2023 Speakers

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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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 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

Anna Kessel MBE is Sky Sports’ Executive Director for Development. An award-winning journalist and champion for agenda-setting change, she was previously Editor for Telegraph Women’s Sport. Prior to that Anna spent 15 years at the Guardian and Observer covering Olympic Games, World Cups and World Championships, and interviewing some of the biggest stars in sport. In 2016 Anna was awarded an MBE for services to journalism and women in sport, and published Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Your Life. Co-founder of Women in Football, The Independent described her as a “fearless adversary of sexism” in their list of the 50 Most Influential Women in Sport.

Tian is the Head of Sports at Roblox, where she is tasked to deliver on a compelling vision for Roblox in the exciting world of sports. She envisions a future where Roblox will be central to building fandom, mobilizing communities, and harmoniously bridging the physical and virtual worlds to make sports ever more engaging, and is thrilled to collaborate with the world’s best leagues, teams, athletes, and brands to make that a reality. Prior to Roblox, Tian worked at Unity Technologies, most recently as the Director and General Manager of the company’s sports vertical where she focused on leveraging real-time 3D technologies to transform sports consumption and commercialization. She also held positions in Unity’s Media & Entertainment and Gaming divisions. Before jumping into the immersive world of gaming, Tian spent years in enterprise tech, having held positions at Adobe where she managed the gross margin strategy for Creative Cloud, and at Cisco Systems where she held a variety of strategic finance roles, from structuring multi-billion dollar telco deals to helping build Cisco’s cloud business venture. Tian holds a bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley and an MBA from Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania. Whilst there, Tian founded PennImmersive, Penn’s first immersive technologies association. After over two decades in the Bay Area, Tian recently moved to New York City where she is fully enjoying the distinct seasons, diversity, and the art and creative scenes the city has to offer.

Barney Francis joined IMG as Executive Vice President, Head of Global Production, in November 2021. He oversees the production of thousands of hours of content on behalf of more than 200 federations, associations and events to help them reach new and existing fans in creative and compelling ways. Widely-respected as one of the leading sports executives in the world, Francis was largely responsible for establishing Sky Sports as the leading UK sport broadcaster during his 20-year spell with the organization. As Managing Director, he grew the channel offering from 5 channels to 11, adding premium sports such as Formula 1, the Masters, The Open and NBA to the portfolio while also increasing the number of Premier League matches shown on Sky. He also oversaw continued technological innovation with developments in 3D, Ultra HD, virtual reality and the continued growth of Sky Sports’ digital, social and online presence. Prior to his role as Managing Director, Francis was Sky Sports’ Executive Producer for Football and Cricket, producing a range of live coverage, support programming and sport news content. His production credits include the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, the ICC Cricket World Cup and Test cricket.

Beverly is Senior Vice President of International Operational Excellence at American Express. She leads a pan-International organisation responsible for driving process excellence across the business.  Beverly has been with American Express for 34 years, working across many areas of the company.  Beverly is the senior sponsor for the American Express partnership with Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and their charitable arm, Albion in the Community. 

Brett joined the NFL in the newly created position of Head of Europe & UK in January 2021, following 9 years as CEO of World Rugby.

The NFL is the world’s most valuable sports entertainment property, and the Super Bowl is the most watched annual event in the USA. Brett’s role is to oversee the acceleration of NFL fan growth and revenues across Europe.

This involves strategic and operational management across broadcast, marketing and sponsorship, as well as the staging of 4-5 regular season NFL games in London and Germany with related ticketing, hospitality and event management.

After graduating from Nottingham Trent University with a BA Hons in International Business Studies, Katy worked for Chelsea Football Club where she became Head of Hospitality and spent 8 years developing the club’s commercial hospitality and events functions. From there she joined Barclays where she now heads up the Football partnerships within the Barclays Sponsorship portfolio and manages the Bank’s activation of them globally. But over the years she has managed other partnerships including the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Barclays bikes, and most notably the title sponsorship of the Barclays Premier League, which Barclays remain a close partner of, as official banking partner.

Humphrey Ker started his career in the world of entertainment, with several years at the BBC before moving to the US in 2013. There, he has worked on a variety of different TV shows, from American Auto and Mythic Quest to It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Curb Your Enthusiasm, in a variety of different capacities. In 2020, he helped Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds see their takeover of Wrexham AFC come to fruition and in early 2021 he was appointed Executive Director of the Cub. In this capacity, he sits on the board and acts as a liaison between Rob and Ryan and the boots on the ground in Wales.

