Welcome to our ‘Unlocking Leadership‘ series, where we delve into the creative minds of visionary founders, leaders, and innovators. Through personal insights and actionable strategies, we uncover the core principles that shape impactful leadership in today’s dynamic business world.
This week, we talk to Sarah Dawson, Executive Vice President of Brands and Properties UK at Wasserman, a global leader in sports and entertainment marketing. Sarah was appointed to the role following the acquisition of CSM by Wasserman in 2023, following a 12-year tenure with CSM. For the last five of those years, she served as Managing Director of Brands EMEA.
With extensive experience in partnership marketing in both sport and entertainment, Sarah will lead the newly combined business as they continue to service global brands.
What are three core principles that guide your approach to leadership?
The guiding principle I adhere to, both professionally and personally, is that you need to believe in order to lead. The key to being a successful leader is to believe in your work and team; from there I lead with empowerment and trust, authenticity and mentorship.
Empowerment and trust. Empower those around you and trust that they will rise. It’s important to not only give people the opportunity to prove themselves, but also provide the support needed to do so. Great leadership is building an incredible team around you.
Authenticity. Be true to yourself and show up as the real you. Don’t be afraid to show your emotions – smile, laugh, get frustrated, cry, tell people if you are having a tough week. Allow people to connect with the real you if you expect them to connect with your business or brand.
Mentorship. Leadership is about showing people the opportunity around them, highlighting the many routes to success, and giving them support to achieve it. This approach is woven into the structure of any business or team I have overseen.
I also believe that leadership comes in many different forms, and you can support people to thrive in many different ways. For example, I am passionate about pastoral care and its positive impact on performance and productivity, as well as supporting women returning to work after maternity, because I believe it’s possible to be a senior female leader in our industry without sacrificing your role as a parent.
What is one of the biggest challenges facing your industry today, and how are you as an organisation navigating this?
It is a challenging time in client servicing. The pandemic has changed both what clients expect from their agencies and what employees expect, particularly where and how they work. I think some people have gravitated towards a more transactional way of doing business, especially with a decrease in face-to-face interactions, but it’s important to remember that the crux of our industry is built on servicing clients to deliver success and building and sustaining relationships is at the core of that.
The time we spend with our teams and clients is so important. I believe that how we understand this industry and serve our clients is based on learning, watching and listening to our colleagues and really getting ingrained in the business through learnt experience. There is so much to learn from navigating the countless scenarios that help us become good servicers, and being a part of the process is critical.
How are you driving the conversation around sustainability within Wasserman and among your partners?
Environmental sustainability is a huge part of our business, both from a client standpoint and internally at Wasserman. Whether we’re identifying ways to decrease the environmental impact of the live events we produce, or educating and training our employees on sustainable practices, we ensure sustainability is part of our every day.
Responsible business is a core part of our company, and an area we are continuing to invest in, such as hiring a VP of Global Sustainability Operations. Part of our focus is reducing our own carbon footprint, and I’m proud of our progress so far– we are accredited by the CDP and measure our emissions on an annual basis. We have been upskilling our teams to proactively advise clients to reduce the carbon emissions of the work we do. This is both through in-house education programs and resources, but also by team members engaging with external initiatives such as Purpose Disruptors.
What are some of the strategies that you’re adopting to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across the teams that you lead?
There’s a lot we’re doing at Wasserman in this space. For example, we’ve delivered over 20 educational trainings, panels and forums across social impact and inclusion topics. We have curated and built ten partnerships with impact and equity-focused organisations, which resulted in executing six events, several panels and company-wide campaign activations. And we’ve continued to develop relationships with four diverse colleges, including cross-industry events on campus, internship opportunities and curriculum takeovers.
