Based in London, CSI was founded by Russian investors Vladimir Antonov and Roman Dubov alongside Chris Akers, a former CEO of Leeds United. Among CSI’s other sports properties are the Spyker Squadron motorsport team and North One Sport, the global promoter of the World Rally Championship, Isle of Man TT race series, Velux 5 Oceans Race and Clipper Round the World sailing events.
In three years, ESL, through its flagship Leaders in Football operation, has attracted more than 1,000 director-level delegates from over 45 countries. ESL has also branched out into Leaders in Performance and Leaders in Sponsorship, while the annual Leaders in Sport gathering in Spain has also proved popular with industry executives.
“The last three years have been incredibly exciting and rewarding as we have built a number of high level events from scratch under the ‘Leaders in’ brand,” said James Worrall, the founder and CEO of ESL. “I would like to thank my staff for their outstanding work and I am delighted to say that my team will continue our roles under the Convers banner.”
Antonov said: “Convers Sports Initiatives are delighted to acquire a controlling interest in such a young, dynamic company as ESL. We will bring our experience and network to the table to assist ESL to become a truly global brand.” The annual Leaders in Football event will take place at Chelsea FC in London on October 5-6.
