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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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. -
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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Liz Nicholl CBE
President, International Netball Federation
Liz Nicholl CBE
President, International Netball FederationLiz Nicholl CBE is a British sports administrator and former international netball player who was elected as President of the International Netball Federation at the Netball World Cup in July 2019. Prior to this, Liz was the CEO of UK Sport from 2010 until retirement in 2019 and during that time was referred to as “the most powerful woman” in British sport.
Liz Nicholl began her career in the administration of women’s University sport and soon after became CEO of England Netball, a post she held for 16 years and during that time was the Championship Director of the 1995 World Netball Championships.
In 1999 Liz joined UK Sport as the Director of Performance and played a pioneering role in the development of the elite sport system in the UK. Liz led the work of UK Sport’s Performance Directorate through the Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic cycles from Sydney 2000 to Beijing 2008 as the Director of Elite Sport. Liz became the Chief Operating Officer in 2009 and was then appointed to the CEO role in September 2010.
During her tenure as UK Sport’s CEO, GB achieved record Olympic and Paralympic performances at London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and Pyeongchang 2018.
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Sabrina Ibanez
Secretary General of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)
Sabrina Ibanez
Secretary General of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)Sabrina Ibáñez has been the Secretary General of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the global governing body of equestrian sport, since December 2014 and is the first woman to hold this post in the organisation. In her current position and as the former FEI Director of Governance and Executive Affairs, she has played an instrumental role in advancing gender equality in the Federation.
She is also a member of the IOC Gender Equality Working Group and was elected the first President of the Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) in 2017. She is also the Chair of the ASOIF Parasport Consultative Group (APCG).
Sabrina Ibáñez holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and History from Boston University and a diploma in Sociology, Politics and Management of Sport Science from the Universities of Lausanne, Leicester, and Montpellier.
Prior to working for the FEI, Sabrina Ibáñez was with Telecom Japan TV Productions in New York (USA) and the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) in Lausanne (SUI).
Sabrina Ibáñez is a Swiss national of Salvadorian, American, and Austrian descent. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish and has two adult sons.
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Debbie Jevans CBE
Senior Independent Director, English Football League
Debbie Jevans CBE
Senior Independent Director, English Football LeagueDebbie has been at a leading figure in sports management and administration for over 30 years. She was the first female in Olympic history to be appointed as the Director of Sport for an Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and also the first female to be appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of a Rugby World Cup.
Debbie is Vice Chair for Sport England and leads its Workforce Committee which is responsible for overseeing the UK’s strategy for coaching, volunteering and careers in sport and is a Trustee of the Invictus Games Foundation (which was established by Prince Harry to organise international sports competitions for wounded, injured and sick service personnel).
Formerly a professional tennis player, Debbie represented her country and competed at all four Grand Slams before turning to an administrative career in the sporting arena becoming General Secretary of the International Tennis Federation where she developed the sport’s first anti-doping programme and oversaw the return of tennis as an Olympic sport.Previously voted the most influential female in British sport, Debbie was awarded a CBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours List in recognition for her services to sport and the London 2012 Games and was awarded the Olympic Order by the IOC in the same year.
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.
