MUMBAI: You can’t really get Ronnie Screwvala to sit still for long and avoid getting into businesses where he smells opportunity. With almost everyone investing in a big way in sports, he too has decided to board that train. The media and TV maven has set up Unilazer Sports as a division of Unilazer Ventures. And Supratik Sen, former Red Bull India national head for sports and events marketing, has been roped in as its CEO. Supratik has been mandated to focus on teams, leagues, academies as well as creating IPs and franchises in two or three selected sports.

It was only last year that Ronnie exited from UTV by selling out his holdings to Disney, and since then he has been building up on Unilazer Ventures which is focused on creating ground up businesses and being a strategic equity investor in others. His investments range from agriculture, e-commerce, education, and micro housing initiatives. He has also set his sights on philanthropy.

And now Ronnie has his eyes set on the exploding Indian sports business which is expected to see more than 30 per cent growth each year. Earlier this week Screwvala had in an interview to CNN-IBN’s Rajdeep Sardesai disclosed “that it is restlessness, the sense of being disruptive, challenging the status quo,”  which drives him even today.

His CEO hire has real pedigree. Supratik is a an ex national rugby player, who was also a professionally trained footballer and cricket. The past five years of his life were spent at Red Bull India leading all its marquee projects with athletes, sports projects and events in the country. Before joining Red Bull, Supratik worked with Australian major Repucom. He has also worked with sports, event marketing and media management companies Procam, Percept D’Mark and E-Sense Entertainment. In all, he has over 15 years of work experience in sports marketing and talent management. His journey began in Future Hope India that works in grass root development of sport in eastern India.