Cross-Sector Collaboration Key to Unlocking Women’s Sport Potential, Says TLA’s Kathryn De Iulio

Leading talent manager and TLA Worldwide GM of Talent Marketing Kathryn De Iulio has issued a call to action for the Australian sports industry to dismantle operational silos and drive commercial growth across female athletics.

Speaking ahead of her appearance at the Women in Sport Summit 2026, De Iulio emphasised that expanding the commercial footprint of female athletes requires sports administrators, brands, and management networks to unite under a cohesive ecosystem strategy.

Breaking Down Industry Silos

Drawing on over 20 years of experience managing elite athletes, De Iulio noted that while women’s sport has experienced accelerated growth over the past five years, stakeholders continue to operate in isolation rather than leveraging cross-sport opportunities.

“I think that we’ve all been running quite solo.”

“Like I work in this sport, I sit w here in the within the organisation, and I think we’re often sort of looking at what’s already been done before, but I still think that there’s an opportunity lacking.

“Like, what is this sport doing that we can piggyback off another sport and actually like bring multiple sports together and just continue to like look at women in sport as an entire industry,” De Iulio said.

De Iulio also highlighted that moving past traditional frameworks requires sports leaders to engage in open dialogue regarding operational hurdles and shared goals.

“I think there’d be a conversation that needs to be had. I think we need to break the barriers down.”

“Because I think as particular women, we don’t tend we’re very good at sharing, but sort of behind closed doors, I don’t think we kind of publicly share a lot of the frustrations and challenges that we have,” De Iulio explained.

Re-Imagining Athletes as Content Creators

Addressing commercial alignment between commercial partners and female athletes, De Iulio identified a critical disconnect in how brand budgets are currently allocated and executed.

“I think the biggest problem at the moment is that the athletes still consider themselves athletes and brands want content creators.”

“So I think first of all, I’d love to hear how brands think that they can utilise athletes and where they’re spending, why athletes keep you know, not keep it particularly like female athletes, if I look at those, if that space, like how I guess why they’re missing out on opportunities,” De Iulio stated.

To bridge this gap, De Iulio urged sports administrators to involve athletes directly in strategic decision-making processes to build scalable commercial models rather than merely replicating male sporting structures.

“I would listen to the athletes”

“I think one of the biggest things I’ve seen working with athletes for 20 plus years is that it’s always quite administrationally governed…

“I think they need to start to see them as spokespeople and advocates and people that have, you know, played the game in a way and and have access to the game in a way that the administrators don’t,” De Iulio concluded.

The Women in Sport Summit runs from 19–22 October 2026 at Adelaide Oval, with the Leadership Summit taking place on Wednesday 21 October. Secure a ticket here now!!!