GLOBAL SPORTS MARKETING HEAVYWEIGHTS CONVERGE IN BRISBANE FOR INAUGURAL VICTORY LAP
Australia’s premier sports marketing and creative summit, Victory Lap, has revealed its lineup of international and local speakers, bringing together the creative leaders reshaping how global sport is built, marketed and experienced.
Taking place 7 – 8 July 2026 at Brisbane Powerhouse, the two-day summit arrives as Brisbane enters its six-year countdown to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, reinforcing the city’s growing role as a meeting point for global sport, culture and creativity.
Developed by Sport Design Australia, Victory Lap brings together the people driving the industry forward across more than 20 sessions, anchored by a curated lineup of global sports marketers and creative practitioners appearing live on stage in Brisbane.
Among them is Shana Stephenson, Senior Vice President and Chief Brand Officer at the New York Liberty, recognised for building one of the most culturally relevant brands in women’s sport, alongside Shahbaz Khan, the NFL’s Head of Global Social Strategy, whose career across Nike, the NBA and Uninterrupted has helped shape modern athlete storytelling.
Dewayne Hankins, President of Business Operations at the Portland Trail Blazers, brings a rare perspective spanning from early social media disruption through to leading an NBA franchise, while Dan Beltran, Creative Director at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, offers insight into how team identity and storytelling are brought to life through major brand and creative campaigns across global sport.
The program also reflects the rapid rise of creator-led and fan-first content down under, with Daniel Gorringe, former AFL player turned Australia’s leading independent sports creator, joined by Jacob Gaynor and Lavender Baj, whose work is redefining tone, voice and relevance in modern sport.
Victory Lap has been over a decade in the making, created in response to a long-identified gap for a more relatable sports conference, shifting away from executive commentary towards real-world examples, proven strategies and creative work unpacked by those behind it.
Cassandra Wilkins, Chief Customer Officer at Sport Design Australia, said the lineup has been shaped around those closest to the work.
“Victory Lap is built around the people generating the ideas, not observing them from the sidelines,” Wilkins said.
“They’re inside sports organisations, making decisions, taking risks, testing boundaries and shaping how sport shows up in the world.
“That proximity to the work is what makes the conversations valuable, it’s not theory it’s the actual work, presented by people growing some of the biggest brands in global sport.”
Matt Henry, Victory Lap’s Program Director, said the event is designed to challenge traditional sports business conference formats.
“Most sports conferences focus on infrastructure, rights or commercial models,” Henry said.
“Victory Lap is built on the belief that the most successful sports organisations are also the most creative, and we’re unpacking how that actually happens.”
With limited capacity by design, Victory Lap is expected to attract marketers, creators, strategists and communicators from across Australia and internationally.
Tickets are now available at victorylap.com.au.
