Between The Lines - The Careers Behind The Game

From the Ice Rink to Audi F1: Francesca Rio on Reinventing Yourself After Elite Sport

Francesca Rio spent many years on the Italian national figure skating team before an injury at 23 forced the hardest decision of her life. What followed was a career nobody could have planned: fashion at Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino, a cold LinkedIn application to AC Milan, and now leading Merchandising and Licensing at the Audi F1 Project. In this episode, Francesca opens up about losing her athletic identity, rebuilding herself from scratch, and what elite sport really teaches you about resilience, ownership and discipline. She also shares why diversity of talent is the real secret to building winning teams. Topics: athlete career transition, sports merchandising, AC Milan, Audi F1, figure skating, fashion and sports, breaking into sports, identity and resilience.

Yes, And... Giulio Castiglioni on Building a Career in Sports Tech Without a Plan

Giulio Castiglioni didn't plan his way into sports tech. He coached football in Italy, stumbled into padel booking before anyone knew what padel was, and eventually found himself leading customer care at Playtomic — one of Europe's fastest-growing sports startups — across a team of 34 people from 17 nationalities. In this episode, Giulio shares the pivotal moments that shaped his career: the blunt feedback that backfired early in his coaching days and what it taught him about how to give it properly, the decision to move from Italy to Spain with no contacts and imperfect Spanish, and why he thinks proactivity — not waiting to be told what to do — is the single most underrated career skill. He also makes a case that the sports industry needs to trust young people more, explains why he leads a team rather than a family, and draws on the Airbnb 10-star experience framework to talk about what genuine customer care looks like at scale. #SportsTech #Padel #Playtomic #CareerJourney #SportsBusiness #CustomerExperience #SportsIndustry

Passion meets pragmatism: Zineb Soulami's journey in sports consulting

Zineb Soulami grew up in Morocco, studied in France, and has since worked across Asia and the Middle East — and that journey of constant movement turned out to be the foundation of everything she's built professionally. Now a sports strategy consultant, Zineb has worked on complex projects across some of the fastest-moving markets in global sport. In this episode, she challenges the "follow your passion" advice that gets handed out so freely in the sports industry, arguing that passion without structure, real operator skills, and financial understanding isn't sustainable. She also talks about what it takes to position yourself for a career in sports consulting, why building genuine expertise matters more than polishing your personal brand, and what she wishes someone had told her earlier. Honest, grounded, and full of practical career advice for anyone trying to break into or grow within the sports business world. #SportsConsulting #SportsBusiness #CareerAdvice #SportsStrategy #WomenInSports Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:29 Beyond The LinkedIn Line 04:38 The Rookie Years 12:42 Clutch Times 29:01 Behind The Game Plan 33:15 Sideline Wisdom 41:29 The Final Whistle #SportsBusiness #Leadership #CareerJourney #USSoccer #Football #Inclusion #Resilience #WomenInSports

From Tennis to Formula 1 to Padel: Ben Nichols on Reinventing Yourself Across Three Sports

Ben Nichols has reinvented himself more times than most people dare to try once. Over a 20-year career in sports, he's moved from communications in Tennis and Formula 1 to leading PR at the World Anti-Doping Agency during one of its most scrutinised periods, to founding Padel22 — a global communications agency in a sport that's now growing faster than almost anyone predicted. In this episode, Ben unpacks what each of those chapters actually taught him, how he handled the moments of doubt that came with each transition, and what it feels like to build something entirely from scratch after years inside large established organisations. He also shares a grounded perspective on the rise of padel across the UK, US, and beyond — and why the sport's growth is creating real career opportunities for the next generation of sports business professionals. #Padel #SportsCommunications #CareerReinvention #SportsBusiness #F1

From McKinsey to US Soccer: How Majd Steitieh Built a Career Across 11 Cities and 8 Countries

Majd Steitieh entered the sports industry without a traditional sports background — and that turned out to be exactly the point. After studying at McGill and Harvard and building her early career through audit, PwC, and McKinsey across multiple countries, she eventually made it to the US Soccer Federation, where she leads growth strategy with a focus on disability soccer and inclusion. In this episode, Majd talks about what it's like to live and work across 11 cities in 8 countries, how that level of mobility builds adaptability that no classroom can teach, and how she handled the rejections that came before the breakthrough. She also makes a compelling case for why inclusive cultures in sports leadership aren't just the right thing — they're the effective thing. An honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and building a career on your own terms. #SoccerCareers #SportsCareers #WomenInSports Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:02 Beyond The LinkedIn Line 07:19 The Rookie Years 17:17 Clutch Times 37:02 Behind The Game Plan 43:38 Sideline Wisdom 57:41 The Final Whistle #SportsBusiness #Leadership #CareerJourney #USSoccer #Football #Inclusion #Resilience #WomenInSports