Variety and Sportico Partner to Host Sports and Entertainment Summit on July 13

Variety and Sportico will partner for the first time to present a co-branded Sports and Entertainment Summit, presented by City National Bank, on July 13 in Los Angeles. Their collaboration marks an expanded day of programming for the event. NBA All-Star, entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Westbrook; NBA All-Star and producer Blake Griffin; Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles; Fox Sports’ Mark Silverman and ESPN’s Rosalyn Durant are among the event’s headlining speakers.

Westbrook will speak to his growing business, philanthropic and entertainment interests off the court as part of his company Russell Westbrook Enterprises, which includes advertising company RW Digital, production company Zero World Media and his Why Not? Foundation aimed at helping at-risk youth through structured educational opportunities, workforce development and accessible mental health resources.

Griffin, co-founder of Mortal Media, joins a sports storytelling roundtable also featuring his partner at Mortal Media, former NFL center Ryan Kalil (“Hello, Tomorrow,” “White Men Can’t Jump”); Nkechi Okoro Carroll, executive Producer and showrunner of “All American”; Max Borenstein, executive producer, creator and showrunner, “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”; Paul Martin, executive producer, “Break Point,” “Full Swing” and “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”; and Katie Bender Wynn, director of “Matildas: The World at Our Feet.”

Chiles is part of a panel discussion focusing on strategies for athletes to build their individual brands, also featuring NBA Celtics player and activist Jaylen Brown; Patrick Patterson, former NBA athlete and co-founder of Undisputed Pictures; gymnast and brand entrepreneur Katelyn Ohashi; and Scotty James, Olympic snowboarder and technology investor. Todd Burach, SVP and team leader of sports and family office banking at City National Bank, will moderate.

Durant, EVP programming and acquisitions at ESPN and Silverman, president and COO of Fox Sports will join Marie Donoghue, VP global sports video at Prime Video and Jon Cruz, global head of sports partnerships at YouTube in a conversation about the state of sports TV programming and game coverage.

Additional participants include Karin Timpone, CMO, MLB; Dany Garcia, chairwoman and owner, XFL; Tammy Henault, CMO, NBA; Chase Griffin, UCLA QB, NIL Athlete of the Year and athlete/creator-in-residence, Range Sports; and Greg Luckman, co-president, Range Sports.

“Partnering with our sister brand Sportico affords us the opportunity to present engaging conversations around the content we know best: Sports and Entertainment,” said Dea Lawrence, chief operating and marketing officer, Variety. “We are excited to expand to a full day format with the most relevant speakers at the forefront of our industries.”

“Penske Media is uniquely positioned to marry the worlds of entertainment and sports. Variety and Sportico are best-in-class brands that uncover, explain and elevate the conversation around it all,” said Scott Soshnick, editor-in-chief, Sportico.

“City National Bank’s personalized client service has long been trusted by individuals and organizations in the sports and entertainment industries to help grow their business and wealth,” said JaHan Wang, executive vice president, entertainment banking at City National. “We are proud to sponsor the first Variety and Sportico co-branded Sports and Entertainment Summit and look forward to conversations with the biggest names in sports about the intersection of professional athletics, business and media.”

Please head here to see full agenda and register variety.com/sportssummit

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