PROFILE
Michael Payne has been at the forefront of the sports marketing industry for over forty years – having led the global marketing effort for the Olympic Movement for two decades, from 1983 to 2004 as the IOC’s first ever Marketing and Global Broadcast Rights Director. Nominated as one of the world’s most influential marketers by Advertising Age, Michael directly oversaw the development and implementation of the marketing programmes for 15 Olympic Summer and Winter Games. Paris 2024 will be Michael’s 22nd Olympic Games.
In December 2022, the IOC awarded Michael one of their highest awards, the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for services to the Olympic Movement. Only previously awarded 41 times, former recipients include Henry Kissinger, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Giovani Agnelli and Emil Zatopek.
On leaving the IOC, following the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Michael founded his own strategic consultancy, Payne Sports Media Strategies, working with many of the world’s leading sports groups and companies. For more than a decade, Michael acted as special advisor to F1’s former Chairman / CEO Bernie Ecclestone, pioneering the effort to bring F1 to new markets from Singapore to Russia, to supporting major F1 broadcast negotiations. Following the sale of F1 by CVC to Liberty Media, Michael continued to act as a strategic advisor to CVC Group, most recently brokering their investment in World Volleyball.
Michael also acted as special advisor to WPP, the world’s largest marketing group and its CEO and founder Sir Martin Sorrell, and serves on, or as advisor to a number of boards around the world.
Michael continues to maintain a close association with the Olympic and international sports movement, acting as senior strategic advisor to the successful London 2012, Rio 2016 and LA Olympic 2028 bids. He advises on major Olympic, F1 and other sports media rights and sponsorship negotiations for clients across Asia, the Americas and Europe, developing many of the world’s largest broadcast and sponsorship deals. Most recently he pioneered, with his Chinese partners Shankai, the ground breaking Alibaba – IOC long term partnership deal, and conceived the innovative Joint TOP long term partnership for Coca-Cola & Chinese Dairy giant Mengniu. Over the course of Michael’s 40 year association with the Olympics, he has lead the negotiations to generate over $20 billion for the IOC and the Games.
Recognised as a pioneer in the industry, from the original creation of the IOC’s TOP global sponsorship programme, to development of long term broadcast deals. Michael championed the introduction of brand management discipline in sports marketing, leading to the IOC’s award winning Celebrate Humanity programme and the creation of the world’s first digital sports film archive bureau, OTAB, to ground breaking technology introducing LED to the field of sports competition.
Prior to joining the IOC, Michael spent a number of years helping to develop and manage marketing programes for a broad variety of international events. These included the First World Athletics Championships, Helsinki1983; the English Test Match Cricket Series through to the launch of the London Marathon in 1982. Prior to that, in the mid 1970’s Michael competed in the international ski circuit as a member of the British Freestyle Ski Team, at World Cup level – twice becoming British Professional Freestyle Ski Champion.
His business book, Olympic Turnaround (Published London Business Press – June 2005) details the business story of how the Olympic Games stepped back from the brink of bankruptcy to become the world’s best known brand – and a multi billion dollar global franchise, has earned critical acclaim in the industry and been translated into more than 15 languages.
In 2021 Michael released TOON IN! (Published Vision Sport – www.olympiccartoon.com ) ‘the unofficial and entirely unsanctioned Olympic History – a large format coffee table book for charity, with 1,200 political cartoons from 400 of the world’s greatest cartoonists, and a 500 page personal commentary. The book been critically acclaimed around the world and in 2022 won the prestigious Sunday Times Best Sports Book of the Year Award (Illustrated).
Michael is a regular commentator on sports marketing industry affairs for CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, New York Times and other media groups around the world including regular marketing columns with the Financial TimesFortune China and Japan’s Yomuiri Shimbun.
Follow on Twitter: MichaelRPayne1