World Rugby has announced that Sally Horrox will join the organisation as Director of Women’s Rugby in early May.

The announcement comes ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2021 Final Qualification Tournament decider in Dubai on Friday when Colombia will play Scotland for the 12th and final place at the showcase event in New Zealand later this year.

Horrox will bring with her an impressive wealth of management and board level experience in sport and business and will be responsible for World Rugby’s transformational Women in Rugby 2017-25 plan, which was refreshed in late 2021 after huge initial success.

Horrox has a proven track record in transforming women’s sports. A former non-executive director of England Netball, advisor to UEFA, international football federations and The FA, she has played a leading role in the success of the Vitality Netball Super League and the FA Women’s Super League, with her deep sport, commercial, legal insights and knowledge.

Jon Varney took the helm as Chief Executive of Brentford FC in 2019 and has guided the Club through the pandemic, a stadium move and their return to top-flight football in the Premier League. He was voted CEO of the Year in 2021 at the Football Business Awards.Jon has a track record of working in professional sport, specialising in recent years in commercial partnerships and media rights. He is also a Brentford season ticket holder and long-term Bees fan. Jon grew up in the south-west London area and started his working life at The Rugby Football Union, in Twickenham, having attended Teddington School and Richmond upon Thames College. In the mid-1990s he managed Coca-Cola’s football sponsorships including the EFL Cup, SFL Cup and their involvement in UEFA Euro ‘96.

Chris Richards is a centre back for Crystal Palace and the US Men’s National Team. He initially broke through at FC Dallas, and swiftly moved over to Germany with Bayern Munich at the age of 18. He made his Bundesliga debut that same summer, and shortly after had two successful loan spells with 1899 Hoffenheim. This summer, Chris fulfilled a lifelong dream to play Premier League football and signed for Crystal Palace; he won the club’s Player of the Month award in January 2023. Chris is extremely passionate and outspoken about black history; he has a series of black icons tattooed on his body and is devoted to raising awareness for issues African Americans face to this day.

Alan Gilpin is the Chief Executive Officer of World Rugby (and Managing Director of Rugby World Cup Limited). Alan leads World Rugby and the delivery of an ambitious new strategic plan focused on the global growth of rugby, and making the sport more accessible and more relevant around the world. He is also responsible for the management of the globally-renowned Rugby World Cup brand, including the preparations and delivery for Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand (women’s) and Rugby World Cup 2023 in France (men’s).

Helen is the CEO and founder of FOUDYS, the world’s first and only e-commerce space dedicated to official women’s football merchandise. She is a passionate women’s football fan and women’s football summariser working predominantly with The BBC on WSL fixtures. She’s also the founder of Manchester’s largest football club representing women’s football: Manchester Laces. Helen is a prominent voice for women’s equality in football and LGBTQ+ rights, and is the founder of the first inclusive – and non-binary football club, Manchester Laces, which won National Grassroots Club of the Year in 2022.Helen was recently added to the EY Northern Power Future List for 2023 – Europe’s largest awards championing gender equality.

Maggie is the CEO of pioneering football club, Lewes FC in Sussex, a community-owned non-profit football club and the world’s first to distribute revenue equally between its male and female teams. Maggie was elected to the FA Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship Board in July 2021. Maggie held a senior global advocacy role at Transparency International, the world’s largest anti-corruption organization for six years representing the organisation at the UN, G20 and OECD. She held prior human rights advocacy and policy roles in Amnesty International and Minority Rights Group International and became a ‘BBC Expert Woman’ in 2017.

Sergi Ricart was appointed Chief Marketing & Revenue Officer FC Barcelona in November 2021 after previously being at Nike driving the marketing strategy for all the sports performance and lifestyle dimensions of the company.At FC Bacelona Sergi’s role will be to lead, develop, and manage the overall marketing & revenues vision and strategies for FC Barcelona, including the long-term relationship with Spotify which was signed in March 2022.

Mike joined Sorare as Head of Business Development in October 2021. Prior to this, his experience included over six years with DraftKings, the biggest fantasy sports company in the world. As one of their earliest employees, Mike was a key part of their impressive growth and set a new standard on what is possible through partnership and business development in the fantasy sports industry.

Michael Sutherland is the Chief Transformation Officer at Real Madrid where he is driving the transformation strategy for one of the world’s most prestigious football clubs. Real Madrid is the most successful football club in the world, holding a record 26 trophies, including 13 Champions League trophies and was awarded the Club of the Century in 2000 by FIFA. The club has consistently ranked in the top 3 highest earning football teams for the past 17 years and in 2021 was recognized by both Brand Finance and KPMG as the most valuable football brand for the third consecutive year and valued by Forbes at $4.75B, firmly placing Real Madrid in the top 5 most valuable sports teams in history.

