LONDON 2024
SPEAKERS
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Nicole Allison
Nicole Allison has over 20 years of multifaceted experience in the football industry, having been a player, coach, and business management professional. Her career has seen her operate at the forefront of the dynamic demands of today’s football landscape, where she has garnered senior-level expertise in elite football across leagues, clubs, and agencies. In 2021, created and became the Owner and CEO of Worcester City Women Football Club Ltd, showcasing her commitment to women’s football development in her hometown. Nicole is a qualified mentor and educator with a Master’s degree in Football Business. Her journey includes significant stints managing sponsorship, media, and fan growth strategies at renowned sports organisations like Kantar Sport and The English Football League. She further delved into elite women’s football as the General Manager of Tottenham Hotspur Women before founding NA Sport, a consultancy dedicated to developing women’s football. Nicole is the Women’s Football Professor at The Football Business Academy, an Associate Lecturer in Sport Business Management at The University of Worcester and a Project Manager for Switch The Play.
Naseem Akhtar
Naseem is the founder and CEO of Saheli Hub. She has over 25 years regeneration experience working with ethnically diverse and disadvantaged communities. A true community champion, she has pioneered new health & physical activity opportunities for Birmingham’s ethnically diverse women, through challenging stereotypes, breaking down barriers and tackling inequalities.
Saheli Hub have worked with over 16,000 people since 1998, developing a successful model to engage ethnically diverse communities and women, focusing on empowerment and culturally-sensitivity, they ensure local resident voices matter and lead to long term change.
Among their successes, Saheli Hub created the first Asian girls sports club in Birmingham; originated the first social prescribing model using community-based approaches to managing long term health conditions; and have led the way training local women to become sports leaders reflective of the community they serve and live in. Raising aspirations and expanding horizons, Naseem has shown women they can be and do anything they set their heart to.
This long-standing service is reflected in Naseem’s selection as a Home Town Hero for the Commonwealth Games 2022 and Saheli Hub have become an exemplar model for Sport England.
Inge Andersen
Inge Andersen served for 13 years as Secretary General of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Norwegian Confederation of Sport
He was national coach in cross country skiing for the men and women teams in Norway, and later for women in Switzerland, before returning to Norway to be head coach of cross-country skiing in the Norwegian Ski Federation. In total, 12 years as national coach, 1989-2001
In his period as Secretary General, the nation won 91 Olympic medals, of which 32 gold medals, and 43 Paralympic medals, of which 12 gold medals
Inge led the successful work on the merger between the Norwegian Olympic Committee and the Norwegian Paralympic Committee in 2006/2007
At the age of 26 he wrote a book on training, technique and tactics in cross country skiing. He had a break from sports for four years when he was OD/HR director for one of Norway’s largest banks
Today he is working as a strategy consultant in sports and business. He is Candidatus Atleticus from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences
Um-E-Aymen-Babar
Um-E-Aymen Babar is an award-winning sports journalist working at the intersection of race, class and sport. She works as a journalist at Sky Sports and previously worked at BBC Sport. Um-E-Aymen graduated from the University of Cambridge before pursuing her NCTJ with BCOMS.
Guy Bonwick
Guy Bonwick, Head of International Accident & Health at AXIS, leads a dynamic team managing diverse risks for global clientele. Their expertise covers individuals on leisure, medical, or business travels, aviation and marine crews; general personal accident; and unique sectors like race car driving, esports, and professional athletes. Joining AXIS in 2015, Guy brought extensive experience from underwriting Accident & Health at another Lloyd’s of London syndicate, where he managed a substantial Professional Footballer insurance portfolio of over 4000 players worldwide. Prior to his insurance career, Guy played for Ipswich Town FC and captained the team to victory in the u17’s Academy Premier League at St. James’s Park, Newcastle and signing a professional contract at 17. His background includes a Business degree from Loughborough University, blending a love of sport with his role at AXIS, showcasing a commitment to excellence in Accident & Health management.
Ceylon Andi Hickman
Ceylon Andi Hickman is Director of External Relations at Football Beyond Borders (FBB): an education charity that uses the power of football to change the lives of young people. She joined the charity in 2018 – following a year at The FA in their women’s football education team – to found FBB’s girls programme. Having designed, delivered and scaled the programme for 6 years, the programme now reaches 1,200 girls nationally. Ceylon also co-founded INMOTION: a creative agency that believes in the power of movement for all women and girls, plays semi-professional football for Dulwich Hamlet Women and is a regular panellist on The Guardian Football Weekly podcast. Beyond football, Ceylon is a passionate advocate for young people, holding a position on the Together Campaign Steering Committee and having supported the Archbishop of Canterbury to use the Coronation of King Charles II to leave a legacy for young people.
Angus Berry
Angus is the Operations Director at the MCC Foundation, the charitable arm of the Marylebone Cricket Club, based at Lord’s in London. Angus oversees the delivery of the Foundation’s 126 strong Hub programme in the UK and international programmes around the world. Angus’ background is in global health where he has worked in partnership with low- and middle-income countries to improve health outcomes and strengthen workforces. Angus founded an international NGO in 2015 which used cricket as a tool for tackling harmful gender norms in Nepal, a programme which has reached more than 10,000 girls in the country.
Angus is passionate about using sport, in partnership with local communities, to advocate for youth’s voice in decision making and programme design. Angus is working to embed community participatory approaches in everything that the MCC Foundation does.
