We are pleased to announce the finalists for the Sports Business Awards which will now be taking place online at 3 p.m. on Wednesday 16th December.
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Why the Sports Business Awards?
Celebrate with your team
Being an award-winner is a powerful motivator to inspire you and your colleagues to keep up the great work!
Enhance your reputation
Appending an independently judged third-party badge of excellence is a sure-fire shortcut to emphasising your merit to colleagues, clients, bosses & stakeholders.
Generate positive headlines
Spread the good news - everyone loves a success story and winning an award is a great publicity hook for social and traditional media efforts
Aspire to Better Practice
Winner or not - seeing what others do for their products is an irreplacable source of tried & tested award-worthy ideas!
Our 2020 Judges
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Kelly Simmons MBE
The Football Association, Director of Women's Professional Game
Kelly Simmons MBE
The Football Association, Director of Women's Professional GameKelly Simmons MBE took up the new role of Director of the Women’s Professional Game in September 2018 to help deliver and transform professional women’s football in England. She oversees The FA Women’s Super League, FA Women’s Championship, FA Women’s National League and the Women’s Pyramid of Football.
She was previously The FA Director of Participation and Development, overseeing the implementation of a £200m four year investment programme into children’s and grassroots football.
Kelly was awarded an MBE in 2002 for Services to Football and received the BT Sports Industry Award for ‘Leadership in Sport’ in 2016.
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Adrian Christy
Chief Executive, Badminton England
Adrian Christy
Chief Executive, Badminton EnglandAdrian has been Chief Executive of Badminton England since 2006 and is leading the organisation through a vision for badminton to be one of the nation’s most popular sports and to consistently win World, Olympic and Paralympic medals.
Adrian is driving a journey of modernisation and self-sustainability at Badminton England, transforming the business through technology, customer acquisition, fan engagement and organisational efficiency. He is a bold, recognised and innovative leader with proven achievement; someone who makes things happen and leads by example.
Under Adrian’s leadership, Badminton England has secured the greatest level of commercial investment in the history of the organisation, seen the Yonex All England Open Championships be included among the three badminton ‘Majors’ on the World Tour, demonstrated great vision and creativity through the launch of the first professional badminton league in the UK.
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Sarah Lewis OBE
Secretary General, International Ski Federation
Sarah Lewis OBE
Secretary General, International Ski FederationSarah Lewis (*1964) has been involved with skiing on both a competitive and administrative level for over 30 years. She was a member of the British Alpine Ski Team from 1982-1988 and competed in the 1987 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships and 1988 Olympic Winter Games, as well as many international FIS competitions including World Cup and Continental Cups.
Sarah began working for FIS in 1994 and for four years served as Co-ordinator for the Continental Cups covering the series in Europe, North America, Far East, South America and Australia New Zealand. She became FIS Director in 1998, before being appointed Secretary General by the FIS Council at its meeting in Melbourne in 2000.
She currently serves as the Secretary General of the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF) and is a member of the IOC Olympic Programme Commission, Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games IOC Coordination Commissions. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (CHN) she chaired the World Anti-Doping Agency Independent Observers.
Sarah was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to sport by Her Majesty The Queen in the New Year Honours List for 2018
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Charlie Wylie
Managing Partner of Sport & Entertainment, MKTG
Charlie Wylie
Managing Partner of Sport & Entertainment, MKTGCharlie is Managing Partner of Sport & Entertainment at MKTG, an industry leading lifestyle marketing agency.
Charlie is a partnership and brand engagement expert with years of experience in building, managing and delivering integrated partnership and sponsorship solutions for clients. Recently he has focused on creating large scale global partnerships for FMCG and B2B brands, helping to deliver game-changing business value for brands through sport.
Outside of work Charlie is a huge sport fan and has become an expert in up-selling his former sporting glories. When not juggling work and family life he’s often to be found on a boat, or a bike or doing some form of adventure challenge.
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Misha Sher
Global Vice-President, MediaCom Sport & Entertainment
Misha Sher
Global Vice-President, MediaCom Sport & EntertainmentMisha Sher is Global Vice-President at MediaCom Sport & Entertainment, an award-winning sports & entertainment marketing division of MediaCom (WPP Group).
Industry veteran who has been at the forefront of the sports industry for more than 15 years, Misha has negotiated and advised on more £1B in sponsorship investments with major sport & entertainment properties, including UEFA, IOC, NFL and F1 in more than 25 countries. At MediaCom, he has built and scaled global sport & entertainment business that sits at the intersection of sport, media, lifestyle and culture, with clients that include some of the biggest blue-chip brands like Toyota, Shell, Richemont, American Airlines and Allianz as well as top talent such as Pelé, Brian Lara, Mesut Özil and Eniola Aluko, to name a few. A former professional footballer, Misha began his business career in banking with Brown Brothers Harriman before returning to sport as an executive.Misha is a published author and his opinions are regularly featured in leading media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Fortune, CNN, Sky, CMO, The Drum, Marketing Magazine and Sport Business International. He is a board director at European Sponsorship Association and holds an MBA in Football Industries.
Our 2020 Judges
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Adrian Christy
Chief Executive, Badminton England
Adrian Christy
Chief Executive, Badminton EnglandAdrian has been Chief Executive of Badminton England since 2006 and is leading the organisation through a vision for badminton to be one of the nation’s most popular sports and to consistently win World, Olympic and Paralympic medals.
Adrian is driving a journey of modernisation and self-sustainability at Badminton England, transforming the business through technology, customer acquisition, fan engagement and organisational efficiency. He is a bold, recognised and innovative leader with proven achievement; someone who makes things happen and leads by example.
Under Adrian’s leadership, Badminton England has secured the greatest level of commercial investment in the history of the organisation, seen the Yonex All England Open Championships be included among the three badminton ‘Majors’ on the World Tour, demonstrated great vision and creativity through the launch of the first professional badminton league in the UK.
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Charlie Wylie
Managing Partner of Sport & Entertainment, MKTG
Charlie Wylie
Managing Partner of Sport & Entertainment, MKTGCharlie is Managing Partner of Sport & Entertainment at MKTG, an industry leading lifestyle marketing agency.
Charlie is a partnership and brand engagement expert with years of experience in building, managing and delivering integrated partnership and sponsorship solutions for clients. Recently he has focused on creating large scale global partnerships for FMCG and B2B brands, helping to deliver game-changing business value for brands through sport.
Outside of work Charlie is a huge sport fan and has become an expert in up-selling his former sporting glories. When not juggling work and family life he’s often to be found on a boat, or a bike or doing some form of adventure challenge.
