The Board of Directors of Sports Hub Pte Ltd (Sports Hub) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Manu Sawhney as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Sawhney will join the Singapore Sports Hub on 1 September 2015 as CEO-Designate before assuming his formal CEO responsibilities, which will commence on 1 October 2015.
Mr. Sawhney, aged 48, was in his last role, the Managing Director of ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), a 50:50 joint venture for Asia between ESPN and News Corp, reporting directly to the Board. He was responsible for the overall business leadership and P&L of the company across 24 countries in Asia and was also responsible for developing the strategy for overall business expansion for the company. He held various roles of responsibility across the sports, media and entertainment group, since joining ESS in India in 1996. Mr. Sawhney is also a serving Director of Manchester United PLC and an advisor to STAR India Private Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox). He was also a member of the Steering Committee of the 28th South East Asia Games held in Singapore this year.
The Chairman of the Board of Sports Hub, Mr. Mark Woodhams said, “The Official Opening of Sports Hub on 26th July marked the beginning of the next phase of our operations. We have been growing from strength to strength since opening our doors in June 2014, and in line with our succession plans, we are delighted to welcome Manu whose role will be to build on the momentum we have achieved thus far, to take the project to the next level. With over 25 years of regional leadership experience in the Asian media, entertainment and sports industries, Manu has a great track record of managing complex businesses and developing innovative consumer facing content and successful commercial initiatives.”
Said Mr. Sawhney, “I am honoured to be given the opportunity to steer Sports Hub’s operations and look forward to building on the strong foundations already in place. As a member of the Steering Committee of the 28th SEA Games held in Singapore, I was impressed by the role the Singapore Sports Hub and its dedicated team of professionals played at the Games. As a multifaceted venue, it was truly a fulcrum point of the Games. I look forward to working with all our key stakeholders to realise Sports Hub’s potential as a national and global icon and an integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub that delivers world-class events alongside a full calendar of community activities.”
Mr. Woodhams also expressed his warm appreciation and thanks to Mr. Collin-Delavaud who has led Sports Hub as CEO since inception in December 2010. “Philippe has done an outstanding job leading the company through the construction phase to stable operations and building a tremendous team to take the Singapore Sports Hub forward. We are grateful for his contribution and wish him all the best.”
Sports Hub’s current CEO, Mr. Philippe Collin-Delavaud will stay until the end of December 2015, working on an orderly and detailed transition of responsibilities and knowledge transfer to Mr. Sawhney as well as completing projects with which he is currently involved in.
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For media queries, please contact:
Jose Raymond
Senior Director (Corporate Communications and Stakeholder Management)
Singapore Sports Hub
Phone: +6591478040
Email: [email protected]
Sam Eatwell
Communications Manager
Singapore Sports Hub
Phone: +6593975288
Email: [email protected]
Notes to Editors:
Bio details of Mr. Manu Sawhney:
With over 25 years of rich experience in the Asian sports, media, entertainment and consumer products industries consistently delivering market growth, identifying & creating new business opportunities and ensuring profitable growth, Mr. Sawhney during his various roles, was involved in extensive interaction with stakeholders that included Global & Regional corporations, rights holders and Government bodies. Mr. Sawhney served on the Steering Committee of the 28th SEA Games and is currently a serving Director of Manchester United PLC as well as an advisor to STAR India Private Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox).
Mr. Sawhney was Managing Director of ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), a 50:50 joint venture for Asia between ESPN and News Corp between 2007-2012. Previously he served as the Executive Vice President of Programming/Event Management/Marketing/Network Presentation between 2003-2006 and prior to that, as Managing Director or ESS’s South Asia business based out of India. Before joining ESS in 1996, Mr. Sawhney worked with ITC Global Holdings and before that, at Eicher Tractors, a leading Indian farm equipment company.
Mr. Sawhney is a Singaporean and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India, and received his Masters in International Business from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, India.
ABOUT SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB
The Singapore Sports Hub is Singapore's premier sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub with integrated community programming.
Consisting of a unique cluster development of integrated world-class sports facilities within the city, it plays a critical role in accelerating the development of sports industry, excellence and participation, and will take sports to the next level in Singapore.
Located on a 35-hectare site in Kallang, the Singapore Sports Hub will include the following facilities:
- A new 55,000-capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof and movable tiered seating
- 100PLUS Promenade that encircles the National Stadium
- A 6,000-capacity OCBC Aquatic Centre that meets FINA standards
- A 3,000-capacity OCBC Arena which is scalable and flexible in layout
- Water Sports Centre featuring kayaking and canoeing
- 41,000 sq m Kallang Wave Mall
- The iconic Singapore Indoor Stadium
- Shimano Cycling World
- Singapore Youth Olympic Museum & Singapore Sports Museum
- Sports Hub Library
- Daily community facilities and activities open for Singaporeans, including beach volleyball, hard courts for futsal, basketball and netball, lawn bowls, giant chess, skate park, climbing wall and running & cycling paths
The Singapore Sports Hub, which is managed by SportsHub Pte Ltd, is one of the largest sporting Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the world. It is also Singapore's largest flagship PPP project of this nature, and has won the PFI award in London in 2011, World Architecture Festival Awards for Best Future Project in the leisure-led development category in 2013 and Sports Building of the Year in 2014.
For more information, please visit the Singapore Sports Hub
- Website: www.sportshub.com.sg
- Facebook: sporesportshub
- Twitter: @sgsportshub
- Instagram: sgsportshub