Shaunagh Brown
I’m proud to have represented England as a Red Rose, earning 30 caps and playing in the pinnacle of rugby, the World Cup Final in 2022. The experience of achieving four Six Nations Grand Slam victories was exhilarating and truly defining in my rugby journey. Winning the Premiership title with Harlequins in 2021 was a crowning achievement in club rugby.
Beyond rugby, my athletic background extends to the Commonwealth Games, where I competed in hammer throwing in 2014. I’ve also proudly represented Great Britain in the World and European Junior Championships in discus, showcasing my versatility and dedication to sports.
As the British & Irish Lions Women’s Ambassador, I am committed to advancing the sport of rugby and promoting its values. Additionally, being recognized by the Evening Standard as one of the most influential Londoners underscores my passion for making a positive impact both on and off the field.
Sarah Butler
Sarah Butler is the CEO and Founder of Sport Business Connected. She is a passionate freelance PR and Marketing Communications professional, with almost 20 years’ experience in the sports and lifestyle industry,
She is grateful for having been able to combine her passions, working in sport and playing sport, with jobs which have allowed her to see the world of sport from many different angles, whether working with players and stakeholders for Harlequins, match days with European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), working with sponsored athletes at ECCO in Denmark, communicating with the rights and broadcast teams at Perform Group on long-term rights deals, or as a Floor manager for Premiership Rugby Productions and DAZN. Alongside her previous role as Global PR Director at Stats Perform, she founded a global network dedicated to supporting women working within the sports business industry.
Whilst working at Harlequins as the Head of Press and PR, Sarah played for Wasps in the Premiership.
Mimi Corden LLoyd
Mimi Corden-Lloyd is an accomplished financier, sportswoman and advocate for female voices in male dominated industries. Specialising in Sport, Media and Entertainment she has built a reputation for providing sound financial advice with a deep understanding of the often complex needs for unique clients in demanding roles, having also competed in her own sport to a high level.
Both within and outside of her role, she champions financial education as a means of empowerment, believing that it is through developing our understanding of both personal and global economies that we create the freedom to reach our potential. She has spearheaded financial education for athletes and women in the workplace with the intention of giving individuals the confidence to participate in conversations around money.
She continues to encourage athletes and clients to develop their knowledge by leading discussions around equality, sustainability and social mobility.
Clare Butler
I’m an award winning marketer with 30 years B2B experience, most of which has been in the tech/telco space within global multinationals and startups. A commercially-focused and customer-centric marketer, I’m well versed in bringing the full end-to-end spectrum needed to drive growth and believe in data to accelerate change in organisations.
In recent years, mainly because I have 2 young girls and years-worth of wishing there was more representation of women in the industries I’ve worked in, I’ve become active in identifying ways to help address gender inequality in the hope for a brighter future for my kids, and others that are currently experiencing challenges. I am grateful that Grabyo is a supportive employer in helping me, and other colleagues, launch initiatives to upskill women in our sector and people from diverse backgrounds to help overcome this imbalance
From a personal perspective, I deeply care about relationships with people and all through my life, I’ve played (and still play!) many sports and had the privilege to represent my country at Softball for 7 years and been National Champion for 10+ years. I’ve jumped out of a perfectly sound aircraft in the name of charity, have been lucky enough to have travelled to many countries in all continents of the world, all of which I believe, has shaped me into the person I am today – a kind, grateful mum and partner who is committed to enjoying work and life in general.
Ella Clark
I am a 32 year old athlete currently playing in the Netball Superleague. I have previously represented my country playing both basketball and netball. I come from a basketball and generally sporty family and therefore have been playing as long as I can remember with netball participation making an appearance later in life. I started playing in top senior leagues in both sports at the age of 16. Basketball gave me the opportunity to get a scholarship D1 university in America, in as well as play professionally in both Spain and Italy. Since returning to netball I have been contracted by England Roses for the last 5 years. Alongside currently playing in the Netball Superleague I am employed full time by the Loughborough Schools Foundation as Head of Netball which allows me to work with prep age children all the way through until they are 18.
Chloe Chong
I’m a 17 year old racing driver currently driving in British Formula 4 for JHR Developments. I did not come from a motorsports family- my passion for racing came from watching F1 on the telly with my inspiration being Lewis Hamilton. I started karting when I was 6 years old, and entered my first British championship in 2020 where I finished 9th. In the following two years, though budget restrained, I competed in selected rounds of British and European karting championships. I’m also a finalist of the FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars competition in 2022 where I was selected to be scouted by the prestigious Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy. As a result of my potential shown in this competition, in 2023 I became the youngest driver in history to sign for F1 Academy at 15 years old, and the only driver to do so straight from karting.
Laura Cordingley
Laura Cordingley is Chief Executive at Chance to Shine, an independent charity that uses cricket to change young people’s lives. Chance to Shine works with over half a million young people every year, working in State Schools and Under-served communities to improve wellbeing and bring cricket to those who lack opportunities to take part. Since its inception Chance to Shine has worked with over 6 million participants, half of whom are girls.
Laura previously worked at the Mayor of London’s office as Assistant Director, responsible for Team London; volunteering and Sport across the Capital.
Laura’s earlier career roles include community development at MCC, where she developed and delivered the Club’s community engagement strategy and sports development roles at Durham City School Sports Partnership and Volleyball England. Laura previously played for her country at netball.
Laura is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Management Board at Surrey County Cricket Club.
