Part I – USI’s Shalom Suniula Shares Insights on the Risk Management Needs of His Sports Clients
(Editor’s Note: Below is Part 1 of an exclusive interview with the leader of USI Insurance Services’ sports coverage, Shalom Siniula)
By Holt Hackney
Competing as a professional rugby player, Shalom Suniula knew all about adjusting on the fly to help his teammates secure a victory.
Little did he know when he joined USI Insurance Services, where he advises professional teams, leagues, investors and emerging sports properties on risk management issues, that he would leveraging the same skill.
Change has become the only constant in the sports industry.
So, it is no surprise that Suniula, a former captain of the U.S. Sevens rugby team, has risen to Partner and Vice President at USI.
In the following interview, Suniula discusses how his playing career influencesd his work, trends he is following, and areas where sports executives continue to underestimate risk, among other things.
Q: How has your experience as a highly successful professional rugby player influenced the way you work with teams, leagues and executives today?
A: One of the biggest lessons I carried from rugby into business is that effective communication is never one-size-fits-all. In a locker room, every teammate processes information differently. Some players respond to direct feedback, others need more context, but everyone is working toward the same objective.
I approach clients the same way today. A general counsel, a CFO and a CEO all view risk through different lenses. The challenge is understanding each perspective, identifying where the organization’s risk gaps exist, and communicating a strategy that fits its risk appetite and long-term goals.
It’s a delicate balance. You have to present solutions in a way that makes sense financially while also demonstrating why the investment matters. In many ways, it’s no different than preparing a team for a high-pressure match. Everyone has to understand the plan, believe in it and execute together.
Q: When professional sports organizations come to you today, what issues are keeping owners and executives awake at night?
A: Cybersecurity is near the top of almost every conversation.
Sports organizations hold an enormous amount of valuable information – from athlete and employee records to fan data and financial information – and protecting those assets has become increasingly challenging. As technology continues to evolve, organizations are also facing increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, making data privacy and reputational protection more important than ever.
The lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic also continue to influence risk discussions. Organizations think much differently today about business interruption, event cancellation and operational resilience than they did several years ago.
Beyond those issues, the legal landscape continues to evolve. NIL, changing labor laws and increasingly complex contractual relationships have all created new challenges for teams and leagues. Risk transfer through well-structured contracts remains fundamental, particularly as organizations become more dependent on outside vendors and strategic partners.
Q: Cybersecurity seems to have become a major issue across sports. Why has it grown so dramatically?
A: Organizations increasingly recognize that cyber risk isn’t simply an IT issue. It’s a business issue.
At USI, cybersecurity is part of a broader risk management strategy, and we work closely with specialists who focus exclusively on that area. Much of the underwriting process centers on understanding what’s financially at stake, where revenue comes from, what third-party relationships exist and what information the organization is responsible for protecting.
For sports organizations, that includes not only business operations but also athlete information, fan data and relationships with sponsors, vendors and other stakeholders.
We’ve also seen underwriters place much greater emphasis on preparedness. They’re looking closely at an organization’s controls, testing procedures and overall cybersecurity maturity. The environment changes so quickly that keeping pace with bad actors is an ongoing challenge, and insurers are understandably taking a careful approach when evaluating risk.
Q: Where do sports organizations most often underestimate risk?
A: Reputation is one area that organizations sometimes underestimate because it can be affected by so many different factors.
Social media has fundamentally changed the landscape. Athletes today often communicate directly with millions of followers, and those personal platforms can quickly become extensions of the organization’s public identity. That creates tremendous opportunities, but it also creates new risks.
We’re also seeing organizations become more dependent on third-party vendors for everything from ticketing and security to technology and operations. Every outside relationship introduces another layer of risk that needs to be evaluated.
Player welfare has become another increasingly important consideration. Mental health, wellness and the overall support systems surrounding athletes continue to receive greater attention throughout professional sports. Established leagues have invested heavily in media training and player education, while emerging leagues are still developing many of those structures.
As athletes’ public profiles continue to grow, organizations need to think beyond traditional operational risks and consider how reputation, communication and player support all fit into their broader risk management strategy.
Q: With private equity, international investment and new leagues entering the market, how has that changed your conversations with clients?
A: Much of the conversation today centers on transactions.
Whether it’s private equity investment, mergers and acquisitions or expansion into new markets, organizations want to move efficiently while understanding the risks they’re assuming. Our role is to help make that due diligence process as seamless as possible.
For many founders or league executives, it’s the first time they’ve gone through a transaction of that magnitude. They need guidance not only on insurance but also on compliance, contractual obligations and long-term risk management.
One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is the need for customization. Every organization is different. A startup league has very different needs than an established professional league or a private equity-backed enterprise. We spend a great deal of time meeting organizations where they are today while helping them build toward where they want to be tomorrow.
Some clients need only foundational protections because they’re just getting started. Others require sophisticated, enterprise-level risk strategies. Our responsibility is to explain those options clearly so leadership can make informed business decisions while building an organization that can continue to grow.
Q: Looking across the industry, what do you think sports executives should understand about risk that they sometimes overlook?
A: Risk management works best when it’s viewed as a business strategy rather than simply an insurance purchase.
Insurance is certainly important. But organizations that consistently perform well are usually thinking much more broadly. They’re evaluating operational risk, contractual risk, reputational issues, cybersecurity and governance as interconnected pieces of the same puzzle.
The organizations that tend to be most successful don’t wait for a problem to occur before addressing it. They build risk awareness into their culture, make thoughtful decisions about where to invest resources and continually evaluate how changes in the business environment affect their organization.
That’s become especially important as the sports industry continues to evolve. New investment models, emerging leagues, changing labor issues, NIL, international expansion and rapidly advancing technology have all increased the complexity of operating a sports business. Organizations that approach risk strategically are generally much better positioned to adapt to those changes.
Q: As the sports industry continues to evolve, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve taken from both your athletic career and your work advising organizations?
A: Success has always been about preparation.
That was true when I was playing rugby, and it’s equally true today. The organizations that consistently succeed are rarely the ones reacting to crises. They’re the ones that prepare in advance, communicate effectively and understand where their risks exist before those risks become problems.
Every organization has different goals, different resources and a different appetite for risk. The challenge isn’t finding one solution that works for everyone. It’s developing an approach that fits where that organization is today while helping position it for where it wants to go tomorrow.
Ultimately, that’s what good risk management is about. It’s giving organizations the confidence to pursue growth because they’ve taken the time to understand the challenges that come with it.