Brighton and Hove Albion confirmed former player Glenn Murray as club ambassador in October 2021. Glenn will represent Albion at a selection of home matches, as well as other club and Albion in the Community events, alongside current ambassadors Bobby Zamora and Alan Mullery. Murray played for Albion from 2008-11 and 2016-21, scoring 111 goals in 287 appearances for the club. He enjoyed promotion from League One in 2011 and the Championship in 2017 and is currently the club’s top scorer in their Premier League history, with 26 goals. He retired at the end of last season and also works in the media.

Jeremy is a former England cricketer with a master’s degree in psychology. Following his 19-year playing career he launched Sporting Edge to work with leaders in elite sport and business. These have included the South African Cricket Team, Shane Warne’s victorious Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, Crystal Palace in the Premier League and Eddie Jones’s England Rugby team as they recorded a world record 18 wins in a row. Jeremy has designed and delivered many corporate keynotes and leadership programmes for clients such as BMW, KPMG, HSBC, McKinsey, GSK and Gartner. He’s a regular contributor to media channels such as The FT, Huffington Post, Sky Sports and BBC and is the host of the Apple Top 10 podcast ‘Inside the Mind of Champions’.

Victoria is a passionate sportswoman and dedicates most of her spare time to promoting sport across various sectors. She is Chief Executive for GB Snowsport; Board member for the British Olympic Association; Custodian for the Rugby Centurions, responsible for creating Social Impact on a global platform through the rollout of the Centurions Future Leaders Course for children aged between 11 and 18; Invictus Games Strategic Advisor for the UK Delegation Board; and she is a Board Director and Chief Strategy Officer for a flourishing FinTech Business with a mission to provide solutions at scale, for those who are underserved, overcharged or excluded by mainstream financial services.

Paul Barber joined the board of Brighton & Hove Albion FC as chief executive in June 2012. In his first season with Brighton, the club secured its highest league position for over 30 years, made the Championship play-offs, enjoyed the highest average attendances in its division, and signed its largest-ever shirt sponsorship agreement, a multi-year deal with American Express.

Marla Messing possesses a wealth of senior leadership and executive experience, and a proven track record of marketing and business success in the sports industry. Messing, who began her career as a corporate attorney, rose to prominence in the sports world through her instrumental roles in the success of the FIFA World Cup and Women’s World Cup. Messing’s achievements have earned her awards that include the Sports Business Journal’s Champion in Sports Business Award and Female Executive of the Year Award, as well as annual awards by Women in Sports and Events and Ad Age. From October 2021 – April 2022, Messing led the turn-around effort of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which had been reeling from a coaching scandal and the abrupt resignation of its Commissioner and General Counsel. Messing was brought in to stabilize the League, staunch the defection of sponsors and other partners, and engender good will with the Players Association and key star players. In seven months, Messing finalized the League’s first CBA, created a partnership with the Players Association for a joint investigation around the mistreatment of players, secured the sale of the troubled Washington Spirit for a league record $35 million, helped attract five new league sponsors for a total of $23 million over three years, oversaw the successful 2021 Championship Game and Weekend, and the 2022 College and Expansion Drafts, and began preparations for a league expansion process to be executed during the Summer of 2022. As a result of Messing’s tenure the NWSL entered its 10th season of play in April 2022 a vastly different and stronger league, with excellent relations with its constituencies and enhanced public perception.

Mark joined Burnley FC as Chief Operating Officer in October 2021 following the takeover by ALK Capital 9 months prior.

Burnley FC has undergone a significant transformation on and off the pitch over the past 2 years and his role is to lead that day-to-day transformation. He has accountability for the business side of the organisation and works alongside football operations.

He has also worked as City Football Group and set up Two Circles’ North American office, as well as a number of positions outside of the sports industry.

Fiona joined the global purpose-driven sports entertainment league SailGP last year with a mission to help make sustainability and inclusivity essential to the fabric of sport. Fiona is the mastermind of the SailGP Impact League – a world-first in sport which sees athletes race to win two podiums: one for sporting performance and one for the planet. The league champions authentic, committed and impactful initiatives and rewards positive sustainability and social actions.

