Football Business Insider: Giorgos Lagaris, Chief Commercial Officer, PAOK

We sat down with Giorgos Lagaris, the Chief Commercial Officer of PAOK. We've discovered that the real magic of our podcast unfolds when our guests share their deeply personal journeys—and Giorgos truly delivered. He recounted the pivotal moment he chose to leave a secure management role for an uncertain internship at Sportfive, how that decision ultimately led him to PAOK, and his rich experiences in both Greece and Germany. Throughout our conversation, Giorgos offered a treasure trove of advice for aspiring professionals, all woven through personal stories that were so powerful, they gave us goosebumps.

Welcome to the first episode of our new series, Football Business Insider! Our goal is to provide real-life stories from professionals working in the football industry. In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Gary Udhwani, Regional Manager for Europe at LaLiga. Gary's story is unique—born in the Canary Islands of Spain, with Indian roots, he transcended a pool of 12,000 candidates to secure his first position. Over the past six years, he has advanced his career in football and now manages nine LaLiga delegates across 32 countries in Europe. Have a listen to Gary's story!

In this epsiode, we cover the key questions below:Why was EintrachtTech established, and what are its main missions and objectives?It's pretty common for clubs nowadays to have their own digital or technology department. But why does the club want to have a separate company for this?What are the key business pillars of  EintrachtTech? What are the main challenges of digitalization you are facing in the football industry?Which digitization or technological trends do you believe will most impact the football industry?What best practices from other industries could football learn from, especially given your experience with BMW and BCG Consulting?

We spoke to Rodrigo Yavarone, Football Operations & Business Intelligence Manager at Cruz Azul. With extensive experience in European and South American football, Rodrigo now brings his expertise and passion to Mexico. In this episode, Rodrigo takes us through the dynamic world of Mexican football, the huge potential of Liga MX and stories of one of the biggest clubs in Mexico.

In this exciting episode, we dive into the distinct worlds of managing football clubs in Europe and the U.S. with Siegmund Gruber, CEO of LASK, and Drew Bentley, VP of Business Operations & Strategy at DC United. We discussed the challenges of adopting the American sports model in Europe, the success of U.S. matchday experiences, and how U.S. football can learn from European clubs' deep-rooted traditions and passion. Join us for a focused look at the contrasts and potential learnings between these two football cultures.

The key questions:The key pillars for growth strategies at FK Austria Wien in the coming years.Unique characteristics of Austrian football.Johannes’s perspectives on Red Bull Salzburg's dominance and its impact on the Austrian leagues.

We are kicking off the year 2024 with a special episode - host Quang T. Pham invited FBIN's Managing Director Thomas Maurer to the show to reflect on the past, talk about the present and take a look at the future of FBIN. They discussed challenges and highlights of 2023, goals for the future and the plans for 2024.

In this episode of the Football Business Podcast, we're focusing on sustainable fan mobility in football, a topic of growing importance for both the sport and our planet. We're joined by Georg Pangl, CEO of the Pangl Football Group, and Egon Prünster, CTO of ummadum, who are at the forefront of this movement.

This is a live interview with Zoe Brough (HR Director, Wolves) at the FBIN Conference powered by 2Mobile on 19 October 2023. Zoe was interviewed by Clemens Hinterdorfer.

Due to its remote location, Oceania is one of the most unique football regions in the world. We chatted with Steven Dillon, Clubs & Leagues Manager of the Oceania Football Confederation on distinctive characteristics of Oceania football, the challenges facing the region, and the potential legacy of FIFA’s Women's World Cup 2023 hosted in Australia and New Zealand, and many more.