Chloe Targett-Adams‏ | corporate lawyer to one of the most influential women in global sport

0:00We are live from Fetty's house. Guests are gathering around the TV, even with a big storm outside. Are we worried about the fee? Nope, they have Xfinity Wi-Fi. Get reliable fiber-powered gig Wi-Fi with Peacock included to stream the beautiful game this summer. Xfinity, imagine that. Restrictions apply. New gig internet customers only. Actual speeds vary. Offer for Peacock Premium with ads currently at$10.99 a month value and limited to Xfinity internet members with newer upgraded gig speed or faster service. Activation required to access content. Peacock must be activated within first 90 days.

0:24Management of existing subscriptions may be required to avoid multiple subscriptions and duplicate charges. Third-party built subscriptions continue until canceled. Study and play. Come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the Unreal College Deal. Everything you need to study and play with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 Premium and a year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn more at windows.com slash student offer. While supplies last, ends June 30th.

0:57Terms at aka.ms slash college PC. The Las Vegas Grand Prix was one of the best projects I think I've worked on so far in my career. It was a deal team that was led by women. This has to go down the strip. You know, this has to be on a Saturday night. Like, if you're going to do it, do it. Who is Chloe Target Adams? Professionally, I'm a global C-suite executive in the sports industry. Originally a trained lawyer and who's been fortunate enough to find herself in the sports industry. And I still wonder how and why did I quite get there? I had this personal battle that I really wanted a child. F1 requires so much from a personal level and you're always on the road.

1:36This is an amazing position to be in professionally, but is it really what I want to do for the rest of my life? Have you seen that change? And you can bring F1 in and you can bring sport, because it has been quite male dominated, or maybe that's an understatement, for years. And that's clearly changing. And you're at the heart of that. We're 50 % of the population, the female. huge love of sport, one of the highest kind of consumer spending and yet it's been so targeted towards a male audience whether that's kind of male sport, female sport, so just having that opportunity to see this as a kind of true commercial platform.

2:23you're looking forward to this conversation you've flown in from Saudi to come and talk with me yes I know thank you so I live in Saudi at the moment which is you know exciting fascinating location to live but originally from London so it's no hardship to come back to your hometown I really appreciate you making the effort. Well, let's start with the hardest question. Who is Chloe Target Adams? Professionally, I'm a global C-suite executive in the sports industry, originally a trained lawyer. But if we go back a few more years, I would say I'm a live event enthusiast, a creative, empathetic soul, and who's been fortunate enough to find herself in the sports industry.

3:05and I still wonder how and why did I quite get there. I'm a mum and yeah, that's who I am in a nutshell. Thank you. Can we go with the kind of the pleasure you clearly have being in the global sports industry and ratcheting back to kind of the who and the what influences that have brought you here? So I grew up in a very creative family. My father was in a rock band, still is, Roxy Music. His name is Phil Manzanero. He's a musician. That must have been a fun up. So that was a very fun upbringing. And obviously for me, that was incredibly normal to live in, you know, kind of very music led family environment.

3:44My dad's recording studio was part of our house. So, but I think what's interesting about that actually is I reflect with my business kind of career in mind is that you're growing up in an environment where work is very interlaced with a family life. So, you know, my dad's business contacts, which makes it sound really formal. A lot of them are friends and these are long working relationships were part of, you know, our day to day as a family, you know, going with my dad on tour, like going away for work. That was completely a normal environment. And actually, then when I think about my mum's side of the family, who were publicans, you know, started from nothing in the East End of London and created this very successful pub business.

4:30Again, that interaction, that work ethic that's always kind of intertwined. So some very strong kind of values and work ethic that came into play from a young age. But around also, I guess, that ownership of your destiny and ownership of your experience and narrative around that. So if you work hard, it pays off. But you saw that that wasn't always easy. It's probably the best way of saying it. I'm with you, yeah. Very early journey from an entrepreneur point of view where you're seeing, I guess, the highs, the lows, but the fact that they're so entwined. Yeah. Yeah. And that's then a normal dinner table conversation about the highs and lows.

