Breaking Boundaries: South Asian Women Redefining Power in Sports
This panel features South Asian women blazing new trails across the sports industry — from sports tech B2B sales to NBA front-office analytics to investment in women’s sports. In a space where both women and South Asians remain underrepresented, these leaders are challenging the status quo and shaping the future of sports on their own terms. Join us for a dynamic conversation on leadership, identity, and impact.
About Our Panelists
Priya Peyman is a seasoned business development professional with over a decade of experience in the sports and entertainment industry. She has worked with renowned organizations including the Brooklyn Nets, the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, and Tough Mudder. Currently, she serves as a Business Development Executive at MyVenue, where she helps venues modernize their operations through smart, integrated technology solutions.
Sapna Shah is an angel investor with over a decade of experience backing early-stage companies in the retail and consumer space, and now focuses on the rapidly growing sports sector—particularly women’s sports, including teams, leagues, media, and ticketing. Through her firm, Red Giraffe Advisors, she has built a portfolio of over 20 startups, including Unrivaled Basketball, Break Sports, FINDMINE, Silk + Sonder, Iterate.ai, Stantt, Monica + Andy, Realworld, and The Renatural.
Sumathi Thiyagarajan serves as the first-ever SVP of Business Operations & Analytics at the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. She built and leads a forward-thinking team focused on leveraging data, technology, and advanced analytics to drive strategic results. Her team’s work spans ticket pricing analytics, predictive modeling, executive reporting, market research, CRM management, and enterprise program management. Sumathi partners with all lines of business—including Ticketing, Sponsorships, Marketing, Food & Beverage, Retail, and Arena Operations—to optimize revenue management for a $200M+ portfolio.
MODERATOR - Ashmere Prasad is a passionate sports journalist and content creator with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. Her professional background spans live television production, social media strategy, and digital content creation, including roles with NBC Sports. Known for her dynamic storytelling and ability to engage audiences new to sports, Ashmere specializes in making the games more accessible and compelling for all fans. She currently works with Team NBS Media, where she produces and hosts a weekly NFL show, Moving the Chains, and covers Bay Area women’s teams, including Bay FC and the Valkyries.
About South Asians in Sports
South Asians in Sports is a 501(c)3 nonprofit community dedicated to empowering South Asian professionals and athletes across the global sports industry. We connect, support, and elevate South Asians working in all areas of sports on and off the field through community, networking events, mentorship, career resources, and storytelling. Learn more and join the community at sainsports.com.