Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top London based Director operating in the Sports space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Priya Souza
Senior Director Global Communications of Adidas
Follow Priya Souza:
About Adidas: Adidas is a global sports brand that manufactures apparel, accessories, and footwear for professional athletes involved in various sports.
Richard Nockles
Creative Director | Sky VR of Sky UK
Richard Nockles has been at the cutting edge of 360º & VR innovation over the last 4 years. His company ‘Surround Vision’ in London produce award winning 360 projects for broadcasters and Agencies across the wide range of devices on the market.
Follow Richard Nockles:
About Sky UK, Surround Vision: Sky is an entertainment company, serving 22 million customers across satellite, OTT, and broadband in five countries.
Stuart Murphy
Director of Entertainment of Sky UK
Stuart Murphy has been Director, Sky Entertainment Channels since 2013, with overall responsibility for Sky1, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, Challenge and Pick TV, as well as the commissioning teams in Comedy, Drama, Factual and Entertainment. He is a board member of Jaunt, a tech start up in San Francisco. Stuart joined Sky as Director of Programmes, Sky1 in May 2009. He reduced the number of shows on Sky1 by a third, increased the cost per hour and as a result improved peak ratings in the first 12 months by 37%. He moved the channel in favour of commissions over US shows, and Sky1 now commissions more hours of drama than Channel4. Sky1 hits included Got To Dance (which sold to 8 territories including CBS), An Idiot Abroad (now in 37 territories and the third highest rating show on Sky1 in 20 years), BAFTA winning A League Of Their Own (in season 8), Stella (the highest rating UK comedy in Pay TV and BAFTA nominated), Mad Dogs (BAFTA nominated), Pineapple Dance Studios (BAFTA nominated), Moone Boy (winner of an International Emmy Award and 3 IFTA’s) and Modern Family. Strike Back, An Idiot Abroad and Treasure Island were the first Sky originations to be nominated for Emmy’s. In 2011 Sky1 won Channel of the Year for the first time ever. In September 2010 he was made Director of Commissioning, responsible for originations across the Sky wholly owned channel portfolio. In February 2011 he launched Sky Atlantic, the result of a multi year exclusive output deal between Sky and HBO. He commissioned Hunderby (winner 2 British Comedy Awards and BAFTA nominated), Paul Abbott drama Hit + Miss starring Chloe Sevigny, and Steve Coogan’s Places Of My Life (BAFTA winning). Within a year Sky Atlantic became responsible for 15% of all new subscribers joining Sky. In April 2012, he was appointed Director, Entertainment Channels. In this period, Sky Living comedy Doll and Em became the first Sky show ever to be sold to HBO, A Touch of Cloth won Best Comedy at the Broadcast Awards, A Young Doctor’s Notebook Best Multichannel Programme and An Act of Killing won a BAFTA Film Award as well as being nominated for an Oscar, David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive won a BAFTA and The Green Prince doc opened Sundance. Previous roles Stuart has held include Creative Director at Twofour Productions; Creative Director at RDF and the first Controller of BBC Three, commissioning Little Britain, Gavin and Stacey, Torchwood, Nighty Night, Bodies and parenting shows. Under his Controllership, BBC Three won Broadcast and MGEITF Channel of the Year. Before then he ran BBC Choice, UK Play and worked on shows such as The Sunday Show, Great Railway Journeys, The Big Breakfast and Reportage. He went to school in Leeds, studied Geography at Clare College, Cambridge, has two sons, and boxes.
Follow Stuart Murphy:
About Sky UK: Sky is an entertainment company, serving 22 million customers across satellite, OTT, and broadband in five countries.
Julian Przygrodzki
Marketing Director of Sky UK
Follow Julian Przygrodzki:
About Sky UK: Sky is an entertainment company, serving 22 million customers across satellite, OTT, and broadband in five countries.
Gary Twelvetree
Director of Marketing of Chelsea Football Club
Follow Gary Twelvetree:
About Chelsea Football Club: The world famous Chelsea Football Club is located at Stamford Bridge on the Fulham Road in west London.