5:15And when your dad's a musician, it's not obviously a normal kind of, well, I mean, what is normal? But it's not, you know, there is money ebbs and flows and how you need to, I guess, try and manage that process. Yes. As part of that, which I think is that entrepreneurial side. Really interesting that you chose to go the lawyer route. So I went, yeah, I joke that I'm like the black sheep of the family in terms of like there's this creativity and kind of independence. I was really academic as a kid and you go through your schooling and you're a straight A student and I, well, my best friend's dad from growing up was a lawyer and I think I was like, oh, that sounds quite interesting.

6:01I was always into literature and reading. But I did an internship when I was, you know, that GCSEA level year with a law firm. And someone said to me, oh, you know, you can do a conversion course and study law in a year. And I thought, well, hang on a minute. That makes a lot more sense than doing like three years in a subject I don't really know anything about. I could do what I really love at uni. So I studied English and history and then did a year conversion course. And during that process, I was like, wow, well, this is really interesting. You get to learn this business side. I don't really know much about it.

6:38Maybe I'll really enjoy it. And so that's how I decided to become a lawyer. And the live event side of things, I can get your father, the gigs, the concerts. But sport, where did sport come from? Yeah, I feel like it was a very happy coincidence that the universe set me on this path. It wasn't such. So as a family, we didn't really sit around and watch sport very much. My brother played a lot of sport growing up. I played sport at school. But there's a lot of colleagues who obviously either were ex-sports people or just absolutely phenomenal sports fans. I have a different experience of that. I was in a corporate law firm, had enjoyed my experience there, but knew it wasn't for me.

7:23I actually had a partner give me some early feedback which really resonated which was you're too commercial and so I would like you need to be more advisory which is the role of a lawyer and so I automatically thought well thank you that I'm clearly not in the right place I need to go where that you know my skill set probably lies more with them with the business so that was pretty early on so i was looking around i always loved tv i loved movies so i had this whole path about want to go and work and interviewed with some you know big kind of film companies around in-house legal role that was pretty clear that's where i wanted to be and then i saw the ad for a lawyer at formula one someone approached me about it and i i mean i was pretty junior in my career and I thought well this is a global business there's obviously a media side I know a bit about Formula One because I grew up in Chertsey it's very near where McLaren was there are people at my school whose parents worked at McLaren so I'd been I'd been dipping around it so I thought well hey that sounds interesting so I went along for the interview Bernie came into my interview which was an experience but the one thing that I walked away thinking god I really want this job is the general counsel who interviewed me was a woman.

8:45And I just felt that was a really interesting leadership angle. And clearly the legal team and her experience were at the heart of the business. And so I just found that really inspiring. One thing led to another and I got the job. So that's how I ended up working in sport. And I think if it hadn't been for that, I probably would have gone and done something really different. And then the more I learned, the more I thought, wow, what an incredible industry to be part of. and what a privilege. I so want to open up one conversation, but I just want to, just with the fact that I see you as such a role model and you know, I said before we start filming and talking that I bring my two daughters into the conversation is having people that can't be what you can't see.

9:27And that's very much how I see you now and the way that people that we seem to both know talk about you and that's the highest echelon and again, being a role model. Have you seen that change when you can bring F1 in and you can bring sport because it has been quite male-dominated, or maybe that's an understatement, for years. And that's clearly changing it when you're at the heart of that. Choice Hotels get you more of what you value. Here's a little tune to help you remember. Same drive, different day. Don't you wish you were getting away? Pack your bags and come on through. Texas, Ohio, Alaska, we're up there too.

10:02Comfort Inn, it's calling your name. Save on the stay. Oh, and free waffles are yours to claim Well, I hope you like my little song Book direct at choicehilletales.com Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney+. Let's go! Get ready for a new case. We're gonna crack this case and prove we're the greatest partners of all time! New friends. You are... Gary the Snake. And your last name? The Snake. Dream Team. Hit new habitats. Zootopia has a secret reptile population. You can watch the record-breaking phenomenon at home. You're clearly working it. Zootopia 2, now available on Disney Plus Rated PG. Yeah, and I can't be more excited about it because I think getting the right people in the room is absolutely critical.

