Quartet of senior hires for new-look MotoGP. A new chief commercial officer, chief media officer, chief operating officer, and chief strategy officer, are now in place. Motorcycling's top-tier MotoGP series has unveiled four senior new hires as it looks to bolster its back room. Ryan Norys joins as chief commercial officer, Sameer Pabari becomes chief media officer, and Louise Young comes in as chief operating officer, while Denitza Batchvarova arrived as chief strategy officer earlier in September. Norys joins from beleaguered top-tier English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur, where he had headed up their commercial affairs since 2022. Other roles held by the new CCO include time spent at the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. Young, meanwhile, joins from iconic motor racing series Formula 1, where she was most recently chief race promotion officer, while Pabari becomes chief media officer following a spell as a league advisor. His previous senior roles in the sports industry include stints at the NFL, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Manchester United. Batchvarova joined MotoGP earlier in September from TKO Group, after a stint leading strategy at the Ultimate Fighting Championship. These appointments come following the promotion of Carlos Ezpeleta to deputy chief executive - unveiled in August - and Vince Russell being brought in as chief financial officer back in May. Carlos' father, Carmelo, is the MotoGP CEO. Carlos Ezpeleta has now said: "These appointments are an important step in building the team that will help shape MotoGP's future. Ryan, Sameer, Louise and Denitza bring hugely valuable experience from leading sports and entertainment organisations that will strengthen our commercial, media, operations and strategy capabilities." Earlier this month, MotoGP and global professional services firm Accenture unveiled a deal through which a new, direct-to-consumer, OTT streaming offering will launch. The Liberty Media-owned racing series will debut the new streaming platform in 2027, and will cover the elite MotoGP, secondary Moto2, and tertiary Moto3 categories, as well as the supporting World Superbike (WorldSBK) series. The 2026 MotoGP season got underway at the start of March in Thailand and runs through until the final race of the season in Valencia, Spain, in late November. MotoGP is now promoted and run by MotoGP Sports Entertainment, rebranded as such from Dorna Sport after that firm's takeover by Liberty Media in 2024. Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.

Mark Shapiro teases a wwe/walt Disney Company collaboration. September 9, 2026 TKO COO Mark Shapiro says WWE and The Walt Disney Company are working on "some special events" in 2027 aimed at bringing both brands' audiences together. Shapiro said WWE is "a different audience than the UFC" and stressed that "when it comes to going after families, that's our audience." He added that "advertisers are starting to see that" as WWE continues to lean into its family-friendly appeal. Looking ahead, Shapiro said, "I'm excited for 2027" because TKO is "working with The Walt Disney Company on some special events around Disney and WWE." He said the goal is "bringing those two audiences together" because both brands have one major thing in common: "Family." (Source: Goldman Sachs Conference)

Executives from EA and Tencent to speak alongside Netflix, Sony, and Disney at FT Business of Entertainment summit. Leadership summit takes place in West Hollywood in September, with discount for GamesIndustry.biz readers News by Jon Hicks Editorial Director Published on Aug 25, 2026, 10:56 PM PDT The Financial Times has unveiled the C-suite line-up for its upcoming Business of Entertainment Summit in LA in September, with games industry speakers from EA and Tencent Games joining a roster which includes executives from linear media firms including Netflix, Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal and UFC/WWE parent TKO Group. GamesIndustry.biz is a promotional partner for the event alongside our parent company IGNE Entertainment. The event is dedicated to the "forces reshaping entertainment", bringing together leaders from across the entertainment ecosystem to discuss topics including media dealmaking, franchise ecosystems, global cultural influence, live entertainment, the potential for AI in delivering fan experiences and the future of content monetisation. David Tinson, Chief Experiences office at EA, will be part of a panel on cross-medium entertainment alongside executives from Universal Entertainment and narrative production firm Madison Wells. Tian Xiao, Head of North American Partnerships at Tencent Games, will speak on a panel about the global rise of Asia's cultural exports. Keynotes include Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer at Netflix; Mark Shapiro, President and COO at TKO Group; Ravi Ahuja, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures and David Lee, CFO of Webtoon. Speakers include executives from Amazon Prime Video, the LA Dodgers, Disney and Regal Global Entertainment. Executives from firms including EA, Pokémon, Apple, Netflix, Sony Pictures and Paramount will be in attendance, along with representatives from major talent agencies including CAA, United Talent Agency and Verve Talent & Literary Agency. Tickets are available now for both digital and in-person attendance. GamesIndustry.biz readers can receive a 20% discount using the code GIB20, or by using this link.