See full agenda Tue May 19 / 12:00 PM - 12:20 PM PST

From the Pitch to Global Impact: The Power of Staying Strong

BVB is a global love brand built on unity, resilience, and long-term vision, evolving football into a global business powerhouse. As BVB’s long-standing Champion Partner and cybersecurity provider, ESET CBO Pavol Balaj welcomes BVB CEO Carsten Cramer on stage to explore how strong communities and enduring partnerships transform passion into sustainable growth. Their conversation highlights resilience as a business strategy, driven by collaboration, international expansion, and business networks that enable modern enterprises to scale. Looking ahead, the discussion turns to innovation and AI, from BVB’s data-driven approach to player performance and health development to ESET’s AI-powered, prevention-first cybersecurity, built on more than 30 years of expertise.

Carsten Cramer Bio
Carsten Cramer, born on 23 December 1968 in Münster, Westphalia, initially studied law. He became Head of Marketing and eventually Managing Director at Preußen Münster football club before moving to the sports rights marketing company Ufa (later Sportfive). There, he first served as team leader for Hamburger SV and later held the same role at BVB.
At Sportfive, Cramer rose to the position of Vice President of Marketing & Sales and returned to BVB on 1 October 2010 as a director responsible for sales, marketing, and business development, with power of attorney. Since spring 2018, Cramer has been Managing Director of Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA, overseeing sales and marketing, internationalization, and digitalization.
Together with his fellow Managing Director, Thomas Treß, Cramer oversees the corporate responsibility department. Cramer and Treß are also joint Managing Directors of the BVB “leuchte auf” foundation.
In addition, Cramer is a Supervisory Board member of Bundesliga International GmbH, founded in 2017 with the goal of inspiring, connecting with, and engaging fans and partners worldwide in the Bundesliga.
Carsten Cramer was appointed Spokesman for the Management by the Presidential Committee in November 2025.

Pavol Balaj BIO
Pavol Balaj joined ESET in 2014 as Head of Business Development EMEA, where he focused on growing ESET’s presence in the region and exploring strategic partnerships. In 2019, he became Vice President for the Enterprise Segment, leading the integration of authentication and encryption technologies ahead of GDPR and driving the transformation towards ESET PROTECT, a unified security platform. He also developed ESET Services and established the Global Services Delivery Organization to help address the shortage of cybersecurity experts in businesses.
During the pandemic and geopolitical challenges, Pavol played a pivotal role in shaping ESET’s strategy, contributing to its growth and reputation as a leading European cybersecurity vendor. In November 2023, he was appointed Chief Business Officer, where he now leads ESET’s business strategy and direction.
Before joining ESET, Pavol held leadership roles at AVG Technologies, Slovak Telekom, and Gateway, building a strong foundation in business development and technology.


Fireside Chat
04. Carsten Cramer - Chief Executive Officer, BV Borussia Dortmund
Carsten Cramer Chief Executive Officer, BV Borussia Dortmund
09. Pavol Balaj - Chief Business Officer, ESET
Pavol Balaj Chief Business Officer, ESET
See full agenda