Beyond that, we’re also a partner of Merky FC, the initiative established by Stormzy which aims to increase representation and diversity in football. We’ve been working with them since 2022 and as part of the program, we’ve welcomed two interns into the business over the past two years, providing them with first-hand experience of the opportunities that lie in football away from the pitch, and hopefully helping forge a pathway for a future career in sport. It’s a fantastic partnership, and we’re proud to be a part of it.
Image credit: Wasserman
What are you most excited about right now in terms of opportunities or innovations being explored within the industry?
As a female in the sports industry, it’s no surprise that I continue to be excited by the rise of women’s sports. Not only is it garnering more attention from sports fans, but the commercial systems and outside investment that will help to drive growth are beginning to take hold. That said, it’ll take time and focus to realise its full potential. I love being part of this movement and watching the story unfold.
It’s also been incredibly rewarding to see the work of The Collective at Wasserman, the company’s dedicated impact and advisory practice, which is focused on advancing the unique investment opportunity in women’s sport and entertainment.
One of the key things we focus on is research and insights – proprietary as well as with our client partners; we believe that by advancing the conversation, the tide rises all boats, and as such all of our The Collective research is free and available for all industry stakeholders to utilise.
Over the past year, The Collective has been involved in exciting projects with Gotham FC, Billie Jean King Cup and The FA – all under the European leadership of Victoria Monk, my wonderful colleague who also rowed the Atlantic this year to promote girls in sport. Now that’s an achievement!
Image credit: Wasserman.
What’s the best piece of career advice that you’ve received?
It’s hard to do, but the best advice I’ve been given is to learn to take a step back and appreciate your own achievements, rather than constantly worrying about what you are going to do next or what your peers are doing. As you become more senior, less people pat you on the back or tell you that you’re doing a good job, so it’s important to look at yourself and recognise what you’ve accomplished. At the end of the day, your own health (mental, financial and physical) and happiness are the best indication of your success.
Who inspires you as a leader?
I respect and admire so many people around me, from my nine-year-old son’s rugby coach who turns up every Sunday morning through the depths of winter with his high energy and incredible attitude to coach 30 to 40 little boys and girls, to many of my Wasserman colleagues.
Thayer Lavielle, EVP of The Collective, is relentless in the pursuit of what she is trying to achieve, never taking no for an answer and never giving up. Her passion for what she believes in drives her and I respect that approach. That vigour compels people to sit up and listen, to take accountability for their own role in pushing women’s sport forwards, and ultimately to drive change from within.
How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?
I won’t pretend I’m not terrible at putting my phone down or switching off, but I have always managed balance well. My family and friends are extremely important to me, so I spend as much time with them as possible, and I love running, coaching hockey, yoga, tennis… in truth I rarely sit down (drives my husband bananas!). I really believe that the time you carve out for yourself and spend with others makes you a better leader, and can live through lessons and experiences that you take into the workplace.
What has been a personal career highlight?
I worked for CSM Sport and Entertainment for 12 years before it was acquired by Wasserman in 2023. CSM was a business that was also brought together through acquisition, and part of my role was to unite three agencies — with different ways of working and cultures — under one brand. A year after we started this process, we were operating as one team and we saw how people felt excited about the future.
Five years on, we had tripled in size, and launched and grown our creative, content, digital, gaming and e-sports teams — on top of a successful partnership, consulting and communications business.
I’m now at the centre of the integration of Wasserman Brands and Properties UK and the acquired CSM Brands team in London, and I’m really excited about the future of our new, amazing London business!
Finally, what is a favourite motto that you often draw on?
I wouldn’t say I have a motto, but rather, I take my inspiration from the people in my life. My dad has been a huge source of inspiration for me. He balanced his role as Chairman of Newcastle United at the same time as being an arable farmer and a livestock auctioneer who first brought electronic auctioneering to the UK. During his life he always brought everything back to being a decent human being. He believed that success will come from being a good, driven, hard-working person: looking someone in the eye, shaking their hand, committing to working together to create something special – and then getting on with doing it.
Explore more of our Unlocking Leadership interviews here.
