--- title: Athletes and Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence on Business and Culture description: At a TIME100 Talk in Cannes, Carmelo Anthony, Gabby George, Doriane Pin, and Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire discussed how lessons from sports are shaping leadership, entrepreneurship, and culture far beyond the game. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-06-22T20:46:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-26T19:47:50.191Z article:section: TIME100 og:title: Athletes and Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence on Business and Culture og:description: At a TIME100 Talk in Cannes, panelists reflected on how athletes are becoming entrepreneurs, storytellers, and cultural leaders—and what that means for the future of sports and society. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee79df9c6ae7e0fd/6a3a912f3507d3bd22fda950/time-qualcomm-talk-cannes.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: time-qualcomm-talk-cannes.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Athletes and Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence on Business and Culture twitter:description: At a TIME100 Talk in Cannes, panelists reflected on how athletes are becoming entrepreneurs, storytellers, and cultural leaders—and what that means for the future of sports and society. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee79df9c6ae7e0fd/6a3a912f3507d3bd22fda950/time-qualcomm-talk-cannes.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Athletes and Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence on Business and Culture > Sponsored content. 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At a TIME100 Talk in Cannes, panelists reflected on how athletes are becoming entrepreneurs, storytellers, and cultural leaders—and what that means for the future of sports and society._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jun 22, 2026 8:46 PM UTC  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jun 22, 2026 8:46 PM UTC Four athletes, executives, and entrepreneurs convened at a [TIME100 Talk](https://time.com/collections/time-100-talks/5830928/watch-time-100-talks/) in Cannes, France, on Monday to discuss how [sports](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/) has become one of the world's most powerful engines of culture and connection—and why athletes are increasingly extending their influence as entrepreneurs, storytellers, and leaders. The panel on June 22 featured Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of [Qualcomm](https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/Qualcomm/) Inc. Don McGuire, Manchester United defender Gabby George, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Development Driver Doriane Pin, and Olympic gold medalist [Carmelo Anthony](https://time.com/collections/george-floyd-america-reflection/7279989/maya-moore-carmelo-anthony-sports-racial-justice/). It was moderated by Emma Barker Bonomo, Senior Editorial Director at TIME. **Read more:** [_Watch the Full TIME100 Talks Series_](https://time.com/collections/time-100-talks/5830928/watch-time-100-talks/) After retiring from the [NBA](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/1999-nba-finals-rematch-belongs-to-brunson-wembanyama/), Anthony now oversees a portfolio of business ventures, including a venture capital firm, media production company, and fashion brand. He found that the skills he honed as an athlete were transferable to his entrepreneurship endeavors. As a professional athlete, “there’s no way you cannot deal with the business side” of the sport, he explained. “I just took my experience of how to put teams together—and how the organizations put these teams together, and what they look for in point guards and centers—and I can apply that to my businesses,” Anthony said. But when he was representing brands as an athlete, he realized there was a difference between “visibility” and “access.” The visibility of being a star athlete allowed him to be “in front of the brands,” he said. “But the access allows you to sit at the table and have real conversations and allows you to have the impact that you really need.” He said he now seeks partnerships with brands that let him sit at those decision-making tables—and those that respect the messages that he wants to champion. “If that brand understands that, and sees that vision as well, then we can go out and we can tell a powerful story, as opposed to the brand just telling me to go out there and be a face,” he said. **Read more:** [_The 3 Best Words to Say to Someone Whose Sports Team Just Lost_](https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/what-to-say-when-someones-team-loses-sports-fans/) For George, the intersection of business and sports is especially important when it comes to sustaining the rapid growth of women's sports. The WNBA has been described by industry analysts as the [fastest-growing brand](https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanmshaw/2025/02/04/the-wnba-was-the-fastest-growing-brand-in-professional-sports-in-2024/#) in professional sports, and the [World Economic Forum](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/06/women-s-sports-growth-is-a-win-for-investors-brands-and-the-planet/) last year found that sponsorships are growing 50% faster for women’s leagues than men’s leagues. George said that in order to make these women’s leagues “sustainable,” brands need to focus on athletes on a personal level—especially since many women’s soccer fans follow both the clubs and the individual players. “You see on TikTok and Instagram, \[athletes\] are giving you a little delve into their lives, which is away from football, and I think that's how you kind of grow your audience, because we get to know you on a personal level,” she said. She pointed to how she loves makeup and likes to post videos that show her getting ready for games. “It's about giving them the right little pockets of our lives, so they still feel connected,” she added. McGuire, of Qualcomm, which sponsored the event, discussed how his company utilizes high-profile sports sponsorships to build global awareness. Its processor brand, Snapdragon, has invested in sponsorships across both established and emerging sports, he said, from Major League Baseball to professional golf. McGuire said diving into women’s sports reflects that strategy. “Collaboration has driven amazing storytelling that has helped these people—as brands and as people—kind of tell their stories,” he said, pointing to the athletes beside him on the panel. “It doesn't matter if you're male, doesn't matter if you’re female: They're athletes, they perform at a very high level, they put their lives and their health in danger every day to do what they love, and so we're just profoundly proud of that.” Pin, who made motorsport history by becoming the first female driver to pilot a Mercedes-AMG F1 car, said brands and sponsors play a fundamental role in helping athletes tell their stories. “Sport is very expensive and not reachable for everyone," Pin said, calling hers "a very difficult sport to get in, and even more for women." That's why it's important to be visible, she added: "To show that we can be part of this world—and have an impact beyond.” _TIME100 Talks: Built for Impact: Partnerships, Creativity, and the Future of Sports was presented by Snapdragon._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/"},"headline":"Athletes and Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence on Business and Culture","datePublished":"2026-06-22T20:46:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-26T19:47:50.191Z","description":"At a TIME100 Talk in Cannes, panelists reflected on how athletes are becoming entrepreneurs, storytellers, and cultural leaders—and what that means for the future of sports and society.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/","keywords":["TIME100 Talks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee79df9c6ae7e0fd/6a3a912f3507d3bd22fda950/time-qualcomm-talk-cannes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee79df9c6ae7e0fd/6a3a912f3507d3bd22fda950/time-qualcomm-talk-cannes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"time-qualcomm-talk-cannes.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/","name":"Athletes and Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence on Business and Culture"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Athletes And Entrepreneurs Discuss Sports' Growing Influence On Business And Culture","description":"At a TIME100 Talk in Cannes, panelists reflected on how athletes are becoming entrepreneurs, storytellers, and cultural leaders—and what that means for the future of sports and society.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/lhaxlwyv/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-26T18:50:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lhaxlwyv.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/","duration":"PT34M9S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/cannes-qualcomm-time100-talk/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```