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☆ Tech's ultimate nepo babies: Meet the Drapers, the first family of Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The billionaire Tim Draper is part of a lineage often lauded as Silicon Valley's premier VC family. As far as powerful professional networks go, it's hard to top the Draper family tree. Draper's venture-capital career began in the 1950s at his father's own trailblazing firm, Draper, Gaither, and Anderson, an early entrant in a new field. Meet the Draper family, the ultimate tech nepo babies and Silicon Valley royalty. Jesse DraperJesse Draper founded Halogen Ventures, which counts her father as an advisor.

☆ Protests held as Italy's La Scala opens season with Russian opera
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Demonstrators holding Ukrainian flags and signs protest outside of La Scala opera house, ahead of its 2022-23 season opening night performance of "Boris Godunov," a Russian-composed opera performed by Russian artists, in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoMILAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Milan's La Scala theatre opened its 2022-2023 opera season on Wednesday with a gala performance of the Russian work "Boris Godunov" as protesters against the Ukrainian war demonstrated outside the venue. "We have nothing against the Russian people, against Russian history, against Russian culture," Meloni told reporters before the performance. She questioned why La Scala had not changed its programme over the nine months since the war began. Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov took the lead role as Godunov while Russian soprano Anna Denisova was Kseniya, his daughter.

☆ Disappointed Danes won't take success for granted after early Qatar exit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Philip O'Connor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DOHA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said his side would not take their recent successes for granted following their abrupt exit from the World Cup in Qatar. Denmark came into the tournament after reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and had enjoyed two wins over France in the recent Nations League campaign. However, things fell apart in Qatar. They had to be activists, (but) there has been a feeling of 'what do we have to do to do the right thing? "I think the debate around Qatar has been extremely difficult, and I think it is extremely difficult.

☆ Australia in party mode as Socceroos reach World Cup knockouts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Australia hailed Graham Arnold's new "golden generation" on Thursday and fans demanded a national holiday as the country celebrated the Socceroos' unlikely advance to the World Cup knockout phase. Hard work gets you places," Australian soccer pundit Adam Peacock wrote on the Herald Sun newspaper's website. Veteran winger Mathew Leckie's goal was declared Australia's best World Cup goal ever after he wrong-footed defender Joakim Maehle and fired low past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Australians will dare to dream of a first World Cup quarter-final even with the might of Lionel Messi and Argentina in the way. "In fairness, Australia and Argentina have won the same amount of FIFA World Cups since 1987," local journalist Ned Balme tweeted.

☆ Dark horses Denmark exit World Cup as attack fails to fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Philip O'Connor | Daniel Wiessner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A scoreless draw with Tunisia and a 2-1 loss to France followed by a 1-0 defeat by Australia was a poor return from a side tipped to be Europe's dark horses in Qatar. They rattled in 30 goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers, winning nine straight games to book their spot in Qatar, but once they got there, the wheels came off as the rest of the world found ways to blunt their attacking weapons. Blessed with skill, vision and intelligence all over the pitch, what the Danes lacked most was a reliable goal-poaching striker, and it came back to haunt them. The Danes had plenty of possession, but their build-up play was ponderous and seldom incisive enough to create danger for their opponents. Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Advance Australia Fair - Leckie seals upset win over Denmark
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Manasi Pathak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Australia finished second with six points, level with group winners France after the world champions lost 1-0 to Tunisia. Denmark were bottom on one point with Tunisia third on four. They finally broke the deadlock at the hour mark as Leckie timed his run perfectly and sent the ball through Maehle's legs before beating Schmeichel. Australia defended strongly in the closing stages to secure consecutive victories at the World Cup for the first time. For Denmark, it was the end of a disappointing and frustrating campaign, in which they scored only one goal in three games.

☆ Australia stuns Denmark to reach World Cup knockout stages
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Australia stunned Denmark – a team ranked 28 places above the Socceroos in FIFA’s World Rankings – to reach the World Cup knockout stages thanks to a brilliant goal from Mathew Leckie that secured a 1-0 victory. A goalless draw between Australia and Denmark and a Tunisia win would have put the Carthage Eagles through to the knockout stages. Just four minutes later, with their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, the Socceroos counter-attacked from their box and Riley McGree found Leckie on a well timed run. Denmark continued to press but Australia hung on in a tense finish to secure its spot in the round of 16 and win back-to-back World Cup matches for the first time in its history. Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesVictory over Tunisia on Saturday had given Australia an unlikely chance of progressing to the knockout stages and, despite its underwhelming start to the World Cup, Denmark could have also qualified in this winner-takes-all match.

☆ Argentina and Lionel Messi face crunch game against Poland
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Argentina was stunned by Saudi Arabia in its first game, before getting its campaign back on track with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in which Messi scored the opening goal. Argentina sits second on three points, a point behind Group C leader Poland, knowing a win in its final game against the Polish will assure its progression. Ariel Schalit/APNext up Argentina takes on Poland, and Robert Lewandowski, pictured celebrating scoring his team's second goal during the Group C match between Poland and Saudi Arabia. Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty ImagesArgentina faces a Poland team spearheaded by its own iconic striker, Robert Lewandowski, who scored his first World Cup goal last time out against Saudi Arabia. “We are still alive.”Mexico’s hopes are much slimmer, needing to beat Saudi Arabia by at least a three-goal margin, with Poland not losing to Argentina.