Kat Craig
Kat Craig is an award-winning human rights lawyer and founder and CEO of Athlead, a specilaist sport and human rights consultancy. Kat specialises in building practical solutions to complex social, environmental and governance challenges, and advises a diverse range of clients, including UN agencies, national governments, international federations, player unions, leagues, clubs, and elite athletes. Kat isa senior human rights advisor to FIFPRO, the international footballers’ union, and a special advisor on remedy to the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. She serves on the IOC’s Academic Advisory Panel for its Safeguarding Officer in Sport certificate. Kat has contributed to many critical publications on gender, race and other forms of discrimination in sport, including co-authoring the UN Women/UNESCO Handbook ‘Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Sport: A Handbook for Policy Makers and Sports Practitioners’. In 2022, Kat won the Sports Industry Integrity & Impact Award, and was featured by Nike and Martine Rose in Vogue magazine as part of their Euros campaign, highlighting her work safeguarding women athletes from abuse. In 2023, Kat won the Celia Brackenridge Award for Services to Safe Sport recognizing her sustained efforts to combat all forms of interpersonal violence in sports. In her spare time, Kat serves as the Chairwoman of Camden & Islington United, a supporter-owned football club in North London, that fosters a healthy and inclusive space where individuals feel engaged, valued, and connected.
Mark Curtin
Mark Curtin Bio: Mark has worked as a sports coach in the US and the UK for 25 years. He also has over 20 years experience in leadership roles in charities, particularly the Sport for Development sector including 7 years as COO and Programmes Director at Greenhouse Sports and 3 years in role as CEO of Lord’s Taverners, one of the leading national Cricket charities. The Tavs reaches over 23,000 young people yearly across the UK through community Cricket programmes, with a strong focus on disability inclusion. Tavs has a workforce of 70 full time cricket development officers and hundreds of voluntary community cricket coaches across the UK, where the mission is to create a more inclusive sport. Engaging and empowering girls and young women is a primary strategic priority. Mark is particularly passionate about growing the number of girls and women in coaching and leadership roles throughout the game.
Alice Dearing
Alice Georgina Nana Dearing is an Olympic Marathon Swimmer Bio
and global diversity advocate. She became the first black woman to swim for Great Britain at an Olympic Games in 2021, representing a milestone moment for diversity in the sport in the UK.
Her commitment to ensuring swimming is for all led to her cofounding the Black Swimming Association – a charitable organisation that seeks to advocate water safety and inclusion for Black and Asian minorities within swimming. Her work has seen her recognised globally as an advocate for change, including being awarded The Sunday Times Changemaker Of The Year award in 2022 and in 2023 she was announced No.3 on the BBC Woman’s Hour Power list.
Away from water, and surprisingly to some – Alice is a serious gamer, and when not swimming or focusing on her advocacy work – you’ll likely find her playing the latest PC or PS5 title!
- Olympic marathon swimmer
- World and European Junior champion
- 3rd on BBC 2023 Woman’s Hour Power List
- First Black Woman to represent Team GB at an Olympic Games in swimming
- Co-Founder, Black Swimming Association
- Sunday Times Changemaker of the Year Award Winner 2022
- Advisory Board, British Esports Federation
- British Elite Athletes Association Ambassador
- Sports Journalist of the year award 2022 (Kick it out award for Equality and inclusion)
James Dobbs
James joined SNTV as Managing Director in 2019, a time of significant disruption and fragmentation across the media landscape as audiences increasingly went ‘mobile’ and new rights categories emerged. The business embraced these changes, with a focus on storytelling and content that connects with today’s audiences.
In 2021, SNTV launched Story10, a service exclusively focused on helping brands and federations amplify their message and reach new audiences through relevant, authentic content. With a global daily audience of over 1.5 billion across broadcast, digital and social, Story10 enables their clients to speak to new fans on any platform, in any region, in real-time.
Before this, James spent 8 years at IMG leading new business and client relationships across the Archive, and Content and Channels division. On a personal level, James is an avid sports fan. Cricket is his first love with several minor county appearances being the pinnacle of his sporting career. Football and rugby also fill much of his free time but nowadays as a spectator as opposed participant.
Zoe Duffelen
Zoe has over 20 years’ commercial experience in sports media both in buying and selling sports rights. She has held a variety of roles within media rights agencies, sporting bodies and broadcasters including Octagon CSI, ESPN, World Rally Car, Fox Sports and Pitch International.
In January 2019 Zoe joined SNTV, the world’s leading provider of sports video news and highlights, where she holds the role of Global Head of Revenue, overseeing SNTV’s news subscription business, and Story10, which was launched in 2021 as a branded content division working with brands and federations on amplifying key messaging with sports audiences worldwide.
Nick Fitzpatrick
Nick Fitzpatrick has over 30 years’ experience of advising clients in the media, sport and entertainment sectors. He works with a full range of companies, from US studios and international broadcasters to major sports rights holders.
His significant experience across a number of sectors makes him an exceptional strategist and a valued partner in helping clients achieve their business objectives.
Nick focuses on a broad range of matters including negotiating and structuring complex arrangements for the hosting of major sporting and other events, the exploitation of media rights across all platforms, sponsorship, brand exploitation, event organisation, sports administration, copyright, gambling, and advertising.
He is a frequent speaker at sector conferences and events, and is currently ranked in the Hall of Fame for Sport in Legal 500 UK, in Band 1 for Sport in Chambers UK, and has been recognised in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list 2022.
