Laura Gentile

Laura Gentile capped a 20-year career at ESPN as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, where she led all aspects of marketing across brands, platforms, shows, and events. She spearheaded award-winning campaigns such as “There’s No Place Like Sports” and “This is SportsCenter” and defined ESPN’s brand promise: To Ignite the Fan in All of Us. Gentile worked closely with league partners, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, and F1, while also driving engagement for ESPN’s top business priorities, from the ESPN App and ESPN+ to Fantasy Football and espnW.

In addition to her CMO role, Gentile also served as EVP of Commercial Marketing for The Walt Disney Company networks, overseeing creative, distribution marketing, and brand efforts for ABC, FX, Disney Channel, and NatGeo. Earlier in her career, she sharpened her marketing expertise at Ogilvy & Mather, where her team won the first GRAND EFFIE in the agency’s history for IBM’s global e-business campaign.

Gentile is the founder and creator of espnW, ESPN’s first dedicated business for women, launched in 2010. Under her leadership, espnW became a pioneering brand platform highlighting women athletes and sports while growing a vibrant multimedia presence that spans digital, television, film, events, and global mentorship programs. The espnW: Women + Sports Summit and related initiatives have helped transform the visibility of women’s sports and cemented ESPN’s role in advancing equity in sports media.

Her leadership has earned her recognition on Forbes’ “World’s Most Influential CMOs” and “Most Powerful Women in U.S. Sports” lists, as well as honors from Sports Business Journal, The WICT Network, and the U.S. Department of State. A former All-American field hockey player at Duke, where she graduated as the all-time leading scorer, Gentile remains active in athletics and philanthropy. Today, she leads her own marketing consultancy, Laura Gentile Studio, and serves on several boards, including PeacePlayers International and the NHL/NHLPA Women’s Hockey Advancement Board.