World Cup madness has taken over the world. And while you’re screaming “Allez les Bleus!”, “Vamos Vamos Argentina!”, “I Believe That We Will Win!”, “It’s coming home!”, “Vamos Nippon!”, “¡Cielito Lindo”, "Olé, Olé, Olé!" or any other team chant at the World Cup, there are thousands of people who have been planning and sweating the details so that you can watch the games and cheer your team to victory.

Today, we’ll speak with someone who is leading that team in Mexico, as Marla and Tomas sit down with the Commissioner and President of Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Mikel Arriola. Mikel shares how he regrouped after a setback running for political office to step into the top roles at FMF and Liga MX. He digs into how he aligned his team to execute an audacious World Cup strategy across three host cities in Mexico, guiding the organization through the complexity, politics, and stakeholder demands of both FMF and FIFA. And he discusses how technology and AI are redefining sports.

We’ll also hear from Navio Kwok, a leadership specialist at Russell Reynolds Associates, who will share his perspective on whether the lessons learned in professional sport can help explain why so many athletes go on to become successful leaders. 

Four things you’ll learn from this episode:

1. How to align your leadership team and navigate complexity, politics, and stakeholder demands to execute an audacious strategy
2. How to regroup and move forward after a setback
3. How to manage competing priorities and conflicts to drive decisions
4. Ideas on building the culture and skills needed for technology and AI transformation

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:

• The Business of Football with Los Angeles Rams COO Kevin Demoff
• Leadership Lounge: Why Decision-Making Is Becoming Harder for C-Suite Leaders—and How You Can Overcome It
• Exploring the Art of Possible with Google and Alphabet President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat
• Leadership Lounge: How GenAI Can Elevate—And Expose—Today’s Leaders
• In the Fast Lane: A Conversation with FIA CEO Natalie Robyn
• Leadership Lounge: Built to Last or Built to Learn: How Leaders Can Develop Resilience

A closer look at the research from this episode:

• Why Athletes Make Effective Leaders
• AI and Leadership