Rosie Duller
‘Rosie Duller is a Sports & Entertainment Insurance broker within the Accident & Health team at WTW. With over 6 years’ experience in the industry, she continues to develop her network, serves her clients to a high standard and is a great advocate for female equity in the workplace. She has a focus on the Women in Sport product launched last year, which strides to support female athletes from an insurance perspective. Alongside this she has a strong passion for the gym and running – which ignited her interest in the female anatomy and cycle when it comes to exercise. She has a clear goal to continue to develop the women in sport product, and keep these taboo conversations going.’
Mark Gannon
Mark has a very strong coaching background having worked with a multitude of audiences in various environments including local communities, schools and sports clubs. He also has a deep knowledge of the sport and activity landscape and likes working with children especially. Mark is a qualified Maths and PE teacher. He has held a number of posts in the Physical Education and Sport sector across nearly 30 years and has coached in various sports at different levels. Mark believes that great coaching can, and does, change people’s lives and it is his aspiration to ensure that all those delivering physical activity and sport are well equipped to provide the best experience for their audience and support them to achieve their goals, whatever their motivations. Mark believes that coaching is first and foremost about people.
Andy Goulbourne
Andy has worked with major clients across the National Governing Body sector for over 13 years, providing them with risk management guidance and designing insurance solutions to support their activity at all levels.
Through the design and implementation of award winning, digital risk management solutions, Andy has successfully helped clients manage their insurance costs whilst simultaneously addressing their duty of care and reducing the administrative burden associated with insurance and risk management.
Charlotte Groppo
Charlotte is a french-italian expert on gender equality and intersectionality policies, mainly dealing with National, local and International public organisations.
She joined the IOC as Head of the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit in September 2023.
In the last years, Charlotte worked on diverse projects, including implementing a EU funded project to promote gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in 7 EU Member States administrations and as Gender equality advisor of the French minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal opportunities, where she also participated to the elaboration of the French national sexual and reproductive health rights strategy.
In 2019 Charlotte joined the Generation Equality Forum General secretariat as Civil Society Head and in 2018 she was appointed as Gender equality focal point for the G7 French equality ministerial event.
Charlotte has a degree in International relations, a double Master degree in International Economic policies and Management of International organization in Sciences Po Paris and Bocconi Business School as well as a master of research on Gender and Development from Paris Sorbonne, where she also started as a PhD fellow to study French local and national gender equality policies and intersectionality.
Eloise Haywood
A strongly academic and sports driven woman, holding two bachelors of science – one in Maths and Economics and the other in Biomedical Science, with a published paper on the effects of the menstrual cycle on injuries and performance in elite rugby and football players. Having played high level sports in both Football and Rugby, formerly an Arsenal and Youth England footballer. Rugby has seen her play all 3 codes; Rugby League for Leeds Rhinos winning the Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final. Rugby Union seeing her clench the premiership title for club Saracens 2 times and represent England at all age groups with the Senior Squad in sights. And finally 7s, having played for England and now GB on the World Series with dreams of competing at the Olympic Games.
Tim Hollingsworth OBE
Tim is Chief Executive of Sport England, the Government agency responsible for growing and developing grassroots and community sport and getting more people active across England. He has held the role since November 2018.
For seven years prior to this, Tim was Chief Executive at the British Paralympic Association, the National Paralympic Committee for the United Kingdom, also serving as Secretary General for ParalympicsGB at four Paralympic Games including London 2012. During his tenure ParalympicsGB achieved record medal hauls at both the Rio 2016 Summer and Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Paralympic Games.
Before that, Tim was for six years first Director of Policy & Communications and then Chief Operating Officer at UK Sport, the Government high performance sport agency. Previously, Tim worked as Director of a strategic communications consultancy, HBL Media, as well as in other senior business roles including for Granada Media and the CBI.
Tim currently serves as the Government’s Disability Access Ambassador for Sport and Physical Activity.
He is a Trustee and Board Member of the Football Foundation, a Council Member of the University of Bath and a member of the steering committee of the /Together Coalition.
He studied at the University of Exeter, achieving a BA Hons degree in English & Drama and a Masters Degree in Drama. He has been awarded honorary degrees by both Exeter and Bath Universities. In the Queen’s New Year Honours list in 2016 he was awarded an OBE for services to sport.
Lenka Istvanova
Lenka Istvanova is a Senior Digital Consultant for IMG’s media business, delivering major consultancy projects to some of the world’s biggest names in sport, including Wimbledon, US Open, FIFA, UEFA, The R&A, and more.
Her key strength lies in digital strategy and she is extremely passionate about growing women’s sport. Some of her key projects in women’s sport include: #WePlayStrong – UEFA Women’s Euro 2017, FIFA Fan Movement x FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 (bronze at Sport Business Awards) and England Netball. More recently, Lenka has helped to develop Premiership Women’s Rugby’s new digital and content channels strategy to deepen its engagement with fans in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup 2025.
In 2019, Lenka was selected as one the Sport Industry NextGen Leaders.
Thayer Lavielle
Thayer Lavielle joined Wasserman in 2011 and currently serves as Executive Vice President, The Collective, which exists to advance the power of women in sports, entertainment and music. Since the launch in 2019, she quickly built a multimillion-dollar consultancy and brand, making The Collective an industry thought leader. As part of The Collective, Lavielle spearheaded the formation of The Collective Marketplace in 2021 and The Collective Think Tank in 2020 – first-of-its-kind innovations for women in sports.
Prior to the launch of The Collective in 2019, Lavielle led Talent Marketing and Operations across Wasserman’s Talent Representation groups. She was responsible for the sales and marketing team which supports Wasserman agents in their ability to monetize their clients. She was also previously Wasserman’s EVP, Corporate Growth and Development, helping to open Wasserman’s office in Shanghai, and led the company’s brand retainer portfolio, working with global clients including Microsoft, Diageo and American Express.
