Benjamin Troester
Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief of Staff
Legends Global
Age: 29
Born: Iowa City, Iowa
Education: Drake University, B.S., finance and accounting
Family: Fiancée, Ally Rogers
Benjamin Troester moved to London after less than two years at Legends to establish the corporate development and financial planning and analysis divisions for the company’s expanding international business. He also directed the analysis, structuring and negotiation of business deals with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Social cause I’m most passionate about: Mental health awareness. Mental health challenges have impacted many people in my life, and supporting both the widespread awareness of these challenges and diseases, as well as being supportive of seeking help and therapies, is important to me.
How I consume sports content: In many different ways, including social media, news articles, online and via traditional TV mediums.
How my expectations of a job in sports business matched reality: They didn’t match at all. I was surprised at how small and well connected the industry is. It was also a shock how rapidly the industry has changed since I started four years ago, and will continue to change.
Impact of Gen Z’s viewing habits on live events: It is forcing leagues and content owners to adjust how they structure their content and delivery methods. Traditional viewing may become less of a focus with a shift toward new platforms and/or delivery methods to capture this growing audience.
Best use cases for AI in sports: For on-the-field uses, it’s allowing teams and players to make more informed decisions, leading to better performance. For companies, leveraging AI for increased pattern recognition of end consumers to drive increased monetization is one near-term use case.
When I attend a sporting event, I want … : To take in the full experience from both the on-the-field performance of the teams, but also the entire venue experience from food and beverage, merchandise and overall guest experience. I think of sports not just about the game or match, but the end-to-end experience from the moment I walk into the venue to when I leave.
You’d be surprised to know that I … : Have run two marathons.
