SFIA Industry Leaders Summit Coming to Baltimore

The 7^th annual Industry Leaders Summit, hosted by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), presents a collection of speakers who have changed the landscape of the sports and fitness industry through an innovative and creative approach. The Summit will take place on September 25–26, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. The prime focus of this year’s event is to dive into new opportunities presented by technology, increasing participation by accommodating a larger base, and adapting to exterior influences and pressures, all around the theme, Innovate | Activate | Accelerate.

Erik Anderson, Executive Chairman of Topgolf, will provide the first keynote address, telling the story behind the great Topgolf expansion, attracting new players to the game and providing alternative participation methods. Founder of Zumba, Alberto Perlman, will present the second keynote address, ranging from the inception of Zumba to becoming a global phenomenon. For the third year in a row, “Breakfast with Matt” is back, with Matt Powell, Vice President & Senior Industry Advisor at The NPD Group, to provide assessments and sales tracking data for a deeper analysis and understanding of the overall sports, fitness and retail market. Vice President of Intel, Tamiko Hutchinson, will share expertise and insight on the merging worlds of sports and technology, and where it’s headed from the perspective of a technology company.

New to this year’s Summit, the Under Armour Innovation Team will be hosting a tour of their innovation lab, the UA Lighthouse. This event will focus on highlighting small business and innovation, strongly aligning with many of the Summit’s overall topics. George Foreman III, Founder of Everybody Fights; Michael Schaeffer, Founder of NOBULL; and Bruce Smith, CEO of Hydrow, will provide unique insights from the standpoint of a niche company experiencing rapid growth in today’s market. Tom Waller, Senior Vice President of lululemon’s innovation hub, Whitespace, will speak to the power of lululemon and how the company has changed the way athletes and non-athletes alike dress for both work and play.

To top off a full and exciting agenda, SFIA will also be hosting the 4thannual Start-Up Challenge, showcasing the greatest innovations guiding today’s sports and fitness industry. The Challenge will kick off the two-day summit on September 25th. In addition to the list of renowned speakers, the audience will also be comprised of executives from various sports, fitness and retail leaders, including adidas, Amazon, Nike, Walmart, Bose, New Balance, Under Armour, Spalding, Gildan and many more. Click here to view the full agendaand list of attendees.

ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.