Genius appoints Ian Wray to lead football expansion

Genius Sports has strengthened its leadership team as it seeks to expand its presence in international association football, appointing Ian Wray to oversee this growth strategy.

In his new position, Wray will oversee the sports data and technology company’s partnerships with prominent football organisations, such as the English Premier League, Argentine Football Association (AFA) and Mexico’s Liga MX.

The new hire will work to enhance Genius football offering and market position by applying ‘extensive expertise in official sports data’ to Genius technology, video and fan engagement solutions.

Jack Davison, Chief Commercial Officer at Genius Sports, said: “Ian is a real expert in how official data can be monetised to power the most contextual and engaging products for fans, coaches, broadcasters and other key stakeholders.

“Our global soccer business has grown significantly in recent years and Ian is the perfect person to take that to the next level.”

Prior to joining Genius, Wray worked at ChyronHego for nine years, where he was responsible for leading global sales at the firm’s sport-data focused Tracab division.

This role enabled Wray to closely collaborate with a number of major football leagues and federations, focusing on the implementation of data tracking, coaching and fan engagement solutions.

“I’m tremendously excited to be joining Genius Sports at this key moment in the company’s development,” Wray remarked. “The market for official sports data and video content is continuing to expand at pace. 

“I’m, therefore, very much looking forward to helping Genius Sports leverage its existing technology portfolio, as well as its impressive recent acquisitions, to deliver even greater value across the whole spectrum of stakeholders within the world of soccer.”

Wray joins Genius as the company pursues a global growth strategy across multiple sports and markets, having recently published its first H1 report as an NYSE-registered business, after completing a public listing earlier this year.

The company doubled its revenue during Q2 2021 to $59 million, whilst expanding its technology services through the acquisitions of Sportzcast and Second Spectrum and also enjoying success in its Betting Technology unit, which experienced a rise in income of 144% to $41 million.