Sebastian Gray
Managing Director of Dugout
Sebastian began his career with Quest Software working in their Microsoft sales team, leaving after a number of years to establish his own company developing mobile apps. This progressed into user interactions and digital media and led him to create Sport Digital, a digital media company that specialises in the management and commercialisation of the digital landscape for athletes, actors, musicians and celebrities. Two years after its founding, Sport Digital now looks after over 300 athletes, including Gareth Bale, Anthony Joshua, and Adam Lallana, utilising and developing their digital and social media footprint with the long-term objective of optimising their digital media value.
Follow Sebastian Gray:
About Dugout: Dugout is an innovative new digital football platform.
Pete Samara
Director of Innovation and Digital Technology of Formula 1
With over 20 years’ experience in F1, leading a number of key technical areas such as IT, Electronics, Software, R&D and most recently Digital Delivery & Technology. Pete spearheads a division covering many exciting facets; from delivering the transformation of F1’s digital platforms all the way through to developing new and innovative solutions that facilitate new and exciting content to F1 products. Pete is passionate about pushing the boundaries of existing technologies in addition to leveraging new technologies, ensuring they achieve real business gain and increase fan engagement in the exciting and challenging environment of F1.
Follow Pete Samara:
About Formula 1: Formula 1 is a auto racing league.
Matt Roberts
Global Research Director of Formula 1
Matt joined Eurosport as Head of Research in September 2008, before moving to ESPN UK in July 2010 where I headed up the EMEA Research team. After the sale of ESPN TV to BT in July 2013, Matt joined the BT Sport team in Stratford to set up the insight function for the brand new sports channel before joining Sky to head up their sports insight division. In 2017, he joined Formula One as Global Research Director.
Follow Matt Roberts:
About Formula 1: Formula 1 is a auto racing league.
Denise Parkinson
Global Entertainment Director of OneFootball
Follow Denise Parkinson:
About OneFootball: The ultimate football media platform – news, scores, stats & more.
Hywel Sloman
IT Director of Arsenal Football Club
Follow Hywel Sloman:
About Arsenal Football Club: Arsenal Football Club is a multi media production company representing a diverse & exciting international talent roster including Director.
Ken Friar
Club Secretary & Managing Director of Arsenal Football Club
Arsenal Football Club’s longest-serving director, Ken Friar OBE has been a mainstay of the Club for more than 60 years. During this time, Mr Friar, as he is affectionately known by all, has done just about every job at the Club including working as Club Secretary and Managing Director. He was a driving force behind the Gunners’ move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium and continues to lead the Club’s activities in the property sector.
Follow Ken Friar:
About Arsenal Football Club: Arsenal Football Club is a multi media production company representing a diverse & exciting international talent roster including Director.
Stan Kroenke
Board of Directors of Arsenal Football Club
Stan Kroenke became the majority shareholder of Arsenal Football Club in April 2011, having previously been appointed to the board of directors in 2008. As the head of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, he owns a number of American sports properties; the Denver Nuggets basketball team, Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer team, St. Louis Rams of the NFL and the Colorado Avalanche ice hockey team in the NHL. He is a real estate developer and also owns the Outdoor Channel and Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Follow Stan Kroenke:
About Kroenke Sports & Entertainment: Arsenal Football Club is a multi media production company representing a diverse & exciting international talent roster including Director.
John Bayer
Technical Director of Arsenal Football Club
His main roles at Arsenal Ladies involve directing operations at the Arsenal Ladies Centre of Excellence and implementing the Technical and Physical Programme for the COE.
Follow John Bayer:
About Arsenal Football Club: Arsenal Football Club is a multi media production company representing a diverse & exciting international talent roster including Director.
Lord Harris
Board of Directors of Arsenal Football Club
Lord Harris of Peckham was appointed to the Arsenal board in November 2005. One of Britain’s longest-serving retailers, Lord Harris took over his family run carpet business aged 15. He went on to found Carpetright in 1988, where he played a central role until announcing his retirement in 2014. Lord Harris is a keen philanthropist, supporting a number of charities and projects that help young people to fulfil their potential.
