Playing on Thin Ice: Sports for Climate Action

Learn more aboutGeert Hendriks, Event Introduction Geert Hendriks, Event Introduction

Geert Hendriks, Event Introduction

CEO of Sport and Sustainability International

Geert Hendriks is the co-founder and CEO of Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI), a global membership organisation with the mission to accelerate sustainability in and through sport. SandSI, a Geneva-based NGO, has currently 240+ members from 55 countries, representing 70+ different sports. Prior to SandSI, he was the Head of Projects at the AISTS (International Academy of Sports Science and Technology). In this role he worked closely with the International Olympic Committee, international sports federations (UEFA, FIFA, FIBA, FIVB, World Rugby, etc.), professional sports leagues (US), host cities, Olympic Games organising committees and postgraduate students. He published several studies and books, including a booklet with case studies on the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Geert is the President of the Swiss Korfball Federation, a sport that will be used during Tokyo 2020 to support the integration of disabled youth (Tokyo 2020 Game Changer).

About Geert Hendriks, Event Introduction

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CEO of Sport and Sustainability International

Learn more aboutLew Blaustein, Moderator Lew Blaustein, Moderator

Lew Blaustein, Moderator

Founder of GreenSportsBlog

After a successful career in sports marketing communications and advertising sales, Lew Blaustein became passionate about the environment and climate change as a patriotic reaction to the 9/11 attacks. A successful solo eco-preneur career soon followed. Blaustein sells green-themed sponsorships, helps corporations tell their sustainability stories more powerfully, and generates media coverage for sustainable events on behalf of clients ranging from Whole Foods Market to Bright Power, from the Empire State Building to the Wildlife Conservation Society. GreenSportsBlog, which Blaustein launched in 2013, has become “the source for news and commentary at the intersection of Green + Sports.” Its monthly audience of up to 8,000 includes sports commissioners, team and league executives, sustainability leaders, eco-athletes and more. GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands and others syndicate his work. Blaustein was trained by Al Gore and his team as a Climate Reality Leader in 2012. Since then, he has given the slide show that was at the heart of An Inconvenient Truth to 35+ schools, religious groups, businesses and more. He also volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, lobbying members of the US House and Senate on behalf of the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019,” the first bipartisan carbon pricing bill to be introduced in a decade.

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Founder of GreenSportsBlog

Learn more aboutSergey Rybakov, Panelist Sergey Rybakov, Panelist

Sergey Rybakov, Panelist

CEO of the Slava Foundation

Sergey Rybakov is the CEO of the Slava Foundation. He has worked more than 20 years on the top management positions in financial and media sectors. He was responsible for the advocacy campaign for the creation of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area in Antarctica, starting of #Antarctica2020 and #BeatThePlasticPollution campaigns, beach clean-ups in Mumbai, Lake Baikal and in the Arctic, creating the first annual, international conference in Russia on sustainable tourism and national parks and annual Moscow Club Ambassadors Dinners. He is the head of the steering committee of #TheLastGame initiative. His main angle is to link sport and environment together.

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CEO of the Slava Foundation

Learn more aboutWinston Binch, Panelist Winston Binch, Panelist

Winston Binch, Panelist

Chief Brand & Experience Officer of GALE

Winston is Chief Brand & Experience Officer of GALE, where he leads the agency’s brand and experience design team and helps clients innovate at scale to unlock business growth. Over the last 18 years, he’s advised countless global brands on the marketing potential of the digital age including Domino’s, American Express, Target, Burger King, Nike, Vail Resorts, Taco Bell, Pandora, AB-InBev, and Volkswagen. Prior to joining Gale, Winston was an independent consultant and Chief Digital Officer of Deutsch North America. He has won 43 Cannes Lions including three Titanium lions and three Grand Prix awards. He was named one of the 100 People Who Make Advertising Great by the 4A’s, and Adweek recognized him as one of the 50 Most Indispensable Executives in Marketing, Media and Tech. An industry pioneer, Winston is known for his ability to build and grow brands through marketing and digital innovation. Before Deutsch, Winston led digital and was a partner at Crispin Porter Bogusky. He also worked at R/GA and Sony Music. He's cofounder of the M-School: Institute of Marketing at LMU and a board member of Protect Our Winters, a non-profit dedicated to fighting the climate crisis. He used to play guitar in touring indie rock band, Stereobate.

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Chief Brand & Experience Officer of GALE

Learn more aboutOmar Mitchell, Panelist Omar Mitchell, Panelist

Omar Mitchell, Panelist

Vice President, Sustainable Infrastructure & Growth Initiatives at the National Hockey League

About Omar Mitchell, Panelist

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Vice President, Sustainable Infrastructure & Growth Initiatives at the National Hockey League