Sarah Lewis
Sarah Lewis, OBE OLY is a highly respected international sports leader with an extensive network across the Olympic Movement and sport industry.
Sarah became an Olympian (OLY) in Alpine Skiing, representing Great Britain at the Calgary 1988 Games. From 1998 to 2020 she was Secretary General of the largest international winter sports federation, FIS (skiing and snowboarding). Subsequently she established Sarah Lewis Global Sports Leader GmbH in 2022 providing services to sport, business, and society.
Additionally, she was appointed Secretary General of the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federation, a member of the IOC Programme Commission and Coordination Commissions for the Olympic Winter Games and Youth Olympic Games (2026, 2022, 2020, 2018) and served on the Steering Committee of the SportAccord International Federation Convention (2002-2020).
In 2018 Sarah was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to sport.”
For a more complete overview of Sarah’s background and activities check out her profile on LinkedIn: Sarah Lewis OBE OLY | LinkedIn
Dr Fran Longstaff
Dr. Fran Longstaff is the Head of Research at More than Equal, an organisation dedicated to finding the first female Formula 1 world champion. She is a distinguished researcher with a rich professional history spanning over 18 years across academia and the commercial sector.
Throughout her career, Fran has demonstrated exceptional leadership capabilities, advancing the growth of research teams and leading numerous ground-breaking projects. Her expertise in securing and overseeing research grants has enabled her to delve into diverse areas of inquiry, reflected in her extensive portfolio of peer-reviewed journal articles. From examining the intricate topics of elite athlete mental health to shedding light on the use and abuse of alcohol consumption among students, Fran’s research includes a wide spectrum of subjects, showcasing her versatility and depth of expertise.
As a registered Sport Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and a chartered Psychologist recognized by the British Psychological Society (BPS), Fran brings the expertise in behavioural change, mental health technology, sport psychologist practitioner skills and performance psychology. Beyond her academic achievements, Fran is deeply committed to the practical application of her research findings. She has played a pivotal role in providing psychological support to athletes and coaches operating within high-performance environments.
In her role as Head of Research at More than Equal, Fran embarks on an exciting journey aimed at advancing gender equity and excellence in motorsport. She will be running a broad range of research projects to support the identification, progression, and performance of the first female F1 world champion.
Gary Laybourne
A coach from the age of seventeen, Gary has worked in the coaching and sporting charity sector for over 20 years and has also won medals at major World, European and National triathlon championships, including being the current 2022 veteran World Marathon Champion!
He co-founded Coach Core in 2012, shaping, tutoring and leading the first London programme, before overseeing its successful expansion through to its establishment as the Coach Core Foundation in 2020. He has spoken publicly about his own challenging upbringing and how sport always offered that escape. Using these experiences, and seeing how other interventions tended to be relatively short term, Coach Core was designed to bridge underrepresented/disadvantaged young people back into education and employment for the long term, whilst creating positive ripple effects back in their own communities through the coaching they provide for 12-18mths.
Gary also chairs the Sport for Development Coalition employability group, sits on the UK Athletics Childrens Advisory Group and the Active Surrey trustee board, as well as still coaching junior athletes weekly in his home borough of Croydon!
Steve MacMurray
Steve MacMurray has over 25 years’ experience within the broadcasting industry, most of which spent with Globecast. Spanning operational and commercial roles, in both the contribution and distribution of live events, he has an extensive background in satellite and fibre delivery, coupled with a keen interest in the convergence of traditional linear broadcast methods with IP/Cloud solutions.
Steve has driven innovation in the content delivery of live sports, whilst also remaining conversant with news and Media and Entertainment sector challenges. His track record in the commercial success and growth of client portfolios and projects matches his appetite for developing key relationships and high-quality service provisioning.
Lauren McCurchie
Lauren McMurchie is passionate about using her experience of overcoming adversity in her football career to support the next generation, with a particular interest in promoting injury reduction and well-being. Currently the Head of
Sport at Add Management, Lauren is bringing together her experience both on
and off the pitch to support female athletes and brands.
As an accomplished female football player, previously playing for Glasgow City
FC for 10 years, winning the Scottish Women’s Premier League 10 times and
competing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, she currently plays for
Nottingham Forest FC in the FA Women’s National League.
Aside from playing, Lauren has worked on a number of projects for global brands such as adidas, led partnerships and programmes for Sport England’s This Girl
Can campaign and ran community initiatives with established players and clubs
such as Aston Villa FC.
Emily McHarg
Emily is a Development Manager at EA Sports, working on their flagship title, EA Sports FC. With a diverse background, she embarked on her career in the music industry before transitioning to row full-time at Leander Club. Her journey through rowing led her to enter the world of VR gaming at FitXR and continue innovating in XR and Web3 content at Blend Media before joining EA. She is deeply passionate about advancing the role of women in sports and challenging societal norms in traditionally male-dominated fields. Advocating for representation and equality, she endeavours to elevate the voices of women across all sectors.
Tyra Mills
Tyra Mills is a freelancer, presenter and content creator who has previously featured on BT Sports, Sky Sports and more. She is also a qualified Football Coach and scout. She is a smart Independent, person who inspires the next generation. Also a passionate Individual who has an infectious personality and has the ability to light up any room she walks in. She also takes up any opportunity to try something new each month to get out of her comfort zone. She is currently learning the drums and teaching herself BSL.