Fiona has an exceptional track record of shaping social impact strategy, promoting gender equality and campaigns for some of the world’s most high-profile sports brands and talent. She was the driving force behind Sky’s corporate and social purpose team, The Bigger Picture, and led the Sky Ocean Rescue consumer campaign, which reached an awareness of over 50 million people across Europe and resulted in behavioral change among its customers towards plastics. Fiona is proud to be an Ambassador for Meaningful Business, an advisory board member at 17 Sport and Non-Executive Board Member of the Manchester Originals a team in the new Hundred tournament shaking up and growing the game of cricket.

Kishi Dickinson is Global Sponsorship Strategy Lead for Cognizant, a technology company that engineers modern businesses to improve everyday life. Her 20+ year career spans marketing, communications, and events but leveraging sponsorships to strategically align with enterprise goals and objectives is her true passion. Working in partnership with rights holders such as 6 Nations Rugby, the British Triathlon Federation and Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One (AMF1), she has helped create engaging, differentiated brand activations for audiences of some of the world’s largest Tech companies. At Cognizant, Kishi works across a portfolio of sponsorships, focusing on enabling the global marketing team and wider business to get the best value out of these investments. Her current mission is unlock the full value of Cognizant’s partnership with SailGP, with a focus on amplifying both organizations’ commitment to sustainability via collaborative work on SailGP’s Impact League. Kishi is never happier than when a partnership has purpose at its centre, and the opportunity to create positive social impact.

Aaron Radin is the Chief Executive Officer of the British Basketball League (BBL), after joining in December 2022. Radin moved to the BBL after compiling a successful track record across a 30-year professional career. He has held increasingly senior-level positions at a multitude of sports, media and tech organisations such as the NBA, The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Meta. He has extensive knowledge of the commercial landscape surrounding basketball and was appointed to help take the league to exciting new heights and fulfil its commercial potential.

Alongside his professional background, Radin has been significantly involved in his community for over 20 years through volunteering as a basketball coach and helping to lead a grassroots program which helped generate opportunities for hundreds of inner-city youth to expand their educational and professional opportunities through the sport.

Christina is an Irish sports presenter best known for hosting RugbyPass Offload, and from her time as a TV anchor and pitchside reporter with Premier Sports covering the United Rugby Championship.

She is very comfortable in front of the camera and hosting in person events, which makes her a great option for a variety of speaking engagements. Christina is knowledgeable on all things rugby but also loves sport in general!

Since joining Wasserman, Christina has worked with several brands including Guinness GB, Matchpint, Heineken Ireland, Engage Hospitality, Irish Rugby, TikTok, We Love Sport UK, Canterbury, & the Autumn Nation Series. Her most recent World Rugby interview with Tadhg Furlong has gone viral on social media.

Outside of rugby, you’ll find Christina attending as many different sports events as she can! She is animal mad and her dog Ollie regularly features on her Instagram.

Jay Prasad has been working in the technology and software sectors for over twenty years and has extensive executive leadership experience within ad tech and the metrics and measurement industry. Jay is the Chief Executive Office for Relo Metrics, the leading AI-powered sports sponsorship intelligence platform that enables brands and rights holders to track and optimize their sponsorship investments in real-time across broadcast, social media, streaming and in-venue. Previously, Prasad headed up strategy for TV & measurement at global data enablement company, LiveRamp, and was Chief Business & Strategy Officer for software and data company, VideoAmp.

With a career in professional football that commenced in 1993 at Scarborough AFC, some 30 years later and after spells at Bradford City, Leeds United and as CEO of the EFL, it is the bright lights of Wrexham that are now keeping him occupied. Having left the EFL in 2019, he formed his own consultancy business, Wantaway Limited that provides services to many involved directly or on the periphery of the football business, including FIFA, Macron, and the Football Finance Group. At Wrexham, he acts as the Strategic Advisor to the Board and the driving force behind what is happening in North Wales.

Katie is the Founder of Pledgeball and one of the organisers of Green Football Weekend. Pledgeball is a research-driven charity that mobilises sports fans, with a focus on football fans, to address environmental sustainability. Pledgeball works with stakeholders across the sports community, from clubs to the Football Supporters Association, from leagues to County FAs.

Sahaj is a Product Designer at Areto Labs, a women-founded tech company using machine learning to tackle online abuse for sports organisations.Having completed an MA in Diplomacy with a focus on gender equality, and then working in business development for creative agencies in the Omnicom and BBC networks, she now combines policy and business strategy within her design role in sport.Recently, she led Areto’s 2022 research report about online abuse in women’s sport, collaborating with former New Zealand soccer player Rebecca Sowden to produce a six-step action plan that helps organisations tackle the problem. She also led the strategy and design for aretoanalyzer.com, a free tool that makes education of online abuse accessible to all.