☆ Adidas considered its relationship with Kanye West a risk as early as 2018, new reports show. Here's the nine-year timeline of Adidas and Yeezy's turbulent partnership.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Matthew Kish | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Adidas announced an endorsement deal with Kanye West in November 2013. By 2019, Adidas sales of his Yeezy brand eclipsed $1 billion annually. Across the company, sales were flat. But that same month, Adidas announced a partnership with Kanye West, the polarizing musician and fashion designer, now known as Ye. Despite the turbulence, Adidas Yeezy sales continued to grow.

☆ Adidas Top Executives Discussed Risk of Staff’s ‘Direct Exposure’ to Kanye West Years Ago
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Khadeeja Safdar | Inti Pacheco | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adidas AG’s chief executive and senior leaders in Germany discussed as far back as four years ago the risk of continuing a relationship with Kanye West that they feared could blow up at any moment, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. A 2018 presentation to members of the Adidas executive board, a group that included CEO Kasper Rorsted and the head of human resources, highlighted the risks for employees interacting with Mr. West and detailed mitigation strategies for the relationship with the Yeezy creator, including cutting ties with the rapper-turned-designer, documents show.

☆ Mercurial Mbappe fires France into last 16 after 2-1 win over Denmark
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Philip O'Connor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The first objective has been achieved," French coach Didier Deschamps said of their qualification in a post-match TV interview. France take on Tunisia and Denmark meet Socceroos in the final round on Wednesday, with the Danes needing a win to advance. Having lost twice to Denmark during the recent Nations League campaign, France started cautiously. But it was not long before they realised there were opportunities to be had by taking on the Danish wing backs. The French will face one of the teams from Group C - Poland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico or Argentina - in the last 16.

☆ France and Denmark scoreless at halftime
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DOHA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Denmark and France were goalless at the end of the first half of their World Cup Group D clash on Saturday at an electric 974 Stadium, with Les Bleus looking to become the first team to secure their spot in the knockout round. France, who will advance with a game to spare with a win, were the far more dangerous side throughout and had several chances to grab a lead - the best coming in the 21st minute when an Adrien Rabiot header forced a diving save from Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel. Reporting by Steve Keating in Doha, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's La Scala defends its choice of Russian opera for season opening
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Milan's famous La Scala opera house has defended its decision to open its new season next month with "Boris Godunov" despite criticism from Ukrainians about staging a Russian work. La Scala artistic director, Dominque Meyer, told a news conference. "We do not do propaganda in favour of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and there is nothing against Ukraine," he added. The opening of a new season at La Scala is one of the highlights of Italy's cultural calendar. Immediately after the invasion of Ukraine in February, the Milan-based theatre said Russian conductor Valery Gergiev would not perform at La Scala after he failed to condemn the war.

☆ Denmark held by fired-up Tunisia in World Cup opener
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Nick Said | Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Denmark thought they should have had a penalty in stoppage time for handball that was checked at the VAR screen by referee Cesar Arturo Ramos, but he instead gave a free kick to Tunisia. We are underway with the tournament, but our heads would have been a little higher with a better result." Tunisia, who this week had spoken of their pride at qualifying for World Cup in an Arab country, were fired up from the first whistle, celebrating each tackle like a goal, and had two excellent chances to open the scoring. "This is the World Cup, it's the most important competition in the world. Hjulmand will be sweating on a knee injury to midfielder Thomas Delaney that forced him off in the first half.

☆ Crowd gives Tunisia lift as they hold Denmark 0-0 at halftime
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

AL RAYYAN, Qatar, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Underdogs Tunisia were drawing energy from a spirited crowd at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday and holding Denmark 0-0 at halftime in the opening Group D clash at the World Cup in Qatar. The north Africans enjoyed noisy support from a sea of red-clad fans, many of whom live and work in the Gulf emirate, and could have gone ahead three minutes before the break but Kasper Schmeichel made a superb one-handed save to deny Issam Jebali. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Doha; Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dark horses Denmark face tricky Tunisia test in World Cup opener
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Philip O'Connor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Denmark go into their opening World Cup game against a tricky Tunisia side on Tuesday in the unusual position of being among Europe's dark horses, in with an outside chance of winning the tournament if they can get everything right in Qatar. The key group game will be against France, a side they beat twice in the recent Nations League campaign. Eriksen's World Cup debut came in South Africa, but back then he was a teenager just breaking through in the senior ranks of the national team. At the 2018 World Cup they held England scoreless until Harry Kane scored in the 91st minute to give the English a narrow win. He's a tremendous football player," Hjulmand said, and now Tunisia have to find a way to stop him.