10:57And by right, that means the person that has the view on that, that has the experience in that, that is able to offer kind of a really well-rounded process to be able to make the best decision possible for the business for that direction to drive growth. So I'm a big believer in the fact that that should be a diverse group of people, whether that's male, female, different backgrounds, different ages. So I think when you go into a law firm as a junior level, it's very mixed. when you move up the ranks it slowly becomes or at least you know at my stage of my career back then it was a very male dominated so going into the leadership so going into F1 as junior lawyer it was actually quite interesting as a business because yes it's a male dominated industry that has shifted a lot over the last few years but there were a lot of women in leadership roles um you know there were female team principals when i joined f1 back in 2009 like the organization i joined had three very senior women within it but they weren't they weren't really public i think what f1 has done a good job with over the last couple of years and i've definitely been part of driving that um during my time there is actually about opening up those opportunities but also bringing more visibility to the senior women that were always part of that business and maybe were just more kind of in the background.

12:33They don't crave the attention in the same way that potentially I think there's a lot of just getting on with it and you don't you definitely don't see if you don't see it you think is it possible but I think there's a fearlessness I have about not really minding that and just going for it and I don't know where that comes from and it not maybe more like a confidence that I don't really think oh I'm the only woman in the room although at times I kind of look and I think oh this is odd um that works for you because I think that's the thing I think in the conversations I've had particularly in the entrepreneur world where that women are sort of not seeing a role model that they can identify with yeah we were talking off camera about the world you grew up in with Margaret Thatcher as the PM and that the queen is the monarch yeah incredible role models yeah but then name an entrepreneur in the time and we both came up with Richard Branson.

13:24Whereas now, and I think back to that confidence piece of backing yourself and, oh, I can do that because Chloe is. Yeah, I went to all-female girls' schools until I was 16. So maybe there's a part of that as well that installed that confidence in me. I then chose to go to a mixed, more creative sixth form which i felt was the right thing for me at that time and it i feel that that has actually given me more rounded kind of experience to then go into uni um then go into law school and kind of hence go into i've ended up in these kind of very male dominated spaces but what i would say is that i've also had incredible male colleagues mentors bosses along the way as part of that.

14:18So it's, as always, nothing is ever as black and white, but I think giving more visibility to women in the workplace is something I feel very strongly about and more space for people to be heard. So I'm always that person that if, you know, to make sure to say, oh, you, even a more kind of junior colleague, whether male or female, you know, what do you think about that? And creating that environment where it's not just, you know, the senior... people in that room yeah they get to have the voice yes the you know that may be the decision maker needs to come from there but you need to have all points of view you're asking for input and you're and you're making sure people feel empowered to do that without being scared yeah exactly it's like it's okay to say something and then for people to discuss it and go yeah no actually that's not right um we want to go in a different direction but that viewpoint was valid to have that discussion point.

15:12See, I see that as great leadership. And I think I can actually probably use the term brilliant self-awareness, which of course brings Steve Tappan into the equation who's kindly connected us and all the work he's done around that awareness code and so on. It's phenomenal. I see you as a brilliant leader. You are, you're a proven leader and you've been around people like you've already mentioned, Bernie and others. What do you see as the kind of number one quality of leadership? I think humanity. So that self-awareness piece, very much so. When I think of the leadership that at least I found inspiring and then what I try and do every day, and sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't, is around that ability to self-check.

15:58It's humility. It's humility, yeah, exactly. It's the opposite of ego. And it's ironic because I've worked with some very, very big egos along the way and very decisive business leaders. But I think it's almost like that mix between humility and the ability to pause. So to almost kind of toy around the decision and then when you're going to make it, say, you know, stay strong and progress because you then, it will always need to evolve. Yes. I think it's so important to share that. I mean, that humility piece, that empathy. And I love the fact that you brought up the fact that within your team, you'd be asking for their input and encouraging because that's where they find their voice and that's where you can identify their strengths mentoring I imagine you probably really enjoy that yeah I do because I find it I have a genuine curiosity in people and you know different cultures I feel like you can learn so much so what in fact one of my team said to me kind of a few months ago like you know you came in and we'd never tried this before but you never say no like you'd always encourage us to think like well is there a path that we could look at this from or an angle and i just thought i really like that feedback i just felt it for me it's kind of also i think when you're in that leadership role you don't necessarily always get that feedback either you never quite know how something lands um that's what you learn from and so that's where you learn and so it's that in i think communicate you know everyone always says communication is key but it's not always straightforward um particularly when you're working cross-culture as well.

