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Former Chelsea Director Mike Forde to Keynote Nov. 5 Smart Content Summit EU

Mike Forde, strategic advisor to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and advisor to McLaren Formula 1’s Applied Technologies division — and longtime director of football operations and executive club director for Chelsea Football Club — has been announced as the keynote presenter for the 5th November Smart Content Summit EU.

His keynote — “Using Data to Drive Business” — will give attendees new insights into how they can create a competitive advantage by using smart recruitment, and by building an ecosystem in which talent can fulfil their full potential. His experience employing best practices in leadership, and talent and data management has won sports championships at the highest levels, and can be easily used in any business or industry, including media and entertainment.

The streaming world of today relies on accurate, real-time information about how viewers are consuming content, and Forde’s presentation will share how easily the data-driven transformation sports has undergone of late can be applied in the ways of Smart Content.

Forde worked in the English Premier League for more than 15 years, and during his tenure with Chelsea they won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, the Premier League title, and three FA Cups. “The final was only 120 minutes but represented nearly a decade of hard work and focus to achieve a specific goal,” Forde said of the Champions League title. “This is a great story for anyone who wants to achieve the highest level of performance.”

In 2014 he helped the Spurs win their fifth NBA title, and he currently sits on the board of the Lawn Tennis Association/Wimbledon and two private equity funds that specialise in the sports, leisure and entertainment space.

Forde’s keynote for the Smart Content Summit EU — which will run 12:30 pm -16:30 pm BST — kicks off a day dedicated to the emerging technologies and techniques European media and entertainment players are applying to their products, productions and processes to stay ahead of the competitive curve.

Other highlights of the day’s programme include:

• “How Metadata is Helping Drive Content Discoverability for BBC Online” with BBC’s top R&D experts.
• “Acceleration of the Smart Supply Chain & Corporate Data Culture” featuring top executives from ITV.
• “Impact of New Access Service Regulations in the UK” which will see a panel of UK TV players.
• A host of presentations from the industries top vendors, and a collection of four breakout tracks for attendees to choose from.

Smart Content Summit EU is produced by MESA and MESA Europe, in association with CDSA, HITS and the Smart Content Council, which meets regularly to share best practices, evaluate emerging technologies and collaborate to accelerate the pace of transformation in our industry. The summit is sponsored by ATMECS, Cognizant, Deluxe, Digital Nirvana, Éclair, Eluvio, Iyuno Media Group, MediaNext, NAGRA, Premiere Digital, Whip Media Group, AppTek, and EIDR.

For updates on the Smart Content Summit EU event and programme, click here.

To register click here.

To activate a Smart Content Summit EU sponsorship contact Evie Silvers at [email protected], Garrett Finley at  [email protected] or David Millar at [email protected].