Melissa Lawton is Chief Content Officer at SailGP and heads the league’s global production strategy to create a breakthrough grand prix racing product in SailGP. From broadcast production to social media content creation and non-live content creation including SailGP’s docu-series Racing on the Edge, Lawton has played an integral role in bringing the world’s most exciting race on water closer to fans than ever before. Additionally, she led on the production and rollout of the league’s first-ever long form docuseries - Uncharted - which has been picked up by major international broadcasters from around the world featuring SailGP’s startup story to the faces behind the races, it brings the most exciting racing on water closer to existing and new fans than ever before. 

Prior to SailGP, Lawton was the Head of Production at Meta for just over four years. She was also previously Head of Live Content for Red Bull TV for five years. Her career has included long-term production roles at events such as the Beijing and Sydney Olympics, FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan, and the Commonwealth Games in India. 

A trailblazer for women in sports broadcasting, Lawton has had to forge her own path throughout her career, gravitating naturally towards companies like SailGP that are unafraid of disrupting the status quo and thinking about the industry in a different way. Lawton also believes in developing a content strategy that is both sustainable and responsible to act as a blueprint for other leagues and organisations to follow. 

Lawton is on the board of Great Britain Basketball and the Women’s National Football Conference in the US. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and a Master of Arts in International Relations and Affairs from the University of New South Wales.