Sports Conference 2026

I never raced a bike. That changed how I coach, lead and think about performance which lead me to become one of the most successful coaches in the last two Olympic cycles.

My career in sport started at British Cycling, completing a PhD focused on how to optimise training and performance. I progressed from sport scientist to coach, leading British Paralympic sprint track tandems to World Championship and Commonwealth Games success, breaking multiple world records along the way.

As Head Coach of the Dutch track cycling team, I guided the programme to unprecedented success: six world records, 15 World Championship titles, and six Olympic champions over two Olympic cycles. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the team topped the medals table for the first time, despite operating with approximately 15% of the resources of key competitors.

Most recently, I served as Head of Performance Support and Innovation at the INEOS Grenadiers, while also working directly with individual athletes. This included supporting Caleb Ewan back to winning form, securing his first WorldTour victory in three years.

Today, my work focuses on leadership, mentoring, and helping individuals and organisations in and beyond elite sport to perform under pressure — particularly when resources are limited, expectations are high and immovable deadlines.

Nedum Onuoha is a former professional footballer best known for his time at Manchester City, where he came through the club’s academy and made his first-team debut as a teenager. A versatile and intelligent defender, he went on to play in the Premier League and Championship, including spells with Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers and Real Salt Lake in the MLS. Since retiring from football, Nedum has become a respected media pundit and speaker, known for his thoughtful analysis, eloquence and strong views on the game and wider social issues.

In 2020, Phoebe Graham left her job as marketing lead for broadcaster Sky to become a full-time cricketer, becoming one of 41 women to be handed a full-time professional contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board. 5 years later, the game has been fully professionalised, minimum salaries have been established and the scope for female athletes in the UK has revolutionised. Outside of cricket, Graham established Tip ‘n Flip in 2019, an organisation that engages with leaders and employers that want to champion gender parity and which seeks to help young girls to follow their sporting dreams without compromise

Steve Kavanagh leads the gunnercookeSport division and brings over 25 years of experience across all levels of professional football. He offers first-hand insight into the commercial, operational, and strategic complexities that shape the modern sports industry.

Steve has extensive experience in contract negotiations, sponsorships, compliance, image rights, employment matters, and financial strategy. He has supported organisations across a diverse range of sports, including football, NFL, tennis, cricket, rugby, sailing, boxing, and athletics.

He has also overseen and advised on high-profile disputes involving property negotiations, player agreements, and commercial litigation.

With a distinguished career spanning 25 years across Sports, Media, and Hospitality, Deepa has mastered the art of uncovering and sharing the stories of extraordinary individuals. As the host of the acclaimed podcast ‘Thinking Deepa’, she delves into transformative conversations, extracting powerful insights that inspire growth and change.

At the helm of Thinking Deepa, Deepa has hosted trailblazing guests, including global icons like Usain Bolt and Shaun Wright-Phillips. The podcast’s impact speaks for itself—one of its standout episodes ranked #1 on Spotify, a testament to the powerful conversations and game-changing insights that have captivated audiences worldwide. Renowned for its focus on self-development, Thinking Deepa uncovers life-altering lessons and cutting-edge strategies, equipping listeners with the tools to elevate their lives.

Beyond the microphone, Deepa is an award-winning events, marketing, and partnerships strategist, known for crafting bespoke strategies that drive real impact. With a keen ability to transform ideas into reality, she has launched multiple successful venues and provided expert consultation to a diverse range of businesses. Her signature blend of innovation and strategic insight makes her an invaluable asset to every project she undertakes.

Her leadership extends beyond her professional work—Deepa serves on the Executive Committee for Soho House and is a Sports Committee Member with Pro Manchester, demonstrating her deep commitment to shaping influential networks and driving meaningful conversations.

Gary, Group Managing Partner at Palatine Private Equity and a lifelong Manchester City fan, joined City in the Community’s board in 2024.

With more than three decades of experience in private equity and a track record of supporting businesses to grow sustainably, Gary will enhance expertise in strategic planning, governance, and building partnerships to the charity’s top table. His recent involvement in helping to shape City in the Community’s new three-year strategy means he joins the role with a clear vision for its next chapter.

Leading sports lawyer and KC with 24 years at Blackstone Chambers specialising in Commercial, Employment, Regulatory, Media and Sports. The intricacies of sports law, especially football litigation, have become a defining aspect of my career, earning recognition as the premier Sports Law junior barrister and then silk in the UK.

Richard is a former partner at EY’s financial risk and regulation practice, advising regulators on Government’s growth objective and financial services clients on regulatory implementation. At the Financial Conduct Authority, he held senior strategy, policy and supervisory roles, leading on market-wide analysis, Brexit implementation and design of new financial regimes for investment firms. He also created the FCA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime. In 2022, Richard was seconded into DCMS to design the financial regime which underpins the Football Governance Act.

Rachael is a Partner at Level and is the first female Chair of the Pro Manchester Sports Committee. She is an experienced disputes lawyer across sport, media and entertainment with a specialist practice in defamation, privacy, media crisis and reputation management, which she has handled at the highest level for newsworthy clients against national and international media outlets. Whilst naturally most of her work is confidential, her work over the years has included advisory services to a broad range of clients including topflight professional footballers (PL, EFL, WSL), football and rugby clubs, sporting organisations and individuals and managers working across football, golf, boxing, athletics and rugby, well-known actors, musicians, newsworthy OBE and MBE recipients and individuals in official public roles. As part of her work, she has regularly considered and handled EDI and reputational issues in sport as part of her practice.

The Independent Football Regulator has been established to protect and promote the sustainability of English football, for the benefit of the fans and the local communities that football clubs serve. The core objectives are to protect and promote the financial soundness of regulated football clubs, to protect and promote financial resilience of English football and safeguard the heritage of English football.