Ugo Monye
Broadcaster, presenter, and former professional rugby player Ugo Monye is one of sports television’s brightest personalities.
Spending his entire playing career at Harlequins, with whom he won the Premiership and European Challenge Cup twice, Ugo represented England 14 times and was selected to tour South Africa with the British & Irish Lions.
His transition to television was immediate, becoming a key member of BT Sport’s leading rugby team, a captain on BBC One’s A Question of Sport, and presenting Rugby Special. In 2021, Ugo appeared on the iconic Strictly Come Dancing.
Ugo is a champion of diversity and equality, currently Chairing the RFU’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group and acting as a trustee for both the Women’s Sport Trust and Restart.
Claire Nelson
Claire Nelson is a global industry award winning leader who is recognised as one of the most impactful and influential women in UK women’s sport. Having made her mark as the CEO of Netball Scotland where she also founded and led Sirens Super League Franchise, Claire was recently appointed as the first ever Managing Director of the Netball Super League to lead the professionalisation of the domestic game in the UK which is set to be relaunched early in 2025.
Specialising in business transformation, commercial, brand and marketing, Claire has held senior roles across numerous industries before pursuing her purpose in women’s sport.
A mother of four and unapologetically driven by the desire to create a better fairer future for all, Claire is a popular public speaker who delivers refreshing honesty, insight and practical advice in her quest to inspire and empower women and girls into realising and fulfilling their true potential, personally and professionally.
Jaime Newell
Jaime Newell, ACE National Operations Manager, brings 7 years of expertise in the cricket industry. With a background in coaching and fitness, Jaime has played a pivotal role in launching the groundbreaking Blaze Her Trail project. This initiative aims to transition female Track & Field talent from African Caribbean backgrounds into proficient fast bowlers in cricket. Passionate about talent identification and fostering diversity in sports, Jaime has a proven track record of cultivating environments where athletes excel and can be unapologetically themselves. He is dedicated to talent development and finding success in untapped areas of the sporting world.
Leon Mann MBE
Leon Mann MBE is a sports consultant, campaigner, film-maker and broadcaster.
He is a co-founder of the Football Black List, an initiative that highlights the achievements of the Black community in the sport.
He is also the founder of the Black Collective of Media in Sport, a group campaigning for greater diversity in the sports media, as well as a board member of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited.
Leon is the Vice Chair of the Sports Journalist Association and co-founder of the Sports People’s Think Tank.
Leon has interviewed some of the biggest stars in sport – including David Beckham and Shelley-Anne Fraser-Pryce.
As a film-maker he has made two critically acclaimed documentaries on Usain Bolt for the BBC and owns Refresh Sports consultancy and productions, a leading consultancy advising industry leaders, athletes and brands on communications and EDI.
Jenny Mitton
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 from O2 and England Rugby, NatWest and England Cricket, BMW and the Olympics and Virgin Media for the Paralympics.
Jenny’s passion lies in growing women’s sport and showing brands the opportunities available to them in this space. 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.
In 2022 Jenny led a team to stage the first Women’s Sport Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in partnership with Getty images: Women’s Sport Through the Lens.
Outside M&C Jenny sits on the RFU Sub Growth Committee and is an Independent Advisor for the Sport and Recreation Alliance.
Hannah Munden
Hannah is driven by a passion for bridging knowledge gaps and making technology accessible to everyone. With her hands-on experience in tech, Hannah aims to contextualise and simplify impressive solutions and services to benefit both people and businesses. As an advocate for catalysing industry changes and creating meaningful value for all involved, Hannah is driven by a single mission to empower brands to not only thrive in the present but also to boldly shape the future.
Tiffany Peña Santos
Tiffany Peña Santos leads the Accident & Health Sports & Entertainment team at WTW. She has 16 years of Sports and Entertainment experience having worked in Europe and United Kingdom. Tiffany has played sports from when she was only 5 years of age. Her passion for soccer grew when having been nominated as the team captain for the High School varsity team as a freshman. She then went on to play in first division team in Spain as the starting goalkeeper. Her highlight in her sporting journey was playing against Milene Domingues “Ronaldinha” at Rayo Vallecano. Tiffany’s passion for sports is reflected in her role as a broker for all athletes both amateur and professional. She has created the Women in Sport insurance product which addresses important genetic differences. Her goal is to continue to develop this product to further protect female athletes.
Lauren Presland
My name’s Lauren Presland, I’m 17 years old, I come from St Albans in Hertfordshire, and study A Levels at Sandringham School. I play Underwater Hockey, also known as Octopush, and train and compete with Team GB Underwater Hockey.
I have always loved the water and I’ve been swimming since I was a few months old. I started competitively swimming at the age of nine and went on to compete at regional level for CoStA (City of St Albans Swimming Club). During lockdown, I didn’t let the pool closures stop me and so I got involved in open water swimming, with Heather from pool2lake open water training, and at ATW open water swimming.
This lead me to Octopush, which combined my passion of swimming and hockey – which I also play at school. My speed and strength from swimming made me a prime candidate for being a forward (striker), I joined Dunstable Underwater Hockey Club, and I was invited to play at the regionals within a month of playing. There I was seen by the Team GB coaches, and invited to join the under 19 Ladies GB squad. Within three months, I was selected to play internationally in France, and I continue to train with Team GB in Leeds.
My autism means that I often focus on certain things, and I have utilised this to my advantage in my training, to progress this far. Although there are a lot of females in the sport, I am often the only female in my club’s competitive squad. It’s quite amusing when I come up against giant stocky male players and beat them!