17:28It's, you know, I will hold my hand up. I'm, you know, I speak English very well, but I'm not conversant in different languages. So anyone that is, I think that's a superpower. And I admire that greatly. But when you're then working across that, there's nuances that get missed. So I do think body language is a huge thing as well. So I'm a big advocate of meeting people in person and doing business in person, because I think relationships are the key as well and how you really, really cultivate and grow that over the years. And it's that respectful way. So it means that if you need to have an arm wrestle over a point or a disagreement, you can do that, but you can move on and you can get to a good outcome and a good solution that works for everyone.

18:16And I do think that's, you know, as we go forward in more AI world, All of those tools are incredibly key and critical and they're going to drive great growth. But that is the fundamental kind of human connection. And I do think that that is, you know, how great business happens. It's important to hear that because as you say, AI has made it incredibly efficient. Yeah. We'd have a meeting. We could have done this virtual. Yeah. But, you know, the presence that we've got, the way that that will then translate as a conversation to others that learn from the listening, it's totally different to if we were on a screen.

18:51Well, I think what's nuts is pre-COVID, I'd never actually done a video call, which sounds really archaic now. No, I mean, in your position, I'm more surprised. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot. And I think it's, you know, F1's an amazing global platform because the utilisation of the race event as a business networking. So a lot of meetings are done at the race, which means you actually have opportunity to kind of meet in person quite a lot. But I also look back and think, how did we function without video calls? Everything was more on conference calls. Yeah. So I went to the Vegas F1, which is a great way of bringing your relevance to that.

19:29It wouldn't have been a thing if it wasn't for you. And this is, we're filming mid-2026. I went November 24th for your context. Yeah. And I arrived on the Thursday and I was part of the Alpine hospitality in the Paddock Club. Amazing. And the business that was going on. And I was, I'd taken, funnily enough, a lawyer who I'm friends with as my plus one, if you like. Yeah. And he'd lined up all sorts of meetings with different people. And it was prolific how much business you'd be doing. It's so much more than the spectacle on the track, isn't it? Yeah. No, it's unbelievable. So, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix was one of the best projects I think I've worked on so far in my career.

20:12it was a deal team that was led by women which was incredible so myself I was director of race promotion at the time my colleague and my team Emily who's now global CCO of F1 and CEO and Rene from our investor Liberty and it it was fascinating because Vegas was itself at the time is obviously now it's a sports kind of center of the universe that was just kind of coming into that and so to be able to go and pitch the casinos to the convention authority right this is formula one formula one didn't have the kind of relationship with the us that it does now so we were still explaining what it is why this is hard to believe i remember and also then putting that deal structure together you know formula one isn't a promoter itself but it made sense for that deal And so we created that concept with Liberty, right?

21:07Does this work? There was a land purchase. So, so much complexity in that deal. Closing the strip. Going forward, closing the strip. You know, I remember people were like, and it was like, if you're going to do it, do it, right? So we were very vocal about this has to go down the strip. I remember internal in conversations with our CEO, Stefano, you know, this has to be on a Saturday night because that is the night in Vegas. so all of that and it's amazing to see from kind of my contribution to that and how that team has now taken that forward and grown and grown it it is I think a hugely unbelievable feat and I love the fact there's just you know there's so much enjoyment by fans by business into that race it's just phenomenal yeah it's incredible you mentioned Stefano yeah and we mentioned Bernie I can't I I can't skip past that because, you know, from that first interview when he came in, to then interacting with him.

22:02You must have some stories around how you've been doing, making things happen there with both Bernie and Restefano. I'll be to share one. If you've ever blasted synth beats from your boombox or burn CDs for your besties, this one's for you. As people get older, much like their music tastes, their health needs change. AG1 is the simple daily health drink designed to deliver over 75 essential daily nutrients and pre and probiotics to support energy, digestion, and mood. So you can make the most out of every decade and dance break. Learn more at drinkag1.com. Trading at Schwab is now powered by Ameritrade, giving you even more specialized support than ever before.

