::: Asia Sports 2009 - Asian Sport Industry and the way Forward :::

Mike Rich
CEO, GroupM ESP

Mike has been working in the sport & entertainment marketing industry since 1992. Working on both the client and agency side, he has gained invaluable experience across a huge variety of major international projects.

12 years in the UK and European marketplace saw him running major sponsorship programmes both as a client and sponsor, including the English Football League, the Rugby Football League, the IRB Rugby World Cup, the British Basketball League, the UEFA Champions League and the World Rally Championships.

As Managing Partner of Mindshare’s content company, Performance, he was instrumental in launching and shaping the brand in Europe. As a management consultant in the content space, Mike has worked with a large number of multinationals, including Ford, Nike, SAP, Vodafone, Sony and Mazda, creating innovative content-based communication solutions, ranging from ad-funded programming, viral film, and blockbuster movie tie-ups, to music licensing and merchandising partnerships.

Mike moved to Singapore in 2004 as MD of Performance Asia, to establish the Performance brand across the Asia Pacific region. The business now works with establsihed brands such as AMEX, Tiger Beer, Ford, Motorola, Nestlé and Unilever, delivering a wide range of content solutions and has well-established “content creation” teams across all the major markets in the region.

At the beginning of 2006 Mike was appointed CEO of GroupM’s content division in Asia Pacific. With a regional team of over 170 content specialists, he now has responsibility for the development of integrated content solutions for brands across the entire GroupM client portfolio.

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