To nourish a culture of excellence and inspire future achievements, visionary leaders who champion outstanding talent across diverse industries are essential.
By providing exceptional hospitality, engaging activities, memorable interactions, and an inclusive atmosphere through organizing events that bring people together and celebrate success, those in power can create a global impact.
Laurent Puons, a seasoned expert with a passion for sports and event management, has made significant contributions to the industry. His passion for combat sports led to the establishment of Fight Nation, a digital platform for illustrating fighters. He successfully organized the prestigious Monte Carlo TV Festival and SPORTEL Awards, recognizing excellence in television and sports.
As CEO of Monaco Mediax, Laurent balances his demanding career by delegating responsibilities to trusted team members and providing strategic guidance. With over 20 years of experience in the events sector, he established himself as a prominent player, hosting renowned cultural and trade events like the Monte-Carlo Television Festival and SPORTEL Awards.
He emphasizes the importance of guiding his team to execute his vision and values their dedication to event success. He recognizes the influence of OTT and digital platforms on the media environment and incorporates these trends into event strategy.
Laurent’s long-term ambition is to maintain Monaco Mediax’s leadership and worldwide reach. He is always uncovering new talent and performances, ensuring Monaco remains a magnet for prestigious and artistic events.
Here are the interview highlights:
Can you please introduce yourself and your motivation to embark on this sector?
After starting my career in the Monegasque administration, I joined Monaco Mediax in 2001 as an Administrative and Financial Director. I was promoted to CEO in 2012, and since then I have devoted all my energy to the development of Monaco Mediax’s events and the principality’s exposure abroad.
Could you please give a brief introduction to your company and its inception story?
Under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II, Monaco Mediax has been operating in the Principality of Monaco since 2001. With more than 20 years of experience, it has become a reference in the events sector in Monaco and internationally. We organize cultural events such as the Monte-Carlo Television Festival and SPORTEL Awards, as well as trade shows like SPORTEL Conventions, which have become annual must-attend events for key actors in the international arena.
Created in 1961, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival gathers major studios, broadcast networks, digital platforms, and renowned talent over several days to promote their programs to the press and public and compete for the prestigious Golden Nymph Awards.
Furthermore, SPORTEL delivers the ideal environment for key stakeholders in the international sports media rights and technology markets to come together and shape the future of the industry through networking, knowledge sharing, and decisive deal-making. We hold several events per year across the world, with the SPORTEL ‘Flagship event’ in Monaco gathering more than 2000 participants and the SPORTEL spring ‘touring’ conventions in Asia and the Americas, our smaller regional and more intimate events.
Finally, the SPORTEL Awards are organized every year as part of SPORTEL Monaco. This event is first and foremost an international competition that rewards the most outstanding sports footage of the year. It is also an opportunity for sports fans to experience unique moments with renowned elite sporting champions during events dedicated to the public.
How have you been able to foster a dynamic and innovative team culture at Monaco Mediax over the past 10 years? 9. Can you describe your leadership style and how you motivate and empower your team to deliver exceptional results?
As CEO, my role is to be visionary, build the main strategy, and determine the objectives of the company. I am a man of challenges, and it is a culture that I have fostered at Monaco Mediax. I manage with courage and trust. I believe in guiding my team to execute my vision effectively on an operational level. Behind every leader, there is a great team! I am very proud of them and of their everyday involvement and dedication to making our events a success.
What are some of the key strategies you have implemented to ensure the success and growth of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, SPORTEL, and SPORTEL Awards?
You cannot reach your objectives without implementing the company’s strategy. To always stay ahead of the game, you need to have a culture of change and be able to adapt.
For example, when I became CEO, one of my first decisions was to open the TV Festival to the fans and the public. Always following our Honorary President, I also made drastic changes to the Golden Nymph Awards competition, to make it more relevant to the ever-evolving industry and to gain the international recognition it deserved. Finally, the TV Festival was the first festival to open with a program from a digital platform in 2018 with Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. These are also changes that I put in place for the SPORTEL Awards, by allowing sports fans to meet their champions and making the competition more prestigious and attractive.
On the other hand, for SPORTEL, we continue to develop our brand abroad with events in new markets and territories to always offer new business opportunities to our community to attract them to our main event, SPORTEL Monaco, later on. For example, in 2024, we organized the 2nd edition of SPORTEL in Bali, a smaller regional event dedicated to the APAC market. This year we also organized, for the first time, a SPORTEL dedicated to the Americas in a Spanish-speaking country, LATAM, in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Can you share an example of a particularly challenging project you’ve overseen and how you led your team to overcome the obstacles?
I am a determined man of challenges, ambition, and action, who can reconsider, renew, and reinvent himself to strive for the same excellence that distinguishes the Principality of Monaco. My role is to motivate my team and to assume all responsibilities for the company’s choices.
One of our biggest challenges is to always remain the leader for our different events, while, over the years, we have to face more and more competition due to the numerous events that appear every year.
As a co-founder of FIGHT NATION, what motivated you to get involved in the combat sports and martial arts space, and how have you worked to promote and support this industry?
I have a real passion for fighting sports and boxing, which I have performed professionally. Even if I stopped my career at the age of 22, I have continued to follow this sport with great interest.
Fight Nation’s objective is to put the spotlight on French or foreign fighters who don’t have the opportunity to be broadcast on major channels. That’s why my partners and I created the first digital platform dedicated to combat sports.
In your experience, what are some of the most important trends and developments shaping the global media landscape, and how are you adapting your approach to stay ahead of the curve?
The most important development seen in recent years is the arrival and continuous development of OTT and digital platforms, which have revolutionized the market and the way we consume content. Today, consumers have more power than ever, as they can watch a program anywhere, anytime, on any device.
It is a trend that has been integrated into our events, and we have adapted our strategies accordingly.
How do you maintain a work-life balance while leading such a busy and demanding career in the events industry?
Since the creation of Fight Nation, I have had two full-time jobs. So I do not sleep much. But I know how to delegate, and I surround myself with people I can trust. I give my strategy and directives to my team, and I do not go into the details of the operational part.
What advice would you give to aspiring event organizers or media professionals looking to follow in your footsteps?
My first piece of advice is to be visionary and always try to oversee the next step. Sometimes you can make mistakes, but it’s better to be wrong and make mistakes than to do nothing and work in comfort and continuity.
What are your long-term goals and vision for the future of Monaco Mediax and the events you oversee?
There is more competition, so our long-term goal and vision are to remain a leader and to continue to contribute to Monaco’s influence and promotion abroad.
For example, for SPORTEL, we developed a new economic model where we look for foreign investors to organize events in new destinations and offer new business opportunities to our clients.
Last but not least, when a new technology arises in the sports media rights and tech industries, we try to be the first to include it in our marketing strategy. Same for the TV Festival; we also strive to discover new talent and shows to invite and broadcast in Monaco.