22:45Like access to the trade desk, our team of passionate traders ready to tackle anything from the most complex trading questions to a simple strategy gut check. Need assistance? No problem. Get 24-7 professional answers and live help and access support by phone, email and in platform chat. That's how Schwab is here for you to help you trade brilliantly. Learn more at schwab.com slash trading. Yeah, sure. I mean, it was I'm very fortunate to go into an organization at a time where it has gone through unbelievable growth. So first of all, I started in a very junior role with Berne, started working on race promotion side because my colleague went on maternity leave and it wasn't an organisation that was set up to kind of have maternity cover.

23:31We were trying to CVC, our shareholder at the time, wanted to IPO the business and I was the corporate lawyer. So lean team, it was a baptism of fire. Bernie was very, you know, he founded the company, he was at the helm of it. And every decision kind of went through him from the minutiae to I remember he changed all the office chairs and I didn't like my new chair. So I had to negotiate for keeping my existing chair. And we went through this, I would say, charade back and forth. But I think I earned my respect from an early point to be able to go through that. So his attention to detail was phenomenal going in and out of meetings.

24:09His leadership style, I think, is really interesting because he's very dynamic, obviously a true entrepreneur, very clear about what works for him and what doesn't. But at the same time, when you work for him, he is incredibly, I think, loyal to his staff. He definitely educates and teaches. I mean, it's not easy at times. He's got a brilliant sense of humor. He taught me how to self-advocate. so going into a pay salary negotiation with him you know you kind of do it and he taught me how to ask I think it's probably the best way of saying it so I really enjoyed working for him so and to have that experience of going through three CEOs so first of all Bernie and then when Liberty came in purchased the business we had Chase obviously who's an incredible CEO very different style very measured uh us background but again very approachable and i think it was that that kind of interaction with the staff and then again into stefano who has all this unbelievable kind of f1 knowledge he's been through so many different roles himself with f1 his leadership in ferrari before he then kind of took over the helm and he has that amazing ability to you know again create relationships and I think that has really you know taught me so much over the years just seeing that interaction of styles the attention to detail to really care about the small things as well as the big things yeah and that strategic direction and that hands-on influence yeah I mean the journey you you went on from the kind of junior role to being really quite so soon, really important.

26:02I was almost surprised to then learn that you left because you probably could have almost named whatever you wanted to do in F1. I want to cover that journey to now be with Serge and being based in Saudi. As we said, you've flown in. Yeah. And so I want to know kind of almost why that happened and then what the attraction is and was what you're doing now. It's an amazing business to be part of and we've done a lot and I had had the opportunity to build out the calendar, to move from the legal to the commercial side, to build the first ever commercial race promotion team and department, which also, you know, included event delivery, the hospitality business at times.

26:43But I had this personal battle that I really wanted a child. And so I had all through the background of that, which no one knew, I had this kind of long fertility journey with my husband and F1 requires so much from a personal level and you're always on the road and I just felt at this real crossroads of this is an amazing position to be in professionally but is it really what I want to do for the rest of my life and I have this real burning desire to be a mother and that's something I can't let go of and you know it wasn't easy for me at all. And I just got to a point where I was like, you just feel like you need to go in a different direction.

27:30So I had that restlessness, I guess. And it was the right time. I felt that post kind of Las Vegas, we'd grown the calendar so much, I'd really hit so many goals, that it was time for a new challenge. And that ability to start again was something that actually I found more interesting. And I think when you have that restlessness inside you, it's time to switch. So if you don't listen to it, you could regret it later, particularly with starting a family. Yeah. And I kind of, I'm now, you know, very fortunate. It finally worked out. I have an amazing son who's only two, which means I don't sleep very much.

