Very inspirational.

Best dinner companions (min 4, max 6)

While I’d be tempted to put together a really dysfunctional table of guests for a night to remember, I’d have to use it as an opportunity to gather some great minds/influencers in tech and sport to see if we couldn’t encourage some greater collaboration – it’s badly needed! So, what about…

Elon Musk

Mark Zuckerberg

Serena Williams

Jess Ennis-Hill

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England

Best job in the sports biz

Being Lionel Messi

Best professional regret

Not starting a business sooner than I did, when I saw the opportunity to harness data and technology for the leisure industry.

Best skill you most covet

The ability to blag it/fake it until you make it

Best trait you admire in others

Empathy

Best overrated virtue

Persistence

Best ambition

To be considered by my family as a role model father. Still a long way off!