Abbie Raybould
“As TikTok’s Sports Partnership Manager, Abbie leverages her extensive experience, gained from notable contributions to Eurosport and Discovery Sports. Within TikTok, Abbie leads relationships with critical UK sports partners such as content creators, and broadcasters. Her role involves providing support in shaping their content strategy and guiding them through their TikTok journey, all while contributing to the expansion of TikTok’s sports ecosystem.
Beyond her responsibilities with TikTok, Abbie is actively involved as a coach for an amateur women’s football team in South London, showcasing her dedication to both the professional and grassroots levels of sports.
Abbie has played a key role in driving award winning partnerships for TikTok such as with Six Nations Rugby and Burnley FC, as well as collaborating on activations across the FIFA Women’s World cup.”
Jim Rainford
Jim is a one of the senior management for the Sports and Entertainment team and leads the delivery of insurance services for professional footballers and other professional athletes.
Based out of Manchester and a self-confessed ‘true Mancunian’, he began his insurance career in 2006 and prior to working in insurance secured a degree in International business.
He has worked closely with many high profile introducers and clients throughout his career. With a hands-on and commercial approach, he has been able to forge many successful relationships within this arena.
Emma Rose
Hi, I’m Emma or Emzii in the esports and gaming space. A loud proud transgender woman from Northern Ireland, 2x International Esports champion winning gold for NI at the inaugural Commonwealth Esports championships and Silver for GB at the European Games. Bringing home the first ever olympic sanctified esports trophy to the UK.
Winner of the ESI Film festival held at BAFTA for my short film about mental health and EDI in esports.
New community manager for British Esports and force for diversity and inclusion.
All socials @Emzii192
Øyvind Sandbakk
Professor Øyvind Sandbakk is today a professor at the Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science at NTNU and the director of the Center for Elite Sports Research. He is also a professor II at the Arctic University (UiT) and the editor-in-chief of the research journal “International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance.” Additionally, he serves as the chairman or board member of several organizations in Norwegian sports, including institutions such as the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. In August, he will start in the role of sports director at the Norwegian Elite Sports High School (NTG). Sandbakk has authored over 200 research articles and several books, with a particular focus on women in sports.
Alejandra Salazar
Alejandra Salazar is the Founder & CEO of CROING Creative & Social Media Agency. Originally from Venezuela with a global perspective from living in 7 countries, she brings a nuanced understanding of local cultures and their adoption of social media and innovation. CROING’s portfolio includes the City of Miami Office of Technology and Innovation, ‘Venture Miami,’ where her teams deploy a bilingual creative social media strategy to promote and champion the city’s innovation initiatives and visionary founders.
Jeff Simpkins
Jeff is the Chief Operating Officer of the UK-based esports team, Resolve. He was previously a competitive esports athlete in Rainbow Six: Siege before entering esports management with his own team, Barrage. Until 2022, Jeff managed his esports endeavours alongside a full-time role as a Police Constable and then Sergeant in Lancashire.
Alex Singer
With a diverse background across sport, I’ve cultivated a deep passion for community development and youth empowerment. As the Academy Community Manager at Guild Esports, I spearheaded initiatives benefiting local children, bridging the gap between grassroots and professional Esports. Prior to this, my tenure at The Royal Ballet School saw me managing their Intensive Courses, honing my skills in administration, budget management, and team leadership, working alongside their teachers to develop the next generation of professional dancers.
My journey began as a Community Development Officer at a Borough Council, where I championed sport and health initiatives, fostering inclusivity and participation for underrepresented groups.
With each role I hold I endeavour and strive to build strong foundations for success, blending professionalism with grassroots activism to effect positive change in communities.
Claire Sng
Claire Sng is a Partner who specialises in intellectual property law, advertising and marketing law and brand protection. She works on matters with a transactional focus; including working on complex IP divestitures and related issues such as IP mapping, chain of title issues, brand splitting etc.
Claire works on a cross border basis, for example, in relation to advertising projects and is a member of the DLA Piper Advertising and Marketing Group and she co-chairs DLA Piper’s Women in Sport initiative and working group.
She is named in Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner for Intellectual Property and separately for Media & Entertainment (advertising) as well as being listed in the World Trademark Review 1000 which lists the world’s leading trade mark professionals. Claire is a thought leader, regularly having articles published in a variety of different media as well as speaking at conferences and chairing webinars.
Dr Anju Solanki (Hons DBA)
Dr Anju Solanki (Hons DBA) launched MEA Consulting Group, a thought leading equity, diversity and inclusion consultancy in 2018. During her time at MEA, Anju has cultivated innovative and thought provoking training and advisory services for a variety of leading organisations including the NHS, FTSE 100 companies and charities. She also led the design of world class virtual reality EDI training backed by behavioural science. Anju has been a Business Mentor for the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Her work has seen her featured in Forbes, BBC, Good Morning Britain, GB News and BBC Sunday Morning Live.
Anju has designed a number of programmes for one of UK’s leading charities, Women In Sport. She has been on the judging panel for UK’s most prestigious diversity and inclusion awards such as Women In Tech and the Cyber Diversity Awards. Anju’s recent focus on mental wellbeing has seen her deliver keynotes across organisations as large as Tesco and UK’s leading mental health charity, Anna Freud Centre. Anju has previously supported organisations such as Everything In Sport at events across London Stadium and Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.
