William Mao

William Mao is Senior Vice President of Octagon Global Media Rights Consulting. Leveraging IPG and Octagon’s proprietary data, research, and technology, he provides strategic consultation and insight to global rightsholders, media platforms, technology companies, and the investment community regarding sports and entertainment investments. Since joining Octagon in 2017, Mao has advised on over $26 billion in global media rights deals.

With nearly 20 years of Media Rights and Strategy Consulting experience, Mao has a proven track record of helping organizations achieve business goals in highly competitive markets. His clients have included over 20 different global football leagues & federations (including FIFA, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A, and the Dutch Eredivisie) and features some of the biggest properties in Sports, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Tennis Australia, the National Women’s Soccer League, as well as multiple College athletic conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, Big East, CUSA, WCC, Atlantic 10).

Prior to joining Octagon, Mao served as Vice President of Digital at global rights firm MP & Silva, where he brokered foundational non-linear media distribution deals for the agency’s sports properties, and advised on new commercial opportunities for the agency and its clients. 

From 2011-2015, Mao was Head of College Sports for YouTube, where he established first-of-its-kind digital video partnerships with the NCAA and the Pac-12 Conference. While at YouTube, Mao also managed content partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and Turner Sports. 

A recognized expert on the intersection of sports and media, Mao was named a ’30 Under 30’ in Sports by Forbes Magazine in 2015, and is a recipient of the Cynopsis Media Rising Star award. Mao regularly contributes insights to industry publications such as Sports Business Journal, Sportico, Sport Business, and SportsPro. He also provides commentary for major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The New York Times.

Mao graduated from Yale University with a BA in psychology with honors and also also holds an MBA from the London Business School. During his graduate studies, Mao served as President of the London Business School Student Association. 

Originally from Los Angeles, Mao speaks both Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.