

Simon Wardle
Chief Strategy Officer, Octagon WorldwideSimon Wardle is the Chief Strategy Officer for Octagon and Futures Sport + Entertainment. In his role, Wardle oversees Octagon’s multi-faceted global insights and strategy efforts, which are designed to help clients identify the right mix of partnerships, experiences, and content across the sports and entertainment landscape.
An industry leader with more than two decades of experience in sports research, marketing, and analytics, Wardle has developed the architecture for many of the interactive measurement and management tools that Octagon uses to help clients engage consumers and drive business results. In doing so, Wardle has built Octagon’s strategy division into an innovative trailblazer and standard-bearer across sports and entertainment.
Among Wardle’s achievements is the creation of Passion Drivers®, pioneering research designed to understand why fans are fans, which has now been conducted across 17 countries and for more than 30 sports and entertainment platforms. Wardle is also responsible for The Passion Shift™, a groundbreaking measurement tool that quantifies how fans feed their passion for sport across a variety of digital, social, and mobile channels, both at home and inside the stadium.
Wardle is considered among the foremost thought leaders in the sports industry, and regularly participates and speaks at sports and entertainment industry events, including SXSW, Advertising Week, Sports Business Journal’s Sports Marketing Symposium, Portada, and The Economist’s – The Big Rethink.
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Lisa
Murray
Chief Marketing & Inclusive Diversity Officer, Octagon Sports & Entertainment Network