Nick Rusling is CEO of the Greater Manchester Wellbeing Series, a pioneering movement to transform urban workforce wellbeing through mass-participation events that combine movement and mindfulness. He is the former owner of the Manchester Marathon, former CEO of IMG and ASO (owners of the Tour de France) and All Here (science and tech-led meditation organisation). Also former Trustee of Women in Sport, Herne Hill Velodrome and Advisor in Padel and Pickleball.

Having worked for Manchester City Council for nearly 24 years, Yawar has seen the City transformed by investment levered through sport. With experience in both Sports Development and more recently leading the Major Sports Events Team, he has seen how sport can be a catalyst for positive change.

Shamaine is the Director of Programmes for National Social Mobility charity LTSB and has over 10 years experience working in the charity sector. After graduating with a PGCE in Lifelong Learning specialising in Dance, Shamaine worked for the National Citizen Service (NCS) and then joined LTSB in 2018 and following 2 promotions is now the Programmes Director. LTSB is a charity that prepares and supports bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into meaningful roles with major firms all across the UK. The programme personally and professionally develops young people through practical skills coaching, higher-level critical thinking sessions, the power of sport and how to utilise the transferable skills you learn from the field into the workplace, and insight events with leading companies, business professionals, and LTSB alumni.

I have always been passionate about working with young people and helping them reach their full potential. Sports has significantly shaped who I am today, and I believe the transferable skills gained through sports are crucial in early career development.

Commercial Associate at Mills & Reeve LLP working within the Sport, Entertainment and Media sector on all things sport, image rights, sponsorships and partnerships, broadcasting, advertising and data protection. Previously worked at Unilever in the UKI legal team supporting senior counsel with everything commercial, brand protection and IP with a key interest in and focus on commercial sport partnerships and sponsorship agreements, green claims and sustainability.

Working with a diverse range of high-profile organisations, both agency side and in-house, I have significant senior experience across strategic campaigns, reputation management, stakeholder/political engagement and crisis communications. I have worked across a range of sectors, from the biggest international tech brands through to some of the UK’s most significant infrastructure projects. As Head of Communications at Team Sky cycling and in my current role as Director of External Affairs at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), I specialise in providing high-level corporate communications counsel and reputation management for some of the most well-known names and brands in the sports industry.

Grace is a Manager in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, specialising in sports Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). She advises high-profile clients on transactions and strategic initiatives across the North West, UK, Europe, and the Middle East, covering M&A/investment strategies, player acquisition strategies, D2C media, governance, and commercial/revenue growth. Her experience includes a secondment to the media department of a major governing body and an M&A advisory mandate for a major European club. Grace also contributes to Deloitte’s thought leadership, particularly on the rise of women’s sport and the Annual Review of Football Finance.

An experienced disputes specialist, focusing on sports law and arbitration. Alastair has acted for sophisticated clients on a broad range of commercial disputes and have significant experience in professional disciplinary and regulatory work. He also regularly appears as advocate in contentious matters.

Chris is Sport Bidding Manager at Marketing Manchester, a role he has held since 2020.  He works collaboratively with other partner organisations to bring major sporting events and conferences to the city-region.  His role sees him working closely with Manchester City Council Events Team and Manchester Active to identify priority events and in recent years he has helped to attract events such as the Davis Cup Tennis 2023-24, UEFA Euro 2028 and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.  Prior to taking on this role, Chris spent 14 years working in sport event planning and sports development with Manchester City Council, working closely with several sporting national governing bodies.

Dr Rob Martin is a Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the Alliance Manchester Business School, specializing in the intersection of sport, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. He researches, teaches and supports the development of entrepreneurial mindsets within the sports industry.

Originally from Cambridge and graduating from Loughborough University in 2007 in Sports Science and Physics, Sam competed at Elite level internationally in BMX Flatland, reaching World Number 1 in 2008. Following his competitive bike career,  Sam moved to Manchester in 2009 to work for British Cycling as a Community BMX Coach which led to a role managing the National Cycling Centre BMX facilities and programmes from 2011 onwards. Sam joined the Lawn Tennis Association in 2014 and is currently Head of Region, North, leading the delivery of the LTA business strategy locally alongside managing the regional team and key stakeholder relationships. Sam has been involved in Major Events Activation throughout his career in sport, leading the BMX World Cup, Manchester Trophy and most recently the Davis Cup activation working groups to maximise community and participation impact in conjunction with elite sports competition.

Laura Hickman-Sparkes is an experienced partnerships and stakeholder leader, working across the sports industry. In her current role as Head of Business Engagement and Partnerships at Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, she leads key relationships with major organisations including Manchester City Football Group, Sale Sharks, More Than Equal, Aquatics GB, and British Cycling.

Her work centres on building collaborative partnerships that create value for both organisations and the athletes and communities they support. With a background in marketing across the retail, finance, and health sectors, Laura brings a creative, strategic, and people-first approach to developing long-term relationships.

Based in Manchester, she continues to work at the intersection of sport and purpose-driven initiatives.

Louise brings over 20 years of experience in the sport and leisure sector, having worked across government, charity, local authority, and consultancy. She recently joined City in the Community as Head of Partnerships after serving as Head of Sport Participation at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where she led the development and delivery of the Government’s national sport participation policy.

She has a strong commitment to delivering socially impactful programmes that foster purposeful partnerships and community engagement.

Dr Ives’ research includes the study of sport coaching policy and practice in diverse community settings, with a particular focus on how coaching contributes to physical health, mental wellbeing, and wider social development. His work explores the socio-political, pedagogical and emotional challenges within everyday coaching practice, and he works closely with industry and policy partners to strengthen and support community sport coaches in delivering high-quality provision that improves lives and shapes society