Daniel Sillman
Daniel Sillman, Chief Executive Officer of Relevent Sports Group (RSG), is passionate about media businesses that lie at the intersection of sports and entertainment. Sillman leads the largest privately-owned soccer company in North America which operates the International Champions Cup (ICC), the summer’s premiere international club tournament. The 2018 ICC featured 18 of the most influential soccer teams playing matches in 22 cities, across 3 continents, over 27 days. The tournament has sold 5 million tickets and draws over 100 million viewers annually.
Sillman has extended the company’s brand beyond the soccer pitch, providing innovative global experiences with increased access for fans and opportunities to showcase world-class athletes, securing RSG’s place as a major force in sports business. Sillman’s initial foray into soccer was leading the strategy to bring the famed soccer rivalry, El Clásico, to the U.S. for the first time in 2017 creating a week of events and entertainment activities, marketing the match to be the highest grossing soccer match in recorded history. Sillman has been named to the 2019 Sports Business Journal’s forty under 40 list and Forbes’ Sports 30 under 30 for 2018.
Sillman has led the company through a period of exponential growth, driving the company’s holistic approach to growing soccer’s popularity in America. He created new properties including the ICC Futures’ Tournament, ICC Womens’ Tournament and the event property, House of Soccer. Sillman has led key acquisitions including BRC Group, the owner of Alianza de Futbol ("Alianza"), the country's largest and most prestigious amateur Hispanic soccer program and JUGOtv, a multi-platform digital sports network for U.S. Hispanic soccer fans.
In August of 2018, Sillman negotiated the landmark deal, a first-of-its-kind 20-year partnership with LaLiga, an equal joint venture to promote soccer in the U.S. and Canada. The deal includes media rights, sponsorship rights, licensing and merchandising rights, and grassroots activities. As part of the agreement, LaLiga plans to bring a regular season club match to the U.S, the first to be played outside of Europe.
Prior to joining RSG, Sillman served as the Director of Business Development at RSE Ventures, which is a sports, media and entertainment investment firm founded by Stephen Ross and Matt Higgins. Sillman was responsible for sourcing, structuring, and executing on new investments at RSE Ventures, including NextVR, Student Sports, Krossover and PureWow, among others.
Sillman founded and served as CEO of Compass Management Group, a multi-client family office focused on athletes and entertainers that he founded while still a student at University of Michigan. Sillman was determined to provide comprehensive financial planning services that catered to a wide variety of client needs. Sillman sold Compass to the multi-family office group, FFO, where he served as a partner and strategic advisor from 2016-2018.
Sillman co-owns Del Toro shoes, the well-known high-end footwear and apparel brand. Sillman is also a founding investor in Mark Wahlberg’s supplement line, Performance Inspired Nutrition, is an investor in Rumble and Smile Direct Club, and is a venture partner at 3L Capital, a growth equity firm that invests in consumer and enterprise businesses. Sillman is a business partner and advisor to NBA star, Draymond Green, with whom he co-owns Blink Fitness franchises that encompasses the state of Michigan and Chicago area.
Sillman previously served for one term on the advisory board for the Sports Management program at the University of Michigan and is now the Chairman of the NextGen Council at the University of Michigan. He also serves on the advisory board of Child Safe foundation, which is a foster care, adoption and mentoring agency working with neglected, abused, and at-risk children. Sillman, who lives in New York City, holds a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.