Our landmark 10th edition!
On the 25th & 26th April, we descended on The Kia Oval for SportsPro Live’s special 10th anniversary. It was our largest and most important event yet, connecting and inspiring over 1000 sports business professionals. During the two-day event, we uncovered and explained the solutions to the challenges the industry is facing, whilst also providing guidance, actionable insights and best-in-class approaches from 80+ experts speakers across over 40 sessions.
View our 2023 Speakers

Sergei Palkin
CEO

Sergei Palkin has held the position of CEO at FC Shakhtar Donetsk since June 2004. From 1997 to 2001, Mr Palkin worked as a Senior Auditor at JV Coopers & Lybrand (later – PricewaterhouseCoopers). Since July 2001, he has held the position of director of economics and finance at Kryvyi Rih Cement and Mining Combine OJSC. Since June 2003, Mr Palkin has been the Financial Director of Shakhtar FC. On June 18, 2004, he was appointed General Director.In 1996, Sergei Palkin became a qualified financial manager after graduating from the National Academy of Management with a degree in Finance and Credit”. Since 2002, he has been a member of the Association of Chartered Accountants (Great Britain). In 2009, Mr Palkin was awarded the Order of Merit, III degree and in 2011, he was awarded the Order of Merit II degree.

Clare Connor
Chair ICC Women's Cricket Committee

A former England cricket captain, Clare led England women to a first Ashes win in 42 years in 2005 before retiring the following year with more than 100 international appearances to her name. Clare became Interim Chief Executive Officer in June 2022. Prior to that she was ECB’s Managing Director of Women’s Cricket with responsibility for grassroots cricket through to the England team. She was previously Director of England Women’s Cricket in which she oversaw a transformational period for the game including a double triumph by England women in two ICC global events and the Ashes in 2009, the introduction of professional contracts for 18 players in 2014 and the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup win at Lord’s. A former English teacher at Brighton College, Clare has also covered cricket in the broadcast and print media. The first female appointee to the ICC’s Cricket Committee in 2009, Clare was appointed to the Board of Sport England in 2010 and she currently Chairs the ICC’s Women’s Cricket Committee. She has been awarded the MBE, OBE and CBE for her services to women’s sport. She was also President of the MCC until October 2022.

Andrea Radrizzani
Non-Executive Director

Andrea Radrizzani is the Founder and Chairman of Aser Ventures, a pioneering investment platform specialising in sports, media and technology. Since its inception in 2015, Aser Ventures has focused on building trusted partnerships and creating cross-portfolio synergies, delivering long-term value. Andrea Radrizzani is also Chairman of Leeds United Football Club and has overseen the return of the club to the Premier League in 2019/20 after 16 years away. Andrea has bought back the Club’s iconic Elland Road stadium, overseen the appointment of a world-class leadership team, grown the Club’s commercial operations, and supported the development of one of the most productive academies in English football. Through Aser Ventures, Andrea launched the ELEVEN Group, which later acquired MyCujoo’s proprietary streaming technology and Team Whistle. Eleven grew to expand into 230 markets and in 2023 was acquired by DAZN Group, the world’s leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming company, positioning DAZN as the largest holder of European sports rights.

Dawn Airey
Chair

Dawn was CEO of Getty Images between 2015 and 2018 and remained as a non-executive director until July 2022. Dawn is on the Boards of Channel 4, Grosvenor Estates and Blackbird. She is Chair of the FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship Board, The National Youth Theatre and Digital Theatre. Dawn was also a member of the Government’s Expert Panel for a Fan-Led Review of Football. Dawn is a veteran of the media industry having worked in television for 30 years, holding senior positions at ITV, Channel 5 and BSKYB. She also spent 3 years at Yahoo EMEA.

Alexandra Willis
Director of Digital Media & Audience Development

Alexandra is a marketing, digital media and communications specialist, currently employed as Director of Digital Media and Audience Development at the Premier League. Formerly Communications & Marketing Director at Wimbledon and a former sports journalist, Alexandra’s role is to help sporting organisations appeal to the next generation of sports fans and event-goers through the development of content, products and direct to consumer offerings, while also demonstrating that sport can thrive on brand and tradition alongside innovation and new technology.

Barbara Slater
Director of Sport

Barbara Slater took up her role as Director of Sport in April 2009.She had previously been Head of Production and Head of General Sports for the department. Her responsibilities include working with governing bodies to retain a broad portfolio of broadcasting rights, overseeing the planning and coverage of major sporting events and leading the sports journalism operation at BBC Sport’s home in Salford. Barbara was responsible for the BBC’s acclaimed cross-platform coverage of the London Olympic Games – the most watched TV event in UK broadcasting history. Barbara was awarded the ‘Inspirational Woman Prize’ at the Women in Film and Television Awards in recognition of this achievement and has since been appointed as an adviser to the IOC Radio and Television Commission and the UK’s Sports Business Council. Barbara joined the BBC in 1983 as a trainee assistant producer in the Natural History Unit in Bristol, but has spent most of her career as a producer in BBC Sport, specialising in outside broadcasts and overseeing the production of a range of sports including tennis and golf. Barbara was awarded the OBE in 2014 for her services to sports broadcasting. She grew up in Birmingham, and was an international gymnast, competing for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976. Barbara is married with three children.

Phil Lynch
CEO, Digital Products & Experiences

Manchester United’s Phil Lynch is responsible for providing the world’s best fan experience, regardless of location or touchpoint, alongside growing and developing the club’s range of consumer products and experiences. Phil joined Manchester United in February 2017 as CEO, Media, overseeing all the club’s multiplatform media initiatives. Prior to joining Manchester United, Phil was the Global Head/Vice President of Content and Media partnerships at Yahoo, overseeing over 3500 content partnerships across all verticals, as well as their digital distribution efforts from Yahoo’s Santa Monica headquarters. Before joining Yahoo, he was operating as Senior Vice President, Digital Networks and Games, for Sony Pictures Television. He received his degree from Brown University with a double major in Organisational Behaviour Management and Sociology.

Marc Hazan
Vice President & Global Head of Premium Business Development

Marc is Vice President, Busiess Development and Partnerships at Spotify, where he pioneers game-changing deals, including key partnerships with Vodafone, AT&T, Starbucks, Hulu, FC Barcelona and Google. He has also been responsible for distributing and growing Spotify Premium via partners and leading new Premium revenue lines. Since joining the Band, Marc has helped Premium grow from 1M subscribers in 2011 to well over 205M today. Initially, he ran commercial relationships with major record labels, renegotiating contracts in the multi-billions.
Prior to Spotify, Marc oversaw business development for SONY music digital in Europe. There he led the label to a successful partnership with Spotify in the midst of a declining industry and piracy. He also worked at British Telecom Ventures Group on the UK’s first mobile TV initiative and at Accenture as a strategy consultant within its Communications and Media practice. In his spare time, Marc enjoys playing tennis, listening to what is probably considered to be age-inappropriate music and cheering on Arsenal
Previous attendees include...


















“SportsPro provides the only world view on the business of sports."
“Excellent content, great speakers, well hosted and truly insightful. It reignited my passion for the industry.”
"SportPro events have become the essential guide for the industry.”