A groundbreaking initiative powered by the Executive Education divisions of three prestigious European Business Schools: WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Düsseldorf), Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), and ESSEC Business School (Paris) for the launch of the “European Sports Business Program” (ESBP).
This program, designed for both current and future leaders in the sports industry, comprises three transformative modules held in Düsseldorf, Stockholm, and Paris. Across this intensive 3 x 3-day experience, participants will explore future foresight and growth strategies at WHU in Düsseldorf, master the transformation of strategic concepts into commercial success at SSE in Stockholm, and gain essential insights into leadership, goal setting, and change management within the dynamic sports business environment at ESSEC in Paris.
In this transformative journey, participants will not only acquire cutting-edge skills and innovative thinking but also amplify their professional network, connecting with an eclectic mix of international peers and top-tier industry experts.
- Leadership Skills: Lead high-performing teams and organizations effectively.
- Global Network: Connect with future sports leaders, renowned experts, and European sports hubs.
- Best Practices: Gain insights from European sports organizations.
- Certification: Earn Executive Education certificates from three top business schools.
Feb 10, 2025 - Feb 12, 2025, Düsseldorf
- Navigating strategic uncertainty (Delphi method)
- Assessing strategic opportunities
- Leading a strategy making process
- Building strategies for growth
About the module:
1. We nurture strategic mindset to leverage change into progress
2. We aspire progress to digitize and globalize sports
3. We follow a systematic strategy process to translate vision into action
After the course participants will be able to:
- Execute a systematic four-step strategy making process from aspire to assess to architect to act
- Aspire new boulevards of growth to unlock value streams for a future-ready organization
- Architect a comprehensive strategy which captures the full potential of new business opportunities
- Assess strategic opportunities to prioritize scarce resources
- Deal with strategic uncertainty in a rapidly changing world
- Prove their knowledge on Strategy Making with an official certificate by WHU
Apr 28, 2025 - Apr 30, 2025, Stockholm
- Implementing strategies
- Driving positive change
- Measuring and monitoring performance
- Ensuring business model funding
About the module:
1. We focus on strategy implementation in the fast-paced and competitive world of sports
2. We balance powers within sports, where dreams and dark sides collide
3. We navigate challenges of managing change and securing business model funding
After the course participants will be able to:
- Implement strategies in a rapidly changing industry to remain fit for the future …
- Set appropriate performance metrics to continuously evaluate and navigate the transformation journey
- Analyze funding options for a sports business in a professionalizing investment environment
- Manage risk during strategy implementation to balance up- and downside potentials
- Drive change that takes the entire organization on a path to improvement
- Prove their knowledge on Management & Execution with an official certificate by SSE
Jun 16, 2025 - Jun 18, 2025, Paris
- Motivating teams
- Creating a culture of initiative
- Fostering openness to change
- Instilling purpose
About the module:
1. We experience sports business as a people business
2. We create engaged, adaptive, and thriving teams to drive innovation and change
3. We promote a sense of purpose to lead organizations into the future
After the course participants will be able to:
- Lead and motivate high-performing teams to drive change
- Create a culture of initiative and innovation to unlock new potential
- Foster openness to change and resilience in their teams and organizations
- Instill a sense of purpose and meaning to help teams thrive
- Prove their knowledge on Leadership & Culture with an official certificate by ESSEC
Eligible participants should ideally have a distinct growth mindset, a completed undergraduate degree, and a minimum of 2 years of postgraduate experience, ideally in the Sports Business world. Exemptions may apply for outstanding candidates with a strong track-record in sports.
- 2+ Years Professional Experience
- Undergraduate Degree
- Open to New Challenges & Fresh Sports Business Perspectives
ESSEC Sports Chair and Professor of Management - ESSEC Business School Paris
She teaches leadership, organizational behavior, and human resource management. Her research focuses on how leaders and employees bring about change and shape the future, such as by contributing to change and innovation.
Professor of Accounting & Director of the Center for Sports & Business - Stockholm School Of Economics.
Martin Carlsson-Wall is Professor of Accounting at Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) and Director of the Center for Sports and Business at SSE. In 2015, he founded the Stockholm School of Economics' Center for Sports and Business. It is an inter-disciplinary research center with faculty members from all over the world.
Professor of Sports and Management at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Sascha L. Schmidt is a Professor, Chair Holder and Director of the Center for Sports and Management (CSM) at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management in Düsseldorf, Germany with the “Future of Sports” being his key research area. He regularly publishes his work in various books and peer-reviewed journals, including Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Sloan Management Review, and Applied Psychology.
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