Prior to founding MEA, Anju had a successful 12 year career in Investment Banking, working at Citigroup, Barclays and Lloyds. She built a commendable track record on the trading floor and created a large network of international clients. Anju became super passionate about driving social change having experienced first hand the invisible barriers underrepresented groups faced.
Anju was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2023 by Arden University for her services to EDI. She holds a Gender Diversity Executive Education from INSEAD, Core Consulting from CASS Business School and a BSc (Hons) Finance & Accounting.
Lizzie Squires
Lizzie Squires is one of the founders and CEO of Vulpine Esports, an award-winning grassroots esports organisation that focuses on student support in a nontoxic environment with an ethos of inclusivity and diversity. A champion of giving real-life industry experience to young people, she is committed to help as many young people as possible achieve the aspirations they look for, and as such works both in industry as well as teaching esports business and event management at HE and FE level in the UK.
Lizzie’s passions are gaming, Vulpine, her family and her two year old labrador called Nautilus.
Gemma Taylor
Gemma has worked with Children and Young people for around fifteen years. She first started her career working in a Pupil Referral Unit in London, as an attendance and behaviour support officer. Gemma’s role included working closely with young people at risk, children with neurodiversities and children with medical conditions. Gemma worked closely with the family, social workers and any other services involved with the young person with the aim to support the young person until ready to be re-introduced in to mainstream education. Following on from this, Gemma started working at Fulham FC Foundation in various roles, from to Female Football Development Officer and more recently leading on the Kicks Targeted programme, mentoring children who were at risk of being involved in youth crime and violence. Gemma also has a MSc in sports coaching.
Gemma’s current role at Fulham Football Club and leads on developing and implementing the safeguarding strategy across the Foundation and Academy. This includes working closely with operational staff and coaches to understand their responsibilities around safeguarding. Gemma continues to work with children and adults who are at risk and is passionate about participant voice and providing a listening culture. In 2022, Gemma successfully supported the Club through an independent external safeguarding audit by Barnardo’s, where they were deemed as fully compliant with standards and legislation with many areas of excellence.
Katie Traxton
Katie Traxton, former Chief Communications Officer at Formula E racing, Managing Partner at WeAreFearless and Founder of Good Vibes Only Talent, is an Oxford University English graduate also with an MBA.
By 24, she was managing three global motorsport championships within the World Rally Championship. By 32, had become an international sports and entertainment executive.
Katie has contributed to global organisations like Volkswagen, BP, and the British Council where she led a marketing campaign across 179 countries.
She is multilingual and holds several board directorships and trusteeships, notably as the British Motor Sport Trust’s sole female trustee.
A staunch advocate for workplace inclusivity, Katie was for many years co-chair of the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ network, is a member of WACL, and had a six-year tenure as a European Sponsorship Association Board Director and their inclusivity lead.
She believes in the power of positive culture to boost commercial success and uses this belief to drive her approach to talent management.
Stevie Ward
Stevie Ward is a former professional rugby league player and captain of the Leeds Rhinos. Stevie won 3 Grand Finals and 2 Challenge Cups before having to retire at age 26 due to brain injury. He is now a keynote speaker and leadership consultant who helps high performing teams break through their internal defensive lines to reach authenticity. Stevie believes authenticity is at the heart of innate wellbeing and performance – without it, we may have success but we will never have fulfilment.
Arela Williams
My athletic journey started at the age of 3 with gymnastics and finished at 23 after 10 years of elite volleyball. Somewhere along this journey I stumbled across the practice of visualisation which ignited my fascination with mindfulness. I naturally fell into sports performance coaching after receiving my MSc in S&C from UEL and co-founded Sharp Training Performance which brought S&C and mindfulness training to grassroot level sports and schools. After a few years, I had a desire to do something else and I found myself working in student recruitment. However, my long standing mental health struggles with anxiety, depression, and CPTSD caught up with me so I quit in order to recover and assess my life’s direction. Now, I embrace my more creative side while also wanting to share how the sports performance community can integrate holistic practices to better nurture athletes’ health in and out of sport.
Freeman Williams
Freeman Williams, formally of GIANTX, is a talent and esport manager residing in London. He has managed elite Fortnite talent, FC24 professional players, and a roster of gaming influencers.
Rachel Williams
Rachel has spent 14 years in the charity sector and started out in a succession of frontline political jobs before joining the RSPCA’s public affairs and campaigns team. She was there for nine years, working her way up to Public Affairs Manager for Westminster and is proud to have delivered on an array of campaigns, Bills and events.
Rachel joined the team at Women in Sport because she wants to make sure that future generations of young girls don’t face the same issues that she did. As Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Rachel’s role is to lead on developing our policy positions and on our relationship with political and policymaking stakeholders across the UK and at all levels of government.
Victoria Weigleb
Safeguarding Manager, ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board)
Victoria leads a team of County Safeguarding Advisors who proactively strive to ensure everything within a cricket environment is safe and welcoming for everyone. Supporting 44 cricket networks across England & Wales, Victoria is passionate about making cricket a safe game for everyone.
Being a woman in a leadership role within sport, a proud mum of two daughters and competitive netball player, Victoria believes it’s important to have female role models at all levels of sport. She is dedicated to ensuring she does everything she can to support women and girls in sport.
Prior to working at the ECB, Victoria was the Designated Safeguarding Lead for Table Tennis England.
In 2023 Victoria graduated from the University of Worcestershire with a post-graduate in Leading Culture Change in Safeguarding and is part of Pentathlon GB’s Case Management Group.