Saudi Arabia PIF’s Sports-Focused Fund Appoints CEO
SRJ Sports Investments (SRJ), the sports-focused fund launched in August by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has appointed Danny Townsend as its chief executive officer.
“Danny will help drive SRJ’s ambitions to deliver long-term impact through strategic, sustainable investments” Bander Bin Mogren, SRJ chairman, said in a statement. “The Board of Directors are confident in Danny’s leadership and strategic vision for the organization, and we look forward to achieving great success together.”
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Townsend was previously CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues and had stints at Sydney FC, Nielsen Sport and Repucom International, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I welcome the opportunity to build on the strong foundations of SRJ, as we pursue exciting avenues to drive fan engagement, encourage greater sports participation and unlock game-changing opportunities in the region and beyond,” Townsend said in a statement.
Two months ago, SRJ made its first investment in the Professional Fighters League. The $100 million-plus minority investment will help launch two new PFL endeavors next year: a PFL league for the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region and the company’s “Super Fight” pay-per-view arm. The funds will also be used to attract more stars to PFL, and Saudi Arabia will host and underwrite a “substantial” number of PFL PPV events in the coming years. Bin Mogren, who has served as PIF’s COO since 2016, joined the PFL board.
PIF is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with roughly $700 billion in assets under management. It has ties to F1, boxing and WWE, as well as an 80% ownership stake in Premier League club Newcastle United. PIF upended the professional golf world over the last two years with the launch of LIV Golf. In June, the PGA Tour, LIV and DP World Tour reached an agreement to merge their commercial interests into a single, for-profit global golf entity. Also in June, PIF took control of four teams in the Saudi Pro League and signed a series of players to blockbuster contracts, including Cristiano Ronaldo, to raise the profile of the Kingdom’s domestic soccer league.
SRJ, pronounced “surge,” was established to accelerate the growth of the sports sector in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region. Its focus is on technology, media, programming, IP rights and the commercialization of venues.
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