Follow Lord Harris:
About : Arsenal Football Club is a multi media production company representing a diverse & exciting international talent roster including Director.
Roy Clements
STATS Sales Director Media & Gambling EMEA/APAC of STATS
Roy joined STATS in 2005. Roy was instrumental in the positioning and expansion of the European business, leading growth initiatives in gaming and media in Europe. Roy is currently responsible for the relationships with clients across the UK and Europe, including UEFA, William Hill, and bet365 and supporting STATS regional sales teams.
Follow Roy Clements:
About STATS, STATS: 800+ global organizations trust STATS to power their sports data and technology platforms due to our unrivaled speed, accuracy and depth.
Ben Ladkin
Managing Director, MLB Europe of Major League Baseball
Follow Ben Ladkin:
About Major League Baseball: Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization.
Alex Edney
Creative Director of InCrowd Sports
Alex Edney is a Creative Director at InCrowd Sports.
Follow Alex Edney:
About InCrowd Sports: Incrowd builds sponsorship activation platforms to give fans an in-stadia experience.
Peter Bazalgette
Non-Executive Director of Base79
Peter Bazalgette is Non-Executive Director at Base79. Peter Bazalgette is the great-great-grandson of Victorian civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. A third cousin is Edward Bazalgette who directed and produced the 2003 documentary The Sewer King which charted Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s design and engineering of the London sewers. Peter Bazalgette presented a later television show for Five, called The Great Stink, and chaired the Crossness Engines Trust raising £4.5 million to restore the magnificent Victorian pumping station built by his ancestor. An old joke is that where Joseph Bazalgette was responsible for removing ordure from London’s homes, his grandson has reversed the process. For the first 12 years of his life Peter Bazalgette’s parents did not have a television. He attended Dulwich College, and gained a third class degree in Law from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University while also becoming the president of the Cambridge Union Society. He is married to intellectual property rights lawyer Hilary Newiss, with whom he has two children. The family lives in Notting Hill.
Follow Peter Bazalgette:
About Base79: Base79 is an online media company creating global audiences for video content and manages hundreds of YouTube channels.
Ben Crossing
Managing Director of Hawk-Eye Innovations
Ben is currently instrumental in further establishing Hawk-Eye’s operations across Asia from Japan. Previously worked as commercial manager in cricket managing projects such as the ICC World Twenty20, Indian Premier Leagues and the Big Bash. Ben will oversee the project delivery, contractual obligations and operational elements in Japan.
Follow Ben Crossing:
About Hawk-Eye Innovations: Hawk-Eye is a British company that develops vision-processing, video replay, and creative graphical technologies for sports.
Andrew Wright
Trading Director of Sky Betting and Gaming
At Sky Bet we are working hard to give customers what they want to bet on, when and how they want to bet on it. As the Golf betting marketplace becomes increasingly competitive pre-live with Extra Place offers, a better understanding of what attracts customers to bet again in-play is crucial to an operator’s success.
Follow Andrew Wright:
About Sky Betting and Gaming: aiming to be the UK’s best digital business.
Janis Thomas
Marketing Director of deltatre
Janis joined Deltatre, a global leader in the sport business, at the beginning of 2019. She is an expert in using digital marketing to deliver sales and revenue growth in subscription and ecommerce businesses. She has grown diverse brands from Birchbox to Playboy. She has held senior consumer marketing roles at digital media and entertainment businesses across film, TV and publishing. Janis will be responsible for leading Deltatre’s B2C marketing. This function will help Deltatre’s sport and entertainment clients grow their direct-to-consumer streaming subscription services.
Follow Janis Thomas:
About deltatre: deltatre is a sports media services company that provides consulting services for videos, webs, graphics, and sports businesses.
Manuel Stan
Central Brand Marketing Director of Kindred Group
Follow Manuel Stan:
About Kindred Group: Kindred Group is a company that operates with online gambling and offers products such as online casino etc.
Joshua Nino De Guzman
CEO, Co-Founder & Director of Dexerto
Joshua Nino De Guzman is the CEO & Co-Founder at Dexerto
Follow Joshua Nino De Guzman:
About Dexerto: Dexerto is the world’s largest digital esports and gaming lifestyle platform news platform.