28:10But again, F1 has been incredible training for that, the ability to just keep going. But, and that has been such an amazing process. So we were very fortunate. A lot of people go through that and don't get there. So to actually have that is, for me, it's huge. And so I started exploring then new opportunities. And this role at Surge Sports based in Saudi Surge is the PIF's sports investment platform. And I just thought, wow, this is so interesting. I'd had the opportunity to work with the Saudi team in bringing the race to Jeddah and I knew some of their vision around what you know for the kingdom, Vision 2030, what they were looking to achieve and it was always just so exciting and I really had really enjoyed that kind of business relationship, very smart group of people involved and so this when this role came into my ecosystem I just thought wow this is genuinely intriguing, new it kind of takes what my learnings and actually just moves it on to another level so it's genuinely new experience and nothing mentioned nothing gained so I'm probably the only person that's well I'm probably the only person that's been to Las Vegas for work only and not pleasure which again I need to fix but it's probably the only other person that decides yeah let's move country do a new role having never visited that city I had visited the country before and move with a four-month-old baby so yeah proper commitment proper commitment but I think you're not afraid to you back yourself I back myself I just I have a strong gut instinct and I just felt it was the right thing to do and I'd explored a couple of other roles which again were super cool on paper and very interesting and felt quite torn but I just had this kind of inner feeling of like I want to give this a go and see see what happens so yeah we landed on a cold January evening in Riyadh because Riyadh does get cold which I didn't know before naively but obviously it's the desert and yeah it's been a really interesting fun enjoyable ride yeah I want to continue on that yeah and then into the kind of global sports just to humanize you yeah What did you do and what do you do now to actually step out to give yourself mental kind of fitness and any physical exercise?

30:45Well, yeah, and it was something I felt, again, that I was quite unique from my colleagues on. I don't really drink much alcohol. I definitely like I do yoga, meditate. This is all good for your mind. Yeah, because it was the one way I could kind of manage the relentlessness, the workload, the kind of, I love complexity. I think I actually perform better under pressure and with a lot going on. If you give me one thing to do, I'm a bit like, I'll do it tomorrow. So you thrive on it, but you need to manage it. But I need to manage it and I need to manage my health, particularly because I was in the midst of this fertility journey as well.

31:25really conscious around trying to kind of calm myself is probably the best way of saying it so I would make sure that I get up in the morning and you know do a quick yoga session and that makes me sound like I'm some kind of superhuman no it's like a 10 minute online YouTube and just do like some quick meditations eat well nutrition is something that I think is like key to performance sleep. I really believe in sleep as much as you can. And that's something that I was quite committed to and would often debate, shall we say, with some of my former colleagues about why it's important. It's one of my nemesises.

32:06Yeah. I know, and I know, I'm listening to you. So I have one got up at like two or three a.m. because I'm on the other side of the world to join like a management meeting or a board call. But that's not, I don't believe in doing that like unnecessarily. That's for really key critical moments. Thank you for sharing that. I think it's that human element Because so many people, anyway, can be aspirationally wanting to be like you. And then it's that whole, like, well, what's she doing? And is it a morning routine that starts with X? And actually, it sounds like you're just making the time to fit in the things that you know are good for you.

32:38And there's a word I could attribute to you, which is success. You've been very successful and you continue to be in what you're doing. Sitting here now, how do you define success? I think it's so much I think it's such a kind of multifaceted word because my definition my personal definition of success is like shifted it's not one thing it's like the expression like your health is your wealth right so for me success is around really quality time with family and being able to have like control over your time I think as well as and this obviously comes back to having you know fundamental basics but it's not earning like billions of dollars like for me it's around what is what are those things that actually make you feel good fulfillment yeah exactly success so I feel in a place at the moment where you know I have a lot of a lot of that kind of coming together i work with incredibly smart interesting but fun people and that creates an element of success because you're all kind of striving together and you feel mentally stimulated and motivated by that i have time with my son okay it might be from 5 a.m to 7 a.m and it's pretty early but again that is like a wonderful experience time with my husband time with like family friends you've got a balance that's working for you yeah exactly so I mean nothing's perfect I'm making it sound a bit idyllic but I'd ask you the same like I think probably do you find that it's shifted over the years what that means to you well I said the word fulfilment and I feel that off you and we covered that word humility earlier in leadership you know you've not thrown numbers at me you've not chosen to tell me certain things that would be very much more of an egotistical point of view And I think something else that flows nicely from that part of the conversation is someone so prominent in global sport now.

34:43It's almost like incredible timing that the lionesses, the red roses from an England point of view and then global sport from a women's point of view is becoming so much more embraced and popular. And you get to influence that and you get to ultimately promote it and so on. That must be incredibly fulfilling as well. Yeah, I think it's really exciting because it's, you know, we're 50 % of the population, the female, we're kind of one of the highest kind of consumer spending and yet huge love of sport across women. And yet it's been so targeted towards a male audience, whether that's kind of male sport, female sport.