President of Roc Nation Sports, Michael Yormark, will deliver the keynote address at the 2021 Hollard Sport Industry Awards.
The annual awards event will take place virtually on Thursday the 25th of November.
Yormark will be joined in conversation by Roc Nation’s Johannesburg-based Director of Operations in Africa, Isaac Lugudde-Katwe, as the pair unpack Roc Nation’s two-year presence in the South African market and offer their observations and market commentary on the local sports environment.
Founded in 2008 by music and media mogul JAY-Z, Roc Nation has grown into one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies, and in 2013 Roc Nation Sports was launched in partnership with Creative Artists Agency, a prominent talent agency based in Los Angeles. Roc Nation Sports’ first major move was signing New York Yankees All-Star second baseman Robinson Canó and they’ve since grown to represent over 100 athletes across baseball, basketball, American football, football, rugby, cricket, netball and e-sports.
Roc Nation Sports first popped up on the South African sports industry radar at the end of 2019, when it was announced that they had signed World Cup-winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, making him the company’s first signed rugby player.
Roc Nation has since added fellow Springboks Cheslin Kolbe, Sbu Nkosi and Aphelele Fassi to their books, along with former Springbok prop Beast Mtawarira, Proteas cricketers Lungi Ngidi and Temba Bavuma, and national netball captain Bongi Msomi.
They also recently concluded a deal with Mamelodi Sundowns that will see Roc Nation assist the reigning DStv Premiership champions with “brand amplification, social media strategy and execution, commercial sales and football consultation regarding transfers and the global football market”.
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“When we expanded our international business (in 2019), we thought that South Africa could be an interesting expansion market for us,” said Yormark to Newzroom Afrika in 2020. “Our motive was very simple – to come into the market, to begin to represent athletes, and to give them a platform and voice, and to help build their brands globally. We feel our athletes can inspire and motivate people – not just in South Africa, but globally, as well.”
Yormark is a U.S sports industry veteran and spent 10 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Panthers ice hockey franchise.
Before taking the reins as President at Roc Nation Sports International, Yormark spent six years as President and Chief of Branding & Strategy, brokering deals for athletes and artists across the agency, with particular focus on bringing in major brand partners for annual events such as the Roc Nation Grammy’s Brunch, Tidal X, Made in America Music Festival, Diamond Ball Presented by Rihanna, and more. Yormark oversees all operations of the agency’s international branch and has spearheaded Roc Nation Sports International’s rapid growth since the signing of footballer Jerome Boateng in 2015.
U.S-born and raised Lugudde-Katwe has been Roc Nation Sports’ Director of Operations in Africa since September 2019 and was previously Marketing Director at the Kinetic Management Group, spending nine years with the group.
He’s also a former professional basketball player and member of the Ugandan national team.
“We are not about quantity, we are about quality. Our clients are athletes who strive to be great,” said Lugudde-Katwe when concluding the Sundowns deal in August. “Our slogan is that ‘greatness is a process’. We do have a lot of people who would love to be part of Roc Nation, but only a few are chosen.”
Hollard’s Chief Marketing Officer, Heidi Brauer, said that “we’re super-excited to have Michael and Isaac as guest speakers. Roc Nation is enabling athletes around the world to create better futures for themselves, and that resonates strongly with our organisational purpose of doing the same for our policyholders, employees, partners and communities at large.”
The 2021 Hollard Sport Industry Awards will be hosted by sports broadcaster Motshidisi Mohono and will take place virtually between 14h30 and 18h00 on Thursday the 25th of November.
To register for the event, click here https://form.jotform.com/213013394121542.