☆ Every World Cup 2022 squad announced: USMNT, Germany, Belgium and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —‘Tis the season for wall charts and fans gathering around to pick their starting teams for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. “It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying and isn’t going to be a part of the program. Again, it’s more about who we did add that we felt good about.”All but one of the 26 will be making their World Cup debut at this year’s tournament and, according to the USMNT, it will be the youngest team to qualify for the World Cup. Octavio Passos/Getty Images Europe/Getty ImagesGhanaManager: Otto AddoThe final squad has not been announced yet. READ: Meet Otto Addo, the coach responsible for guiding some of Europe’s brightest young talents (2021)—–PortugalManager: Fernando SantosThe final squad has not been announced yet.

☆ Adidas slashes 2022 outlook after Kanye West split
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Rachel More | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adidas now expects its currency-neutral revenue to grow at a low-single-digit rate in 2022, down from a previously forecast mid-single-digit rate. An Adidas logo is pictured inside a shoe before the company annual general meeting in Fuerth near Nuremberg, Germany, May 11, 2017. It posted net income from continuing operations of 66 million euros, revising down its preliminary figure by almost two-thirds following the end of the Ye partnership. The termination of the partnership is expected to reduce annual earnings by half, the company previously said, with net income from continuing operations of around 250 million euros ($252 million) now expected this year. ($1 = 0.9939 euros)Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Miranda Murray and Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adidas' break-up with Kanye West has halved its earnings forecast for 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adidas had forecast net income of 500 million euros five days before cutting ties with Kanye West. After ending the deal with the rapper the figure has been cut to just 250 million euros. Adidas said the reduction was "due to negative tax implications in the third quarter related to the company's decision to terminate the adidas Yeezy partnership" and reflected the "high seasonality of the adidas Yeezy business geared towards the fourth quarter." As part of his Yeezy deal with Adidas, West also demanded that a facility be set up in Wyoming, Bloomberg reported. Adidas executives took just two minutes to cut ties in an "undramatic" phone call, having initially delayed a decision to get legal opinions from US law firms, per Bloomberg.

☆ Adidas will continue to sell Kanye West’s shoe designs without the Yeezy name
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

But Adidas (ADDDF) will continue to sell the lucrative sneaker and apparel line, stripped of the Yeezy name and branding. The company said it’s the sole owner of all Yeezy line design rights for both existing and future colors and versions. The Yeezy line was a key product for Adidas and the fallout has hurt the company. He will have to find ways to replace Yeezy sales and turn around the brand. It would be a mistake for Adidas to continue selling the line, said Darcey Jupp, an apparel analyst at GlobalData.

☆ Kanye West's Turbulent 9-Year History With Adidas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Matthew Kish | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Adidas announced an endorsement deal with Kanye West in November 2013. By 2019, Adidas sales of his Yeezy brand eclipsed $1 billion annually. In November 2013, Adidas sales in North America, the most critical territory for sportswear sales, were down 1% for the year. But that same month, Adidas announced a partnership with Kanye West, the polarizing musician and fashion designer, now known as Ye. Despite the turbulence, Adidas Yeezy sales continued to grow.

☆ Adidas Appoints Puma Boss Bjørn Gulden as New CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adidas said over the summer that its CEO was leaving following a string of disappointing results and cuts to financial expectations. Adidas AG said it tapped Bjørn Gulden to take over as chief executive of the sportswear giant, luring the executive away from crosstown rival Puma SE . Adidas said last week it was in talks with Mr. Gulden as a possible successor to incumbent Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted . Puma had earlier announced Mr. Gulden’s departure after nine years in charge.

☆ Puma's Gulden to head rival Adidas from Jan. 1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"During his time as CEO of Puma, he revitalised the brand and led the company to record results," said Adidas supervisory board chairman Thomas Rabe. "The Supervisory Board is firmly convinced that Bjorn Gulden will lead Adidas into a new era of strength." Adidas has been looking for a successor to Rorsted, who had initially planned to leave his post in 2023, since August. Gulden had to leave his CEO position at Puma with immediate effect with the decision to move to Adidas; Arne Freundt was named the head of Puma with immediate effect on Tuesday. Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel More and David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Puma names new CEO with immediate effect as Gulden heads to Adidas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Puma brought forward the start date of its next chief executive on Tuesday, naming Arne Freundt as leader with immediate effect as rival Adidas confirmed that Bjorn Gulden would be its next head. Puma had announced last week that Gulden - who served as head of the sportswear maker since 2013 - would be leaving at the end of 2022, with Freundt initially set to start Jan. 1. Adidas has been looking since August for a successor to Rorsted, who had initially planned to leave his post in 2023. Adidas said its chief financial officer, Harm Ohlmeyer, would lead the company in the interim until Dec. 31, 2022. Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adidas Appoints Puma Boss Bjørn Gulden as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bjørn Gulden was chosen to be the chief executive of Adidas. Adidas AG said it tapped Bjørn Gulden to take over as chief executive of the sportswear giant, luring the executive away from crosstown rival Puma SE as it grapples with issues ranging from the future of its popular Yeezy sneaker brand to sliding market share in China. Adidas said last week it was in talks with Mr. Gulden as a possible successor to incumbent Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted . Puma had earlier announced Mr. Gulden’s departure after nine years in charge.

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