To manage the Bay Area's 9 counties and 29 transportation agencies, the Host Committee's role was to convene stakeholders who rarely interact. After making the right connections, they strategically stepped back, allowing experts to execute. This avoids bureaucracy and empowers local ownership.
As employee #1 of the Bay Area Host Committee with no initial funding, Zayleen Jemuhamed's first move wasn't fundraising. It was securing partners to provide essential services like PR and comms. This strategy builds operational capacity and momentum before a formal seed round.
Hired to manage the 2026 World Cup, CEO Zayleen Jemuhamed learned in her first board meeting that they were also bidding for the 2026 Super Bowl—with a deadline weeks away. This highlights that in high-growth contexts, a CEO must be ready to react to unforeseen, massive opportunities from their board.
Bay Area Host Committee CEO Zayleen Jemuhamed traces her attraction to "blank canvas" challenges to her childhood. Being told "no" as a young girl wanting to play hockey fostered a stubbornness and grit that now fuels her ability to build organizations from scratch in highly ambiguous environments.
While developing an athlete marketing platform at LA28, Zayleen Jemuhamed faced significant internal resistance. To overcome the stalemate, she pushed the organization to launch despite lacking consensus, arguing "Let's just go. Even if we test and change." This shows that forcing action is critical to bypass institutional naysayers.
The Bay Area Host Committee, a 501(c)(6) non-profit, successfully united competing pro sports teams. This neutral structure, focused on regional economic impact rather than shared revenue, fostered unprecedented collaboration. It's a model for creating industry-wide alignment around a common goal.
The Bay Area Host Committee defined Super Bowl success beyond the game itself. Their key metrics were legacy-focused: building a new sports field in each of the nine local counties and launching the first-ever Super Bowl Innovation Summit. This ensures lasting community benefit and reinforces the region's brand.