Global Sports Marketing Leaders Set for Inaugural Victory Lap Summit in Brisbane

Sport Design Australia has unveiled the international and local speaker lineup for Victory Lap, a premier sports marketing and creative summit debuting in Brisbane this July.

Hosted at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 7–8 July 2026, the event coincides with the city’s official six-year countdown to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The summit is a filling a long-standing gap for a practitioner-led forum focused on creative execution rather than traditional infrastructure or rights-model discussions.

A Focus on Creative Execution

Unlike traditional corporate conferences, Victory Lap is designed to unpack real-world examples and proven strategies.

Emphasising that the event focuses on those “inside the work,” chief customer officer at Sport Design Australia, Cassandra Wilkins, said: “Victory Lap is built around the people generating the ideas, not observing them from the sidelines.”

“They’re inside sports organisations, making decisions, taking risks, testing boundaries and shaping how sport shows up in the world,” Wilkins said.

Adding howthe event challenges the industry to view creativity as a core business driver, program director, Matt Henry, added: “Most sports conferences focus on infrastructure, rights or commercial models.” 

“Victory Lap is built on the belief that the most successful sports organisations are also the most creative,” Henry said.

High-Profile Global and Domestic Lineup

Victory Lap features a curated roster of leaders from the world’s most iconic sporting brands, focusing on brand building, social strategy, and visual storytelling:

• Shana Stephenson (New York Liberty): The SVP and chief brand officer credited with transforming the Liberty into a culturally dominant brand in women’s basketball.
• Shahbaz Khan (NFL): The head of Global Social Strategy, formerly of Nike and the NBA, renowned for his work in athlete-led storytelling.
• Dewayne Hankins (Portland Trail Blazers): President of Business Operations, bringing expertise in digital disruption and NBA franchise management.
• Abigail Field (Los Angeles Lakers): Team photographer and digital asset archivist, offering a rare look at internal brand preservation and visual assets.

The summit also highlights the shift toward creator-led media, featuring Daniel Gorringe, Jacob Gaynor, and Lavender Baj, who are currently redefining how Australian sport engages with digital-native audiences.

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