MANCHESTER 2025
Advisory Board
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CHAIR
VICE CHAIR
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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.
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.
Education enables discussions on various topics, such as the significance of sports in school curriculum and education’s impact on fostering sports and physical activity. It’s vital for the workforce to possess relevant qualifications, reflecting societal needs. Everything In Sport will ignite conversations on engagement, equality, and inclusion across sporting communities, spanning from youth and amateur to elite levels.
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!
Andrew has built a successful career managing sports development, education, employment, and EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) programmes for major UK football foundations, including Brighton FC, Charlton FC, and Chelsea FC. His grassroots work as a mentor, coach, and community adviser has given him first-hand insight into the challenges faced by young people from underrepresented communities. Leveraging his experiences and professional background, Andrew now oversees the day-to-day operations of BCOMS (Black Collective of Media in Sport), where he creates pathways, secures careers, and influences industry changes to enhance representation in the sports media.
Natasha is a dynamic change agent with a unique lived experience perspective and a values-driven leadership style, passionately dedicated to making a meaningful impact. As a strategic advocate for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) she brings charismatic leadership, with a proven track record of fostering inclusivity and challenging cultural norms. Fully qualified as a Health Care Professional and a certified Personal Performance and Corporate Executive Coach, Natasha is committed to supporting well-being. Currently, she leads EDI initiatives at British Gymnastics along with acting as a consultant with National Governing Bodies, for the Sporting Home Nations and UK Sport initiative Moving to Inclusion Framework.
Gamification entails the integration of game mechanics into non-gaming environments, including Esports, websites, online communities, learning management systems, and business intranets, with the objective of broadening audience participation. Its overarching goal is to stimulate interaction, sharing, and collaboration among consumers, employees, and partners, thereby enhancing engagement and productivity.
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.
Emma Rose, also known as Emzii in the esports and gaming community, is a proud transgender woman from Northern Ireland. She is a 2-time International Esports champion, having won gold for Northern Ireland at the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships and silver for Great Britain at the European Games, bringing home the first-ever Olympic-sanctioned esports trophy to the UK. Emma also won the ESI Film Festival held at BAFTA with her short film focused on mental health and equality, diversity, and inclusion in esports.
We draw inspiration from innovation and its relationship with sports. A primary focus of Everything In Sport will be the influence of innovation on the current business landscape of sports. The event will feature case studies, presentations, and demonstrations by industry experts who aim to improve and challenge the status quo in the sports industry. Everything In Sport will prioritise an innovation and technology theme to provide attendees with insights into the latest regulations and legislative rules.
Victoria works for sports marketing agency, Wasserman, leading its dedicated women’s sport division, The Collective, across Europe. A thought leader in market, Victoria specialises in the commercialisation of women’s rights, properties and athletes and champions that ‘doing good’ can also be ‘good for business’.
The Collective supports industry stakeholders to unlock the full and unique value proposition within women’s sport through custom-built valuation methodologies and robust data and insight.
Victoria recently returned from rowing 3,000-miles across the Atlantic Ocean, to inspire more women and girls to participate in sport.
Hannah is a key member of the Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) International Brand Consulting division. Having joined CAA in 2018 – the world’s largest sports and entertainment agency – Hannah leads accounts within Formula One and previously tennis and supports sponsorships in major UK and international events. Hannah specialises within strategic mapping, talent and influencer work, alongside campaign activation and delivery, whilst also leading the UK social impact division. Hannah is a founding member of CAA’s Women’s Sport project team which has been established to support and promote women’s sport through brand awareness and integration.
Hannah began her career at the British Film Institute which included the iconic BFI London Film Festival before going on to serve as corporate lead for Wings for Life, the spinal cord research foundation run by the founder of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz. Hannah has a BMus degree in Music from Cardiff University.
My seventeen-year career has been marked by substantial roles in finance, customer experience, sales, and marketing, with significant seventeen year tenures at Nike and Adidas. As the Global Go-to-Market Director at Reebok in Boston, MA, I led the creation and implementation of strategies aimed at significant growth on an international scale. In this leadership role, my focus was on aligning marketing initiatives with the overarching goal of substantial revenue growth, helping to strengthen Reebok’s market presence in the studio category.
