MY WORKING LIFE
Move over, Jerry Maguire, and meet David Collins – a UAE sports agent.
David Collins, senior vice-president for Wasserman MiddleEast, on negotiation, top golfing talent, and bringing more women’s sports to the UAE What does an agent actually do, David? At a basic level, we act as an intermediary between big brands who want to be associated with certain key sports events and talent, and the events and athletes themselves who are interested in corporate backing as part of their overall commercial strategy. So, say a leading UAE business wanted to have a relationship with a top golfer, maybe become an ambassador, we would help to broker that deal. Is an agent like Jerry Maguire in real life? I think that, the same as with most movies, it doesn’t truly reflect real life. As far as my role goes, the most comparable elements would be matching brands with top athlete talent, which is something we do very regularly. Has anyone ever said, “Show me the money?” Clients regularly ask about when new investment will be coming, but they haven’t used that exact phrase. What’s a typical day for you? Like that of so many people who live in the UAE, my day starts with an early school dropoff and then when I get to the office around 8am the first few hours are spent catching up on overnight emails from western parts of the world and then the daytime is usually rammed full of client and internal meetings as well as new business calls. We often do event site visits throughout the week and in the evening there are overseas conference calls at home. What kind of deals have you brokered? My work in talent procurement and marketing has largely revolved around high-profile golf stars, so deals such as MasterCard and Paul Casey, British Airways and Justin Rose, Jumeirah Hotels and Rory McIlroy and also Jumeirah Golf Estates and Henrik Stenson. Sportsmen must be pretty savvy when it comes to business opportunities? Absolutely. Whilst top athletes are naturally motivated by increased commercial earnings, if the core partnership fit or other associated factors are not right, then it’s not necessarily any deal for more money. What was the deal that you had to work hardest to achieve? We’re currently promoting Abu Dhabi’s only ladies’ professional sports event – The Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open golf tournament – which is a very important project for us and the UAE. Women’s sport is massively undersupported and yet the partnership potential is arguably even greater than the men’s, especially given the lower-level finances involved. One of the hardest things is convincing brands to partner with women’s sports. It’s an opportunity that most can appreciate, but still relatively few are willing to take the leap to become a pioneering force in that space. Are you an expert negotiator in everyday life? Honestly, I’m not sure. Sometimes I feel like I spend my whole day negotiating so in everyday life maybe I can switch that aspect off. But I guess it is inbuilt into my personal DNA. What skills does a good agent need? Negotiation for sure, but also perseverance to continue to network and have a fresh pipeline for deals. Most of these deals are right time, right place circumstances. Also, getting to understand how a particular talent or event is going to deliver for a sponsoring brand. Do you play golf? I do. I guess one of the reasons I got into the industry was that I wanted to be a pro athlete but then quickly realised I wasn’t quite good enough. We get out on the course fairly frequently, and often with leading talent in an effort to put them together with prospective partners. This is the best way to finally establish an authentic personality fit between two parties. I wouldn’t say that I give Rory a run for his money, though he did remark at a sponsored outing outside New York that I can’t be spending much time in the office playing golf like that. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth! What are some of the most interesting opportunities for you in the UAE? In our business we talk about a path to 2022 where we’re involved with mega events in the coming years such as our Abu Dhabi tournaments, Asian Cup football in 2019, Expo 2020... These mega events will continue to present all manner of opportunities for businesses large and small. Is pretty much everyone on this earth available for an hour if we had a million dollars to spend? A million dollars buys a lot of talent and opens up a number of high-profile options, but whilst revenue generation is key for most of them, so is their brand reputation and career development. So if the opportunity doesn’t fit with those elements, then no amount of money may be enough.
Women’s sport is massively under-supported and yet the partnership potential is greater than the men’s, given the lower-level finances involved