Melissa Lawton is SailGP's Chief Content Officer, heading up the league’s global broadcast production, social media and content strategy to create a breakthrough grand prix racing product. From broadcast production to social media content creation and non-live content creation including SailGP’s docuseries 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.

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 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.