Sport regulation typically falls under the purview of a Sports Governing Body, leading to a stable core of commonly accepted rules. Professional sports exemplify a mix of stringent and evolving regulations, with governing bodies exercising control rather than just defining the sport. Everything In Sport will feature a focused theme on regulation to educate attendees about the latest rules and legislation. It is crucial for the sports and physical activity sector to grasp appropriate conduct across all settings, encompassing volunteers and paid staff alike.
Suzy is co-founder of Untapped, a strategic communications and inclusion company helping organisations to wholeheartedly embed inclusion into their brand in a meaningful and authentic way.
She has 20+ years of experience in delivering strategic communications and inclusion programmes. Suzy led all aspects of comms for BT’s award-winning London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsorship and Channel 4 Paralympic partnership. She also co-created the BT Premier League Disability Programme with the Premier League and Comic Relief and went on to develop BT’s first global charity and community strategy, with a focus on the power of sport to deliver impact.
Suzy is vice chair of Lord’s Taverners, the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sport charity. Previously she was a Trustee on the board of GB Wheelchair Rugby.
Fi is the Head of Partnerships at Metro Bank, who in 2023 became the first-ever Champion of Women’s and Girls’ Cricket in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Fi is responsible for how Metro Bank maximises their partnership, both nationally and at a local level across the network to 76 stores, as well as the creation of The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund, which aims to drive transformational growth in girls’ recreational cricket.
Prior to Metro Bank Fi spent four years at the ECB within the marketing team, and most recently as the Head of National Programmes.
In the competitive world of professional sports, success hinges on tiny margins, underscoring the importance of understanding participation factors in physical activity. The performance gap between elite athletes often amounts to less than one percent, driving an exploration of sports psychology and science to enhance mental capabilities. Everything In Sport will spotlight stimulation, offering attendees comprehensive insights into the latest psychological and scientific methodologies that give athletes a decisive edge in sports performance.
Whilst working at Harlequins as the Head of Press and PR, Sarah played for Wasps in the Premiership.
Dana has extensive experience working in the Sports Media and Sports Technology industry, specialising in the use of technology and innovation across the sector.
Dana started out her career as a sports television reporter and producer, covering major live events including NBA, NFL, Olympics, global football and more. The second part of her career focused on working in global technology firms that provide services to the sports and media industry, reaching senior-level positions at companies such as SES and Intel. With an emphasis on creating commercial strategies, she’s been an integral part of teams introducing new technologies dedicated to enhancing the sports experience within the entire ecosystem through storytelling, content creation and monetisation; media and digital strategies; fan engagement; player development and performance optimisation.
She currently works as a consultant to sports organisations and sports tech start-ups.
Dana is truly passionate about how technology and innovation can support and enhance the sports experience. While working in the sports-tech industry, she has dedicated her time to being a mentor and advisor to multiple sports-tech startups, being a firm believer in mentorship as an essential component in building success and helping new generations of founders to bring innovation into the space.
In addition to her work as a consultant and advisor, she is currently the co-founder of Kick Off, a company set up to bring tech and innovation to sports organisations worldwide. As part of Kick Off, she’s also worked on projects dedicated to bringing a sports excellence mentality to youth development programs and developing sports communities.
Hi, I’m Amy, proud northerner, and Mancunian resident for over 10 years. Having only joined pro-manchester in August 2024, I can say I have well and truly met some fabulous people. My role as Programmes and Events manager allows me to use my experience working within the events industry daily all while working with a great team. I graduated Manchester Metropolitan University with an Events Management BA Hons degree back in 2017 and have continued to work within the industry since. My experience includes working for a high-end luxury hospitality brand, planning and producing large scale special events alongside working on various corporate projects and conferences. Away from work I enjoy spending time with family and friends, trying new restaurants, travelling and having the occasional weekend away out of the city!