Kate has been Non-Exec Chair of Onside Law, a leading sports law firm since 2020.With a career that has spanned both commercial and government sectors, Kate has worked in sports marketing for over twenty years with a host of global sports brands and rights holders.During her career, Kate has been instrumental in the development of some ground-breaking women’s sports and participation initiatives including the hugely successful campaign, This Girl Can for Sport England and UEFA’s first women’s campaign, We Play Strong. Kate now runs specialist brand consultancy Platform alongside her commitments to Onside Law.

Jenny Mitton is a Director and Women’s Sport Lead at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment. Over her 15+ year career Jenny has worked on some of the UK’s biggest sport sponsorships including O2 and England Rugby, NatWest and England Cricket, BMW and the Olympics and Virgin Media for the Paralympics. This summer she worked with the FA and UEFA to deliver the PR and Comms for the Women’s EUROs and is working with O2 on their long-term women’s rugby strategy. Outside M&C Jenny sits on the RFU Sub Growth Committee and is an Independent Advisor for the Sport and Recreation Alliance.

Sue Day became RFU Chief Financial Officer and a member of the RFU Board in April 2018. In October 2019, that role changed to Chief Operating and Financial Officer. Sue is responsible for finance, legal and governance, technology, people, strategy and Twickenham Stadium, reporting to CEO Bill Sweeney. She is a qualified chartered accounted with over 20 years’ experience in a variety of roles at KPMG, most recently as Deal Advisory Partner. Having been appointed partner in 2015, she worked as lead partner on a number of high profile mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance transactions before joining the RFU.

Alan is Executive Vice President and Global Head of Football at Roc Nation Sports International. After several years of player representation and transfer brokering as an independent agent, Alan joined Roc Nation in 2020, and is based at Roc’s Central London HQ. He has overseen Roc Nation’s continued growth within the football space, as they build their 360 degree client representation roster. Alan is originally from Dublin and is married with four children.

Rebecca Smith is an internationally successful footballer who’s transitioned to a global executive in sports and business. She founded Crux Sports which consults with some of the world’s leading stakeholders in football including global brands, federations & confederations, international media platforms, AI technology, esports, agencies and some of the world’s top players, using its collective experience of years in football to identify, make, and capitalise on mutually valuable connections across its network.

Online competition platform and tournament organiser FACEIT hired Giulia Zecchini as its new commercial strategy lead in 2021. Zecchini will leverage her background in data analytics to better showcase the potential value of FACEIT’s platform to brand partners. Prior to joining FACEIT, Zecchini served as the manager for the commercial business intelligence team at Formula 1. During that time, she worked with brands such as Rolex, Heineken, and DHL (the latter already an active sponsor in the esports space). She also previously worked at Nielsen Sports, providing sponsorship strategy and asset valuations for various high-profile soccer clubs as well as the Premier League.

As Vice President, New Ventures and Innovation, Tim is responsible for driving transformation and solving key business challenges for NTT’s clients. He regularly advises c-suite teams on the use of modern technologies to help grow their businesses as well as fuelling NTT’s own innovation. Based in Staffordshire, Tim travels to the Tour de France every year to manage NTT’s Tech Truck, the hub for real-time data that delivers key information on event operations, rider profiles and performance, as well as making predictions about stage favourites and the race’s winner.

Julien is the Media and Sponsorship Director of Amaury Sport Organisation and a member of the executive committee. Julien is, among others, responsible for the production of images and the sale of broadcasting rights to more than 200 media platforms in a total of 190 countries. Is now also responsible for sales and marketing development including sponsorship, licensing, merchandising, hospitality and activations. He joined ASO in 2004 as Head of Digital. Prior to joining ASO, Julien spent 5 years in a sports marketing agency doing consulting where he advised clients in their investment in the sports industry.

Paulo Ferreira is wTVision’s Chief Commercial Officer and also a Board Member. With more than 25 years of experience in the broadcast and media industry, Paulo brings a strategic approach to business development. Before joining wTVision, Paulo held leadership positions in various organizations within the technology industry, where he successfully led global sales, marketing, and project initiatives, resulting in significant revenue growth. With a focus on delivering real-time graphics and playout automation solutions that empower broadcasters to engage with their audiences, Paulo is committed to driving wTVision’s continued success as a leading provider of innovative broadcast solutions.

