The sports websites we have on our desktops and smartphone homepage for ease of access are not random selections.
Portrait of Barrie Jarrett in Portofino, Italy harbour

BARRIE JARRETT: ABOUT ME

My name is Barrie Jarrett – a dreamer, doer and defier of odds. I was born in Gipton, Leeds, in the United Kingdom.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Planet Sport Limited and Planet Bet Limited.

I’m a life-long student and relentless seeker of knowledge. What I do not know I am determined to learn. I’m not ashamed to ask questions either. As the Chinese Proverb goes: “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”

I’m a product of my wildest dreams and curiosity, and have been shaped by my obsessive pursuit of game-changing ideas.

My career has spanned diverse fields. As a result of that aggregate professional experience, today I pride myself on being a jack of many trades and master of quite a significant few of them, including as a digital publisher and gaming expert.

In my world, practice trumps theory. Words, as they say, are just air. Visions without action are useless. I subscribe to the old adage that “action speaks louder than words.” Many excellent business ideas on paper are often undermined by poor implementation or never get to see the light of day due to a lack of courage to implement.

I’m particularly fascinated by the intersection between technology, sport and publishing and the endless possibilities therein.

As a serial forger of business synergies I swear by the power of collaborative relationships and their potential to deliver something greater than the sum of their parts.

As a leader, I value consensus and tend to err on the side of moulder than seeker of consensus.

A leader leads by example. I never ask of my colleagues what I’m not willing to do myself. And no, no job in the organisations I serve is beneath my pay grade.

Areas of expertise:

  • Sports digital publishing
  • Betting and gaming
  • Editorial content creation and syndication
  • Digital marketing
  • SEO strategies
  • Building online audiences
  • Data analysis
  • Revenue growth
  • Developing partnerships with sports organisations, publishers, mobile networks and like-minded brands

Track record:

I was intimately involved in the launch of Planet Sport Bet and popular sports betting brands Sky Bet, UK Betting and Totalbet.

Founded TEAMtalk Media South Africa, the outfit that would later be taken over by BskyB.

Set up a Poker Customer VIP Service Centre in South Africa, complete with a Cryptologic-trained anti-fraud team.

Acquired FemaleFirst – an online entertainment publication focusing on fashion and beauty, relationships and celebrity gossip. Later added Contactmusic.com into the mix, a site celebrating current music trends and iconic moments in the music industry.

Ships captained:

Created and currently presiding over a leading independent online sport digital portfolio of websites under the Planet Sport Limited stable, with a combined audience of 20 million users, driven in the main by the following properties;

“DREAM BIG AND DARE TO FAIL.”

It works for me.