Baden Stephenson CEO of Melbourne Rebels chats about his sports business career spanning coaching and administration as well as guiding the Melbourne Rebels through a period of uncertainty in 2017 to a bright future ahead embracing grass roots support.
On this podcast you'll learn about:
- Baden Stephenson's foray into sports that led him to becoming a CEO
- A short history of the Rebels and their journey in the Super Rugby league
- Baden and Dave Wessels' working relationship at the Rebels
- How they are connecting back the Rebels to the grassroots rugby
- The opportunities for digital in Rebels' marketing and developing fan base
- Rebels' main strategy focus for 2019

Listen to Baden Stephenson on Sports Geek
Our fave quote from Baden Stephenson interview
“It was a huge honour and privilege to be to be appointed but without knowing what exactly what the future held it was definitely tough and I think trying to keep a little bit of a steady hand or an even temperament in an environment which was highly volatile was how I tried to manage the people and the staff.”
Baden Stephenson
Resources from the podcast
- Connect with Baden Stephenson on Twitter @badenstephenson and LinkedIn
- Follow Melbourne Rebels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube
- Some related articles you might want to read more from Baden Stephenson
- Some Sports Geek episodes you might be interested in:
- Ryan Kaveney on Building a team culture around fan
- Michael Briggs on Wallabies social media and digital initiatives
- Loved this podcast episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
- Share your case studies for the Digital to Dollars book go to DigitaltoDollars.com/survey
- Join Sports Geek Nation to connect with sports business executives across the world.
- See the highlights from Sports Geek Nation AMA with Alistair Hogg
Highlights from podcast with Baden Stephenson
4:43 A short history of the Melbourne Rebels
5:33 Baden Stephenson on his entry into sports
7:01 How coaching opened up opportunities internationally
9:42 How the Melbourne Rebels overcame the period of uncertainty in Super Rugby
11:27 How Baden was able to help the team rise above the challenges as the new CEO
14:55 How coach David Wessels works with Baden as CEO
16:12 Connecting back the Rebels to the grassroots rugby
19:26 Melbourne Rebels relationship with Rugby Victoria
21:27 How they work in bringing more fans to games
24:27 How Melbourne Rebels leverage international partnerships
26:39 The opportunities of digital for Rebels to grow fan base growth
33:10 Melbourne Rebels’ focus for the next 12 months
35:16 Sports Geek Closing Five
Some tweets/posts you may have missed
Awesome quote from Sam Talakai
With 8 Rebels named in the Australian Super Rugby Selection XV, Sam Talakai is pretty excited about Friday night. pic.twitter.com/kDbQpSuYG1
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) July 31, 2018
Looking forward to this
@MelbourneRebels partnership with Rugby South Australia continues to go from strength to strength. Matt Bell presented @BadenStephenson with an Old Collegians Jersey from a junior tour to Melbourne. Our lads look forward to growing the game in Adelaide on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/hHfZU34pYU
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) September 19, 2018
Nice view for a board room
What a view! | Our Melbourne Rebels Boardroom Lunch was held last week at CBRE overlooking the City – it was great to hear from @DaveWessels & guest speaker @melbournefc CEO Peter Jackson pic.twitter.com/gkWnIcgNLb
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) August 5, 2018
Thanks for the review on Apple Podcasts
Health and Fitness Digital Marketer
★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by fitnesslover2 from Australia on September 18, 2018
I love listening to Sean’s podcasts. He knows he’s stuff and provides you with everything you need to know social media, sports and marketing data etc. Highly recommend 🙂
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