Alex works at the intersection of commercial and sustainability within Liverpool Football Club’s Partnerships team. He is responsible for driving commercial growth and supporting strategic projects, including the Club’s sustainability initiative, The Red Way, launched in 2021. He is also a proud member of the Club’s Gender Equality Network. Prior to joining LFC, Alex worked as a management consultant focusing on operations and strategy primarily in the Financial Services and Utilities industries.

Joseph Markowski is DAZN Group’s CEO of DAZN North America, responsible for all aspects of the business in two of its highest growth priority markets of the US and Canada, as well as DAZN’s continued expansion in the UK and around the world. Major milestones in his decade-long tenure include supporting the founding team in establishing the company’s initial go-to-market strategy; overseeing DAZN’s commercial and operational rollout in Japan; spearheading the company’s US launch in 2018 and swift transformation into a disruptive and innovative industry leader; and successfully leading DAZN’s international launch in 2020 and ensuing commercial growth on a global scale as EVP of Global Platform.

Pete heads up Commercial Strategy for Deltatre’s Strategy & Design unit, launched at the start of 2021, overseeing a team delivering strategic projects across digital transformation for sport & entertainment brands, including teams, sports leagues & governing bodies, broadcasters, and telco operators. Pete has been part of Deltatre for more than 13 years and has held several positions within the business including leading commercial teams across EMEA and programme delivery.

Simon Cummins is the Head of Odgers Berndtson’s Global Sports, Gaming and Media Practice and has placed leaders into Sport, on a world-wide basis, for almost 20 years. Previously Simon was a Director of GEMS schools and a Director at Gabbitas. He was a Headmaster for ten years and whilst at Millfield he was Head of the Prep and a member of the Management Group for all three Millfield Schools and Millfield Enterprises. He is an accomplished sportsman, playing rugby and cricket as well as being active in outdoor pursuits. Skiing, cycling and golf now dominate spare time. Simon’s non-executive/ board experience has included an NGB, PR Agency, hospitality provider, experiential marketing agency, several schools and a Leadership Development Organisation. Simon currently Chairs the national Charity, Sported and the digital marketing agency www.weplay.co Simon was educated at Borough Road College, London and Bath Universities.

Kelly Fairweather is Chief Executive Officer of the International Tennis Federation. In the past 6 years at the helm of the ITF, Kelly has been instrumental in accompanying the ITF’s digital transformation as an organisation and introduced new platforms to boost the sport and business. Embracing digital and data has helped the ITF to better understand and engage with the global tennis community online, developed new ways for fans to interact with our sport and diversified the business through new revenue streams. Part of this programme of work has included investment where most needed into the global digital capability of ITF national tennis association members.

Pedro Pinto is a communications professional with over 20 years’ experience in the sports media industry. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Empower Sports, an international PR and communications agency working with athletes, coaches, executives, clubs and federations. Pedro worked at UEFA from 2014 to 2018 as Managing Director of Communications, overseeing all editorial content, the press office and corporate campaigns at European Football’s governing body. Whilst there, he created the award-winning #EqualGame campaign, which promoted diversity and inclusion and featured superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi and Paul Pogba. Previously, Pedro spent over a decade at CNN International as a senior sports anchor, reporter and executive producer covering the world’s top events and stories. He presented the global World Sport Program from CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta and European studios in London. Pedro is originally from Lisbon and is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French. Thanks to his professional and networking experience, he is directly connected to the most influential journalists and stakeholders in world football.

Ashwin Limaye is the Chief Product Officer at VideoVerse, where he is responsible for driving the development and adoption of the entire suite of intelligent, intuitive video products – Magnifi, the broadcaster-facing solution, which is fast establishing itself as a leader in the space, and a new consumer-facing product in the editing and streaming space. He is also responsible for productizing the company’s innovation agenda, with multiple video transformation and consumption experiments underway.

As news editor, Tom Bassam oversees SportsPro’s daily output and keeps his finger on the pulse of the industry.As a regular co-host of the weekly SportsPro Podcast, he provides regular commentary on the latest trends and developments within the world of sports, with a keen interest in the media landscape behind it.An experienced journalist, Tom lives in London but regularly makes the short trip home to watch his beloved Brighton and Hove Albion.

Nicola has been the Chief Commercial Officer at Aston Villa since January 2019 having previously worked at Manchester United and Chelsea FC. Nicola currently sits on the United by 2022 Board and has previously held a Board position on the FA’s WSL & WC Board (the FA’s women’s football board). Nicola is a chartered accountant qualifying at Ernst & Young and subsequently worked at PwC in Transaction Services.