Chris Marsh
Co-Founder & Director of Dexerto
Follow Chris Marsh:
About Dexerto: Dexerto is the world’s largest digital esports and gaming lifestyle platform news platform.
Tom Curtis
Executive Creative Director of mediacom
Tom heads up MediaCom Beyond Advertising UK, the content marketing arm of MediaCom, one the world’s largest media planning and buying agencies. He runs a team of around 100 content specialists, overseeing content strategy, creation and distribution for the local and international clients that are serviced out of MediaCom’s London office.
Follow Tom Curtis:
About mediacom: MediaCom is one of the world’s leading media agencies.
Matthew Entwistle
Group Managing Director of Two Circles
Matthew’s twenty-year career includes senior roles in strategy consulting, marketing and commercial operations. His business passion is understanding customers and using that insight to drive tangible commercial results. He has worked across consumer and retail businesses in the UK, Europe, US and Asia, including time as Tesco’s Non-food Marketing Director and Tesco.com’s International Director. As Group Managing Director at Two Circles, he is responsible for delivering great client results in every country in which we work. As a fervent football fan, Matthew has been supporting Manchester City for the past 34 years from Maine Road to the Etihad Stadium. Having played football in his younger years he continues to keep fit and is now a keen gym-goer.
Follow Matthew Entwistle:
About Two Circles: Two Circles is a sports marketing agency based in London.
Chris Shelley
Technology Director of Two Circles
Follow Chris Shelley:
About Two Circles: Two Circles is a sports marketing agency based in London.
Phil Stephan
Group Director of Two Circles
Follow Phil Stephan:
About Two Circles: Two Circles is a sports marketing agency based in London.
Mark Dennis
Director of Technical Operations of Sunset+Vine
Follow Mark Dennis:
About Sunset+Vine: Sunset+Vine is a leading sports production and media company.
Matt Chrisp
Commercial Analytics Director of beIN MEDIA GROUP
Matt joined beIN in February 2016, to launch the Commercial Insights team based in London. He leads a team of insights and analytics executives, seeking out the value that content drives for beIN’s platforms and channels across our international portfolio. Matt’s team is also responsible for valuing entertainment and sports rights for beIN and beIN’s competitors, to contribute to bidding strategy in the various major tender processes that beIN participates in. Matt started his career in New Zealand at KPMG, before taking a 9 month sabbatical to play rugby in London in 2009…which he never made it back from. Since then Matt has held positions at the National Basketball Association, Sony Pictures and A+E Networks during which time he contributed to new ventures across the various elements of the pay-tv ecosystem.Matt has two children, loves to travel, and enjoys triathlons and the odd tennis match.
Follow Matt Chrisp:
About beIN MEDIA GROUP: beIN MEDIA GROUP brings unrivalled sport action and major international events, to dozens of millions of viewers around the world.
Kos Gkortsilas
Managing Director of Footy Addicts
Follow Kos Gkortsilas:
About Footy Addicts: Footy Addicts is a social platform that enables football players and enthusiasts to discover, organize, and join football games in the UK.
Patrick Lewis
Commercial Director of Maddox Events
Follow Patrick Lewis:
About Maddox Events: Maddox Events is the world’s only B2B company exclusively dedicated to creating large-scale conferences.
Freddie Lewis
Creative Director of Maddox Events
Follow Freddie Lewis:
About Maddox Events: Maddox Events is the world’s only B2B company exclusively dedicated to creating large-scale conferences.
Mark Carter
Commercial Director of EXCEL ESPORTS
Mark’s expertise is in delivering strategic and innovative solutions to global markets by utilizing his wealth of experience in sales, marketing, and product development within the financial and tech sectors. He has worked in the USA, Europe, and the Philippines, and is responsible for driving the global growth of fastacash. Mark was part of the team that took Skrill through two acquisitions in 2 years, resulting in the sale to Optimal Payments in August 2015 for $1bn and has been involved in both the buy and sell-side of M&A transactions. Passionate about delighting consumers whilst delivering real and tangible business benefits to clients, he has delivered business differentiating solutions to start-ups, SMEs, and global businesses. He is a weekend farmer and classic car enthusiast.
