Brand engagement network, Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), and iSportconnect, a worldwide networking platform for sports industry professionals, today announced the signing of a global partnership that will see both parties work together to expand ‘iSportconnect Directors’ Club’ events to Paris, Munich, Moscow and New York, all before the end of 2013, as well as other locations around the world starting Q1 2014.

iSportconnect Directors’ Clubs are exclusive events that bring together influential sports industry leaders to share market insights, discuss best practices and network in a relaxed environment. Since the inaugural event in Munich in November 2011, six Directors’ Club events in London and Munich have featured high-profile speakers and guests such as Sir Craig Reedie (Vice President, the International Olympic Committee), Ed Warner (Chairman, UK Athletics), Tim Ellerton (Global Sponsorship, Heineken), Tony Scholes (CEO, Stoke City FC), Ian Ritchie (CEO, Rugby Football Union), and Mike Miller (CEO, World Olympians Association), among others.

The first Directors’ Club event of this partnership will take place on Thursday, October 24th in Paris. The audience will be invited to take part in a ‘Question Time’ discussion where the panellists will answer questions submitted by the attendees beforehand, followed by networking. The panel of speakers for each event will be announced closer to the dates.

Lucien Boyer, President & Global CEO of HS&E comments, “As a global network present in 20 markets, we are delighted to offer our reach and expertise in the sport and sponsorship industry to bring the iSportconnect Directors’ Club to new markets and build on its success.”

“We always strive to fuel conversations about industry trends and ‘what’s next’ in the sports world — the Directors’ Club gives us an excellent opportunity to get key decision-makers together globally for high-level, intimate debate. iSportconnect has already supported us on several of our thought-leadership projects, including the Global Sports Forum held in Barcelona for the past four years and the HS&E House, a daily series of seminars we organized during London 2012. This partnership will take our collaboration to the next level, and we are now looking forward to evolving this already successful programme around the world.”

Michael Cunnah, Chairman of iSportconnect, said: “Thanks to the success of our previous collaborations, it made strategic sense for our two groups to partner together on this series of global events. We are excited to grow the momentum of iSportconnect Directors’ Club and benefit from HS&E’s local knowledge to offer senior industry professionals opportunities to obtain global insight and make new connections, both online through our exclusive networking platforms and offline at the live events.”

(iSportconnect Press Release)