Brandon Vivian, Executive Chief Engineer for GM Defense and Cadillac V-Series, on why a Cadillac F1 car showed up at AUSA 2026. He explains how racing works as a proving ground, how F1 aerodynamics tools help cool a hybrid Infantry Squad Vehicle, and what a quiet battery pack means in the field. GM's Cadillac is making a global play and GM Defense is along for the ride.

Produced by Human Biography.

Why are some of the world’s biggest technology companies investing so heavily in Formula 1, football, and global sports fandoms?

At the F1 Miami Grand Prix weekend, Kevin Baron sits down with Vivian Odior, head of marketing for Meta Consumer Apps — including WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Creators — to discuss why WhatsApp partnered with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Premier League powerhouse Arsenal, and what those partnerships reveal about the changing role of global sport in technology, influence, culture, and business.

The conversation explores:

• AI and technology partnerships in modern sport

• How sports increasingly function as global platforms for connection and influence

• Why "Mercedes runs on WhatsApp”

• How encrypted messaging became part of Formula One storytelling in Netflix’s “The Seat”

• Why WhatsApp became deeply embedded in markets like India and Brazil

• Why Meta still sees WhatsApp as a challenger brand in the United States

• The globalization of fandom

• The rise of women and younger audiences in Formula One

The United States, host to the largest sporting event in history, "just invaded one of the participants and killed their their leader." That's unprecedented. For episode 3, we stop and ask what this means for sponsors, leagues, teams, athletes, and spectators. Is America ready for the decade of global sport?

Not yet, says Travis Murphy, CEO of Jetr Global Sport + Entertainment, which operates across sports, immigration, business, policy, and diplomacy. Travis, a former official in the State Department's sport diplomacy division, talks to Kevin Baron about today's challenges facing the U.S, why sports diplomacy has become way more than "soft" power and how stakeholders are navigating geopolitics and war on the way to the playing field.