Follow Mark Carter:
About EXCEL ESPORTS: EXCEL ESPORTS is a competitive gaming culture brand that uses its platform to have a positive impact on the gaming and esports community.
Jasper Kain
Managing Director of Football Beyond Borders (FBB)
Jasper Kain and Jack Reynolds founded Football Beyond Borders in 2013, since which Jasper has been serving as its managing director.
Follow Jasper Kain:
About Football Beyond Borders (FBB): Football Beyond Borders an education and social inclusion charity that uses young people’s passion for football to educate .
Jack Reynolds
Managing Director of Football Beyond Borders (FBB)
Jack Reynolds and Jasper Kain founded Football Beyond Borders in 2013, since which Jack has been serving as its managing director.
Follow Jack Reynolds:
About Football Beyond Borders (FBB): Football Beyond Borders an education and social inclusion charity that uses young people’s passion for football to educate .
Luis Silva
Director, Operations & Management of Bluerock Sports & Entertainment
Luis believes that by taking a holistic approach to operations, all venue users can be made to feel like VIPs. Luis developed his expertise at FC Porto and put his vision into practice as UEFA consultant for stadium operations for The European Championships in 2004, 2008 & 2012. More recently, Luis was COO of the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, juggling a complex set of stakeholders to ensure an amazing experience for fans, players, corporate guests and the media. He is an expert in venue design and operations.
Follow Luis Silva:
About Bluerock Sports & Entertainment: Bluerock Sports & Entertainment is specialists in maximising profit from venues and events.
Natasha Thiebaut
Director, Hospitality and Customer Experience of Bluerock Sports & Entertainment
Natasha has spent 20 years improving the event day experience for fans, visitors and corporate guests and creating membership schemes for many world class venues and events. She created the Club Wembley corporate seating programme and hospitality sales operations for The UEFA European Championships as well as hospitality schemes for Besiktas and Galatasaray in Turkey, Spartak Moscow in Russia and The Maracana in Brazil. She is an expert in sales and marketing, CRM, catering and customer service.
Follow Natasha Thiebaut:
About Bluerock Sports & Entertainment: Bluerock Sports & Entertainment is specialists in maximising profit from venues and events.
Iain Barnett
Director, Commercial of Bluerock Sports & Entertainment
Iain believes that all venues can be more profitable, with proper business planning and a commitment to good processes. Iain learned his craft researching venues around the world as MD of a sports research business and has put his philosophy into practice developing the vision and commercial strategy for venues as diverse as the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Eden Park in Auckland and a number of the WC2022 venues in Qatar. He is an expert in all aspects of stadium revenue generation.
Follow Iain Barnett:
About Bluerock Sports & Entertainment: Bluerock Sports & Entertainment is specialists in maximising profit from venues and events.
Nick Meacham
Managing Director of SportsPro Media
Nick Meacham is a Managing Director at SportsPro Media.
Follow Nick Meacham:
About SportsPro Media: SportsPro is the global leading B2B sports media source targeting specifically industry decision-makers, rights holders & senior executives
Terry Blake
Business Development Director – EMEA of LEMON Mobile LLC
Follow Terry Blake:
About LEMON Mobile LLC: Location Enhanced Mobile Opt-In Network
Mikhail Sokolov
Director of Roborace
Follow Mikhail Sokolov:
About Roborace: Roborace is a global race series for driverless electric cars.
Alex Lowe
Marketing Director of Sportlobster
Follow Alex Lowe:
About Sportlobster: Sportlobster was born out of the frustration that sports fans face in having to visit multiple sites or download multiple apps.
Ted Menmuir
Content Director of Sports Betting Community
Follow Ted Menmuir:
About Sports Betting Community: Sports Betting Community is a leading source for sports betting and igaming, insight, knowledge and opinion.
Philip Bingham
Co-Founder & Managing Director of Velo Vixen
Follow Philip Bingham:
About Velo Vixen: The UK’s Leading Specialist in Women’s Cycling Kit
