Three celebrated athletes—Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, and Nastia Liukin—will join TheGrill 2024, TheWrap’s annual business conference on October 8 at The DGA Theater, to discuss their incredible transformations from sports champions to successful entrepreneurs.
Sue Bird, a 5X Olympic Gold Medalist, 4X WNBA champion and 2X NCAA Champion among many other awards is considered one of the greatest basketball players in WNBA history. After a championed career spanning three decades regarded as the world’s premier point guard, Sue Bird left her mark on the WNBA and tapped into her entrepreneurial spirit. In 2021, Bird co-founded TOGETHXR, a woman-centered media group focused on furthering the progress, culture, representation, and coverage of all women and girls in sport.
Megan Rapinoe is a two-time Women’s World Cup Champion, a three-time Olympian, a New York Times Best-Selling author, one of Time100’s Most Influential People and a recent Presidential Medal of Freedom award recipient. In 2022, she teamed up with her fiancé Sue Bird and launched a “A Touch More,” focused on telling the stories of the people moving culture forward. The production company is determined to bring more understanding, connection, entertainment, and conversation to the ever-evolving media landscape. Bird and Rapinoe recently re-launched their podcast, A Touch More: The Podcast. Initially an Instagram Live series originating during the height of the pandemic, A Touch More: The Podcast (originally titled A Touch More) quickly garnered a large following for its honest and wide-ranging conversations.
Nastia Liukin is a five-time Olympic Medalist in gymnastics. She is using what she’s learned on the mat and applying it to her entrepreneurial work. Whether she’s mentoring aspiring gymnasts, sharing style tips or workout routines, Liukin is dedicated to using her platform to encourage young women to turn their dreams into reality and inspire others to find their passions.
These three trailblazing women will share their insights on a special panel at TheGrill titled “Second Half Champions: Women Redefining Success in Sports and Business,” presented by City National Bank. Moderated by Charles Frazier, SVP/Team Leader – Sports & Entertainment Division at City National Bank, the panel will explore how Bird, Rapinoe, and Liukin have navigated the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship, leveraging their sports experience to build successful brands and make a lasting impact. Audiences will discover why backing athlete entrepreneurs is not just a smart investment, but also a winning strategy for the future of sports, business, and entertainment.
Additional speakers at this year’s event include: Peter Guber (Owner, Los Angeles Dodgers & Co-Owner, Golden State Warriors), Melody Hildebrandt (CTO, Fox Corporation), Shalini Govil-Pai (GM & VP, TV, Google), Justine Bateman (Filmmaker & Founder, CREDO23), Mary Parent (Chairman of Worldwide Production, Legendary Entertainment), Duncan Crabtree-Ireland (National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator, SAG-AFTRA), Lolo Spencer(Disability Advocate & Actress, “Sex Lives of College Girls”), Jeff Sagansky (CEO & President, Double Eagle Acquisition), Jeremie Harris (CEO, Gladstone AI), Edouard Harris (CTO, Gladstone AI) and many more.
Click here to view the full program.
For more than a decade, TheWrap’s Grill event series has led the conversation on the convergence of entertainment, media and technology, bringing together newsmakers to debate the challenges of and opportunities for making content in the digital age. TheGrill delivers a unique series of curated discussions, industry panels and virtual networking activations that explore the ever-changing media landscape. For more information visit: thewrap.com/thegrill
TheGrill 2024 sponsors include Easterseals Southern California, City National Bank, Wrapbook Payroll, Veritone, Inc., SAG-AFTRA, Sony Pictures, New York Festivals, Warner Bros. Discovery and The Los Angeles Film School.
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