New Parity CEO Leela Srinivasan Aims to Create Economic Opportunity for Women Athletes through Brands and Fans

No one denies the power of men’s sports. The passion for women’s sports, however, is growing exponentially.  And that makes Parity’s new CEO Leela Srinivasan very happy.  While Deloitte predicts that TV and sponsorship revenue for women’s sports will soon exceed $1 billion globally, Leela is focused on a more alarming statistic: currently less than 1% of sponsorship money goes into women’s sports.

Parity was created in 2020 to close the pay gap in women’s sports, benefitting elite women athletes and their fans, as well as brands. With a current roster of more than 800 athletes from 70 sports, including Olympians and Paralympians, CEO Leela Srinivasan aims to revolutionize the financial model for women athletes, while creating meaningful opportunities for brands– large and small.

Founded by former leaders on Wall Street, the company drives revenue to pro women athletes by curating sponsorship opportunities, as well as other aspects of brand ambassadorship, content creation, and in-person appearances.

Today we talk about Parity’s mission, Ms. Srinivasan’s goals for the organization, the athletes’ stories, and why brands should care about the new world of fandom for women’s sports. To learn more, watch the video interview on Internationalist Marketing TV (IMTV) on YouTube by CLICKING HERE.

Subscribe FREE to Internationalist Marketing TV on YouTube to get notifications of new videos.

In our conversation, we discuss the following:

• Can you tell us about the new world of fandom for women’s sports… and specifically why brands should care about its growing numbers.
• Talk a little about the athletes you represent… I understand they not only represent a variety of sports, but are quite multi-dimensional in their skills, interests, and experiences.
• Outline what Parity has accomplished for women athletes since its launch in 2020.
• If Parity is where brands and athletes connect, would you give us some examples of your partnerships with brands… be they large or small.
• How would you describe the value of elite women athletes to a brand?
• I realize that many of your athletes are based throughout North America; however, I understand that they do attract global fans.  Could you talk a little more about that?
• Brands have become metrics obsessed.  Is there an ROI for brands when considering a woman athlete as spokesperson or influencer?
• What were some of the key moments in women’s sports so far this year, and what should people pay attention to in the coming months?

Or tune in to our Trendsetters podcast, HERE

To learn more, visit www.paritynow.co

Prior to joining Parity, Leela Srinivasan served as chief marketing officer at three high-growth companies: Checkout.com, a global digital payments platform; Momentive, the parent company of SurveyMonkey; and recruiting software company Lever. She also held marketing leadership roles at LinkedIn and OpenTable and worked for management consulting firm Bain and Company in London and San Francisco, following a successful career in sales leadership at Business Wire. 

 Leela is also a current board member at Upwork, a limited partner at Stage 2 Capital and the Neythri Futures Fund and has advised multiple startups. She holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where she serves on the board of advisors. She and her husband have three daughters.