Formula 1 on the Water: Mike Buckley, Co-Owner, Team Principal & CEO, US SailGP Team
Tue Feb 03 2026
Imagine driving your car about 65 miles an hour down a freeway. Not that hard to imagine, right? Nothing very special about it. Chance are you might do it every day.
OK, now imagine that you’re sitting on the roof of that car while it’s speeding down an uneven road at 65 miles per hour while someone throws water in your face.
That, my friend, is SailGP, which has about as much in common with traditional sailing as a biplane has in common with a fighter jet.
That excitement it what drew this episode’s guest Mike Buckley to the sport. Already a world champion sailor, Buckley was restless to find his next challenge. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to assemble an America’s Cup syndicate, his future arrived in the form of SailGP.
Mike is now the co-owner of SailGP’s Team USA and competes in races around the world. In our conversation, we go into how the kid from small town Cape Cod fell in love with competitive sailing. We talk about the acquisition the United States team, working with his A-List of celebrity investors, and how he harnesses his competitive instincts on the water and in the boardroom.
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved.
YOUR HOST
Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners.
FOLLOW US
Here's where you can find us:
LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast
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Imagine driving your car about 65 miles an hour down a freeway. Not that hard to imagine, right? Nothing very special about it. Chance are you might do it every day. OK, now imagine that you’re sitting on the roof of that car while it’s speeding down an uneven road at 65 miles per hour while someone throws water in your face. That, my friend, is SailGP, which has about as much in common with traditional sailing as a biplane has in common with a fighter jet. That excitement it what drew this episode’s guest Mike Buckley to the sport. Already a world champion sailor, Buckley was restless to find his next challenge. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to assemble an America’s Cup syndicate, his future arrived in the form of SailGP. Mike is now the co-owner of SailGP’s Team USA and competes in races around the world. In our conversation, we go into how the kid from small town Cape Cod fell in love with competitive sailing. We talk about the acquisition the United States team, working with his A-List of celebrity investors, and how he harnesses his competitive instincts on the water and in the boardroom. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast