A League of Legends: Sheryl Swoopes, Alan Shearer, Sue Bird, Nastia Liukin and Others to Join Stagwell’s (STGW) Sport Beach at Cannes Lions 2023; New Brand and Media Partners Include Bala, Enthusiast Gaming, New York Post and More

New Commentators Include Sports Vets Matt Leinart, Jay Williams and Channing Frye; Host Selema Masekela of E! and X Games Fame, Indiana Fever President & COO Allison Barber and Sportscaster Taylor Rooks

New York Post to Host ‘Page Six Hour’ in the Sport Beach Content Studio, THINK450 to Host Courtside Conversation and Athlete “AMA” on the Main Stage

NEW YORK and CANNES, France, May 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, today unveiled its third round of confirmed renowned athletes, personalities and brand partners participating at Sport Beach. The network’s flagship venue at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2023 (Cannes Lions), Sport Beach is built for brands, platforms and athletes to tap into the cultural zeitgeist of sport and explore the power of fandom.

Talent

• Conrad Anker (rock climbing) – An American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory’s body on Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber.
• Paolo Banchero (basketball) – The no. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Paolo is a forward for the Orlando Magic and was named Rookie of the Year in 2023. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.
• Saquon Barkley (football) – Top NFL running back currently playing for the New York Giants. AP offensive rookie of the year after his first season in the NFL. Barkley played college football at Penn State, where he set several all-time school records for his offensive production over three seasons before forgoing his senior year to enter the NFL.
• Scout Bassett (track & field) – An American Paralympic Track & Field athlete, Scout is a 7-time National Champion in the 100m, 2016 Paralympian, and a WSF board member. Her book, LUCKY GIRL, will be released in September alongside her fund to financially support young athletes with disabilities compete at the elite level.
• Kelvin Beachum (football) – Currently an NFL offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals, Kelvin is a 12-year veteran and has played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets. He is also a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee… 
• Sue Bird (basketball) – A WNBA legend and decorated athlete, Sue has captured five Olympic Gold Medals, four World Championship Gold Medals, two NCAA Championships, four WNBA Championships, and is a 13x WNBA All-Star. Bird stepped into her entrepreneurial spirit and has co-founded two companies – Togethxr and A Touch More, both in line with her passion to uplift underrepresented voices and stories through allyship and advocacy. 
• Ashlyn Harris (soccer) – Former United States Women’s National Team & Gotham FC goalkeeper and current Global Creative advisor for Gotham FC, Ashlyn made her debut in 2013 with the National Team. She was a member of the 2015 and 2019 World Cup Champion team, is a two-time CONCACAF Champion, three-time SheBelieves Cup Champion, three-time College National Champion, and Olympian.
• Nastia Liukin (gymnastics) – A 5-Time Olympic medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games, and a member of the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. Since her retirement from the sport in 2012, Nastia has gone on to commentate gymnastics for NBC, founded multiple successful businesses, and serves as an angel investor for early-stage companies.
• CJ McCollum (basketball) – CJ McCollum is President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association. A 10-year veteran of the NBA, McCollum currently plays for the New Orleans Pelicans and was originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the tenth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
• Alan Shearer (soccer) – A former professional football player and England captain. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, and one of the greatest players in Premier League history, he is the Premier League’s record goal-scorer with 260 goals. Since his retirement in 2006, Shearer has worked as a TV pundit for the BBC, Premier League Productions and Amazon Prime. 
• Faze Swagg (esports) – A popular streamer, YouTuber, and content creator for Faze clan as well as a part of Nuke Squad, Swagg is a dedicated Call of Duty streamer. Before moving to YouTube, he became one of the top Warzone creators on Twitch.
• Sheryl Swoopes (basketball) – An American former professional basketball player, she was the first player to be signed in the WNBA and is a WNBA Hall of Famer. Sheryl is a three-time WNBA MVP, was named one of the league’s Top 15 Players of All Time at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game. She is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history.

Journalists and Commentators

• Allison Barber – Barber, Ph.D., is the President and COO of the Indiana Fever, Indiana’s WNBA franchise. From grade school teacher to communications strategist in the White House and United States Department of Defense; and as the first chancellor and chief fundraiser for Western Governor’s University (WGU) Indiana, Allison has dedicated herself to creating pathways to help individuals reach their potential. Allison is a lifelong volunteer with the American Red Cross.
• Channing Frye (basketball) – World Champion and NBA draft lottery pick, Channing Frye, had an illustrious 14-year career in the National Basketball Association. Currently, Channing is an analyst for Turner Sports, where he hosts a multitude of shows including Handles and Emmy-nominated NBATwitterLive. He is also a co-host of the wildly popular podcast, Road Trippin’, and started his own wine label, Chosen Family Wines.
• Matt Leinart (football) – An analyst on FOX Sports’ BIG NOON KICKOFF college football pregame show, Matt is one of the most decorated college football players in the sport’s history. A College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Leinart won the Heisman Trophy, a BCS National Championship and two Associated Press National Championships as a quarterback at USC. He went on to play in the NFL for the Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals.
• Selema Masekela – Commentator, journalist, host, and Emmy nominated host/producer and co-creator of AFROSURF.   Best known for his work across X-Games & ESPN/ABC, NBC Olympics, E!, Nat Geo, Red Bull Media House. He is the co-founder of Stoked, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring at risk youth through action sports.
• Taylor Rooks – An Emmy nominated broadcaster, journalist, and cultural icon known most prominently for her work with Turner Sports/Bleacher Report and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football. For the success of her work, Taylor has been featured in Sports Illustrated: “100 Influential Black Women in Sports” and is considered one of the most influential figures in sports media today.
• Jay Williams (basketball) – ESPN Host, Entrepreneur, and co-Founder of Improbable Media alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, he was the 2nd overall pick for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and 2X National Player of the Year in college for the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team.

Brand and Media Partners

• Bala – A fashion-forward fitness company, Bala was founded in 2018 by husband-and-wife team Natalie Holloway and Maximilian Kislevitz. They shipped the first 75,000 units of their now infamous Bala Bangles from their garage before appearing on Shark Tank, where they secured an investment from Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova.
• Enthusiast Gaming – An independent gaming media and entertainment company, building the largest platform for video game enthusiasts and esports fans to connect and compete worldwide. Combining the elements of its five core pillars: creators, content, communities, games, and experiences, Enthusiast Gaming provides a unique opportunity for marketers to create integrated brand solutions to engage with the coveted Gen Z and Millennial audiences.
• Getty Images – A preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves customers in almost every country in the world and is the first-place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers.
• New York Post’s Page Six – Page Six, the New York Post’s renowned gossip column, is a world leader in celebrity and entertainment news. As a daily must-read for those who want to stay in the know, Page Six features breaking news and the inside scoop on the latest top stories. Page Six has evolved into its own iconic and powerful brand reaching audiences across all platforms including print, digital, podcasting, TV, video, and social.
• ReachTV – ReachTV will be producing the “Business of Sports” series from Cannes talking to athletes, executives, and creators to get their take on the business of sports. Hosted by MLB anchor AJ Andrews, the series will look at merchandising, stadium deals, athlete and coach contracts advertising social media, digital marketing, network agreements and more.
• THINK450 – The innovation and partnership engine of the NBPA, the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association, dedicated to uncovering shared interests between the 450 players and leading brands to build more engaging partnerships.

About Stagwell
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.

Media Contact
Sarah Arvizo
[email protected]

SOURCE Stagwell Inc.