Our Judges

Philip Bernie

Head of BBC TV Sport

Philip Bernie

Head of BBC TV Sport

Philip Bernie is the Head of BBC TV Sport – responsible for all TV Sport output on the BBC.

Philip joined the BBC in 1984 as a Production Trainee after leaving university. He became an Assistant Producer on Grandstand, later becoming Editor of Football Focus and then Match Of The Day. He has also been Assistant Editor and then Editor of Grandstand.

He was Editor of Sports Personality Of The Year from 1999 to 2005, during which time he won a Royal Television Society Award for the show.

He was Editor on the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2004, and on the Commonwealth Games from 1994 to 2002.

He was Editor of the World Cup in 1990 and 1994 as well as Euro 96, and was Executive Producer of the World Cup in 2002.

He was Editor of Wimbledon from 2003 to 2007 and founding Editor of both the BBC One series On Side and the BBC Two series Match Of The Day 2.

Prior to his current role, Philip was Head of Programmes and Planning in BBC TV Sport from 2005 to 2007 and then Head of TV Sport Editorial from 2007 to 2009.

Before joining TV Sport in 1987, Philip worked in various areas of the BBC including spending a year in Radio Sport and a year at the Breakfast Time TV programme.

Paul Blanchard

CEO - Commonwealth Games England

Clare Briegal

CEO - International Netball Federation

Ben Calveley

Managing Director, British & Irish Lions

Lawrence Dallaglio OBE

Former England Rugby Captain

Niels de Vos

Executive Director - 2021 IAAF World Athletics Championships

Jon Dutton

Chief Executive - Rugby League World Cup 2021

Victoria Gosling OBE

Chief Executive, GB Snowsport

Jane M Nickerson MBE

Chief Executive Officer, Swim England

Keith Pelley

Chief Executive, DP World Tour

Keith Pelley

Chief Executive, DP World Tour

Canadian Keith Pelley became the fourth Chief Executive in the history of the European Tour on Monday August 3, 2015.

During his tenure, Keith has overseen a period of significant evolution and modernisation underlined by the Tour’s brand refresh, which uses the strapline Driving Golf Further, emphasising the Tour’s guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global. This has included the creation of award-winning content, pioneering formats such as GolfSixes and the Hero Challenge, and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement, including the launch of golf’s first esports series, the European eTour. Keith has also overseen a closer collaboration with the women’s game, including co-sanctioned events such as the Scandinavia Mixed and Vic Open, and the introduction of the ground-breaking Golfers with Disability programme in conjunction with the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA), which he is a board member of.

In 2017, the European Tour introduced the transformational Rolex Series, the premium event category on the European Tour’s International Schedule, comprising four tournaments staged in a variety of world-class golfing locations around the world, each with a minimum prize fund of US$7 million. It has been described as one of the most important initiatives in the Tour’s history.

In November 2020, a Strategic Alliance was announced between the European Tour and the PGA TOUR, with the latter taking minority investment in European Tour Productions. The landmark agreement will see golf’s two major Tours explore all facets of collaboration, working together on strategic commercial opportunities including collaborating on global media rights in certain territories plus global scheduling, prize funds and playing opportunities for the respective memberships.

The European Tour also manages the developmental Challenge Tour and the Legends Tour, formerly the Senior Tour which secured Staysure as the first title partner in its history in 2018. It is also the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe the body which, alongside the PGA of America, administers golf’s greatest team contest, The Ryder Cup, with the 2018 edition at Le Golf National the most successful to be held on European soil.

Prior to joining The European Tour, Keith was President of Rogers Media in Toronto where he was responsible for leading the overall operations of the company’s diverse portfolio, including Television, Radio, Publishing, Digital Media, The Shopping Channel, subscription-based content services, Toronto Blue Jays, and Rogers Centre. Before that, he was Executive Vice-President of Strategic Planning at CTVglobemedia, President of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium – which won a record seven awards for its coverage of Vancouver 2010 – President and CEO of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club, and President of The Sports Network in Canada, a company he first joined as an Editorial Assistant in 1986.

He is a graduate of Ryerson University with a BA in Radio and Television Arts, and also received an ATCL diploma from Trinity College in London

Karen Pickering MBE

Commonwealth & World Champion Swimmer

Nick Pink

Chief Executive, England Hockey

Matthew Porter

CEO - Professional Darts Corporation

Julie Porter

Chief Operating Officer, LTA

Sir Steve Redgrave CBE

Five Times Olympic gold Medalist

Judging Information

The Sports Business Awards will be judged independently by an esteemed panel who possess a wealth of knowledge and experience between them.
The scoring will all be conducted online, without any reference to other scorers and based solely on the submission of the entrant. This will ensure the scores are unbiased and judges are not swayed by the opinions of other panel members.
Each entry will be scored by at least 4 judges in total. The organisers will collate the individual scores and use the average marks given to initially decide the finalists and ultimately to determine the award winners.
Where the average scores are so close that it is too difficult to determine a winner, then other judges will be asked to evaluate these entries as well in order to make a final decision.
The information provided to judges will be used solely for the purposes of assessing the entries. Potentially sensitive information will not be made public.
Judges will absent themselves from any discussions where they have a vested interest.
The judges’ decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into and no reasons given for decisions.
The shortlisted entrants will be announced in September 2022.
If you need help with your entry or require any clarification, please contact Katy Atkins on katy@r3events.co.uk or telephone 0208 788 3710.

Our Judges

Philip Bernie

Paul Blanchard

Clare Briegal

Ben Calveley

Adrian Christy

Lawrence Dallaglio OBE

Niels de Vos

Jon Dutton

Jim Eyre

Victoria Gosling OBE

Hamish McInnes

Jane M Nickerson MBE

Andy Payne OBE

Keith Pelley

Karen Pickering MBE

Nick Pink

Matthew Porter

Julie Porter

Sir Steve Redgrave CBE

Judging Information

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES