The Business Case for Purpose in Motion
On October 15–16 at Gtech Community Stadium, home to Brentford FC, a club world-renowned for proving purpose drives commercial return, corporate executives, rights holders, broadcast leaders, and investors gathered for the SPX Purpose League Summit. Moving far beyond passive presentations and airless ballrooms, this active working gathering placed leaders side-by-side to construct practical, boardroom-ready frameworks in real time. Across two days of high-level keynotes, CFO-led panels, and collaborative working groups, delegates tackled the practical mechanics of proving ROI, managing ESG risk, and equipping executive boards with the quantitative tools needed to transform purpose-led sponsorship from a line-item expense into a structural driver of enterprise value.
The summit seamlessly connected commercial strategy with real-world impact. On Day 1, delegates stepped out of the auditorium and directly into West London for hands-on Community Experiences alongside Kinetic Foundation, Hackney Laces, Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, and Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, exploring firsthand how major commercial partnerships can deliver tangible value on the ground. Day 2 shifted focus to concrete execution, exploring commercial acceleration across women’s sport with Barclays and the Women's Sport Trust, climate action with Whisper and The FA, and youth investment with Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.
The SPX Purpose League Summit proved that purpose and profitability are not mutually exclusive, they are interdependent. By combining rigorous balance-sheet measurement with authentic community integration, delegates departed the Gtech Community Stadium with fresh industry insights, a set of new familiar faces and the toolkits required to prove that purpose means business.
With over 7 years of experience across creative direction, production, and strategy, Alisar leads film, live experiences, and talent-led storytelling for global audiences. She works with athletes, artists, and creators, leading projects from concept through execution and ensuring each activation balances creative ambition with precise delivery.
Andrew is Managing Director at 17 Sport where he oversees the company's global operations, leadership team and client delivery ensuring the agency continues to execute world-class, high-impact work for its partners. Over more than a decade working at the intersection of impact and business, Andrew has helped organizations define what they care about and bring it to life through sports activations, community programs and creative executions. His work spans some of the world's most recognized brands, including Nike, adidas, Google, Deloitte, the IOC and UEFA, delivered at major sporting events such as the Women's World Cup, UEFA Euros, and the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Originally from the USA, Andrew is now living in Berlin, Germany with his family.
Charlotte is Director and Co-Head of the Sustainability Advisory Services practice within Houlihan Lokey's Financial and Valuation Advisory business. She has nearly two decades of experience in sustainability-focused roles spanning the nonprofit and financial services sectors. Prior to Houlihan Lokey, she co-led the global ESG Financing and Advisory team at Credit Suisse and led sustainable banking activities for the Americas at Credit Agricole CIB. Following her postgraduate studies, she joined ESG Analytics, a firm focused on driving insights and enhancing sustainability performance in private equity. After ESG Analytics was acquired by Sustainalytics, a leading ESG ratings provider, she helped expand the group's sustainable finance offerings by building out its newly formed Sustainable Finance Solutions team, focused sustainable debt transactions. She began her career at Green Seal, a sustainability certification organization, leading marketing and stakeholder engagement. Charlotte is an adjunct faculty member with Bard College's MBA in Sustainability program and has guest lectured at London Business School, Columbia University, New York University and the Swiss Finance Institute. Charlotte holds a B.B.A. in International Business from James Madison University and an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University.
Chris works with brands, properties, and athletes to think bigger and more creatively about their ability to drive societal and environmental progress.
Claire Petzal is Senior Manager, Partnerships and Activation at Indeed UK, where she leads the partnership with Brentford FC across men’s and women’s football. Her work goes beyond the front of the shirt: highlighting the jobs behind the game, supporting the club’s recruitment and developing careers activity with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Claire has more than a decade of experience in agency and in-house marketing. She is also a non-executive director and qualified career coach. Claire brings Indeed’s perspective on how a football partnership can deliver for the business, the club and its community.
Dana O’Donovan is the Purpose Leader at Deloitte, responsible for managing the organization's purpose ambitions and actions. This includes Deloitte’s investments, commitments, and social impact across areas aimed at driving positive outcomes for our people and communities. Dana oversees a portfolio that encompasses advancing Deloitte’s $1.5 billion social impact investment, driving Deloitte’s own sustainability commitments and actions, fostering collaborations with Deloitte clients, embedding trust throughout Deloitte’s operations through its shared values, and providing innovative opportunities for Deloitte’s people to embed purpose into their careers. Dana draws on more than 25 years of experience as a strategist focused on social impact. She has been an advisor in conjunction with Deloitte Consulting LLP to many nonprofit, corporate, and philanthropic leaders on shaping and strengthening their approaches. Dana shaped Deloitte’s purpose strategy while also leading Monitor Institute by Deloitte. She has also been a nonprofit executive, having led human assets strategy at Teach for America. Dana writes about purpose and social impact topics and has been published in several academic journals and major publications. Dana also serves on multiple nonprofit and philanthropic boards. Dana graduated from The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill where she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
Daniel Matson is Commercial Director at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, leading the Club’s commercial transformation as Yorkshire enters a bold new era under its Chasing Glory 2026–2036 strategy. Over a career spanning nearly two decades, Daniel has shaped growth and innovation across some of the world’s most recognised brands and sports properties, including Envision Racing Formula E, Red Bull, the Premier League and Harrods. His experience spans scaling start-ups, brand rejuvenation, turnarounds and growth at scale. Across his career, Daniel has harnessed commercial innovation and the power of sport to create positive impact - building purpose-driven platforms that connect brands, rights holders and audiences to strengthen cultural relevance, create long-term value and drive commercial performance. Daniel is also an Advisory Board Member of the CMO Council and lives in Yorkshire with his young family.
I began playing tennis at the age of 3 and became a semi-professional player.At the same time,I graduated from Strathclyde University in Scotland and Kedge Business School in Bordeaux.My professional journey started in 2004 at Nike, where I worked in Sports Culture Marketing, before transitioning to the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy as Marketing & Commercial Director. In 2011, I launched O2 Management, a boutique talent representation firm dedicated to supporting world-class, purpose-driven athletes. The roster of athletes represented includes Iga Swiatek, Nicolas Mahut, Mary Pierce and others. In 2014, Serena Williams asked me join her team to help refine her brand platform with purpose and secure mission-aligned commercial opportunities. In 2019,I co-founded 17 Sport, an innovative global purpose-driven sports marketing and investment firm operating at the intersection of sports, business, and purpose.Recently named by Fast Company one of the most innovative companies,17 Sport is transforming the business of sport into a force for good. As a certified B-Corp, 17 Sport empowers global brands, properties and athletes to activate their brand purpose through sports, enhancing brand relevance, driving business performance and delivering social and environmental impact.Additionally, 17 Sport advises investors on deploying financial capital to achieve both business returns and social impact outcomes.
Filippo Veglio is Chief of Social & Environmental Sustainability at UEFA, European football’s governing body. He works in partnership with Europe’s national associations, leagues, and clubs to roll out the targeted measures and investments set out in UEFA’s Football Sustainability Strategy 2030. Prior to joining UEFA, Filippo spent 16 years at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), where he was a member of the Senior Management Team. A Swiss national, Filippo was formerly a professional tennis player.
Fiona Morgan is the Chief Brand Officer at Whisper, where she leads global brand strategy and commercial growth for the award-winning production powerhouse. Joining in March 2026, Fiona is a key architect of Whisper’s next chapter, focused on disruptive storytelling and driving a future-focused, 50:50 gender-balanced leadership team. With a career spanning Sky, XIX Entertainment, and her groundbreaking role as Chief Purpose Officer at SailGP, Fiona has a 20-year track record of scaling iconic brands and athletes, including Lewis Hamilton and David Beckham. A pioneer in purpose-led growth, she established the world’s first ""Podium for the Planet"" and remains a leading advocate for diversity and women’s sport. Fiona also founded Second Nature Sisters, a community dedicated to empowering women in purpose and their careers, and serves as an advisor to the British Paralympic Association.
Leading EE's Home Nations football and Wembley Stadium sponsorship portfolio, along with BT's partnership of UEFA Euro 2028.
Georgie leads 17 Sport's client delivery across the European portfolio, overseeing a dynamic team implementing purpose-driven strategy and activation in multiple sectors of the sports industry. Upon starting her career in merchandise planning in the apparel sector, Georgie quickly realised that her passion for sport could also be a career, moving into sports merchandising and working with some of the biggest football franchises across Australian Rules Football and Rugby in her native Australia and the UK, Georgie joined 17 Sport in 2020 after graduating from a dual MBA/Master of Public Affairs degree at HEC Paris and Sciences Po Paris. She is also a semi-elite athlete, as a member of the France Netball Squad, with 31 international caps to her name.
Guillaume Sabran joined UEFA in 2005 and is currently the Chief of Sponsorship & Licensing. He oversees all sponsorship and licensing activities across UEFA National Team competitions and UEFA’s core initiatives. In his role, Guillaume is responsible for maximising interest in these competitions by developing effective sponsorship and licensing strategies, ensuring their high quality implementation, and strengthening the equity and appeal of UEFA’s properties. His remit also includes shaping and executing UEFA’s commercial strategy, driving revenue growth, managing UEFA’s marketing agencies, leading sales and account management activities, and overseeing partnership activation. Before joining UEFA, Guillaume worked at FIFA, where he managed key sponsorship accounts within the marketing department. He also gained experience at the sports marketing agency ISL, the PR agency Ogilvy, and the ski equipment brand Salomon.
Jason joined GB Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) as CEO in July 2021 bringing with him extensive experience in high-performance and grassroots sports. He joined GBWR with aim of elevating the growth, visibility, and impact of wheelchair rugby. Formerly the Head of Community and Grassroots Development for NFL International in London. Jason played professional American Football for the San Diego Chargers and held leadership roles in post-16 education. He serves as the EMEA Chair of the advisory board for the Global Institute of Sport, is a Non-Executive Director at London Marathon Events, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Greenwich for his contributions to sport and its values.
Jermain Raffington is a Berlin-based director and executive producer creating films at the intersection of sport, culture and identity. A former professional basketball player turned journalist and filmmaker, he combines an athlete’s perspective with a documentarian’s curiosity to tell stories rooted in people. He developed his craft at VICE Sports as a writer, host and director, producing documentaries across its international network. He later co-founded Vertical Social Club, a sports storytelling studio acquired by OneFootball, where he co-directed and executive-produced Sadio Mané — Made in Senegal, recipient of the AIPS Sport Media Award. His work spans cinematic branded content, documentaries and original formats for Red Bull, Mastercard, Coca-Cola and Kraken, alongside broadcasters and platforms including RTL+, ORF, BR, ARTE, NDR and ARD. Through impact storytelling, he explores identity, belonging and representation, creating space for underrepresented perspectives and stories that challenge how we see the world. At the centre of every project is the same approach: understanding the person behind the story and inviting audiences to see the world through their eyes.
Joanne is the Director of Host Relations for UK & Ireland 2028, the Local Organising Company for UEFA EURO 2028. Following her role as General Manager for the bid, Joanne leads the delivery of Host Relations in this unique partnership of five footballing nations and their respective Government Partners, including the relationship with the tournament’s Host Cities; the overarching delivery of the tournament’s social impact and sustainability programmes; and the communications & campaigns across the UK and Ireland. Working closely with UEFA, the power of this partnership and a UEFA EURO tournament, brings the exciting opportunity to stage the most accessible EURO ever, growing a more diverse and inclusive game and driving positive social impact for communities. Joanne has more than 25 years of professional experience delivering major international events in complex multi-stakeholder environments. With a background in national and local government, Joanne has previously held senior management positions for a range of international and multi-sport events and is also currently the Director of Governance on the Board of Commonwealth Games Scotland (Team Scotland).
Jordan Guard is the Founder and Managing Director of the Women's Sports Alliance (WSA), powered by 17 Sport. The WSA is the world's first creative lab designed by female athletes, for female athletes. We are on a mission to advance 10,000+ female athletes every year in discovering their authentic brand positioning that redefines the commercial value of women’s sport. A former international footballer, Jordan represented Wales and made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut for Cardiff City in 2013. She retired from the game in 2020 and founded the WSA the same year to close the commercial gap she had seen from the inside. She has worked with organisations including FIFA, Aston Martin F1, WSL Football & Commonwealth Games, and in 2025 was named in the RAISE Power 100 of women's sport and awarded Managing Director of the Year.
Katee Hui is the Founder of Hackney Laces, one of the UK's largest football communities for girls and women. Built on a model of community-led sport for development, Laces reduces barriers and creates pathways for women and girls in football and in life. A UEFA-C licensed coach, Katee grew it from a single team in 2011 into a social franchise network supporting thousands of girls, women and non-binary players, on and off the pitch. Katee was named a BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero for London, a Top 100 Changemaker by the Big Issue, and awarded an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List 2023 for her service to young women and grassroots football. A regular speaker on platforms including ESPN, The Independent, BBC London, and the BBC World Service, she champions equity in sport and community-led change. In addition to Laces, Katee supports purpose-led brands on strategy, impact and communications.
Kathryn is a Sales Director at Two Circles, an international sports and entertainment marketing business that leverages data and knowing fans best to help organisations grow audiences and revenues. Working with some of the biggest names in sport and entertainment, Two Circles grows the volume and value of fan relationships across all channels, driving revenue across sponsorship, media rights, retail and licensing, and ticketing. Since 2023, Kathryn has led the commercial programme for UEFA Women’s Football, overseeing the development of brand partnerships across UEFA’s portfolio of women’s competitions and connecting leading global businesses with one of the fastest-growing areas of sport. This work forms part of Two Circles’ exclusive mandate to commercialise UEFA Women’s Football rights, which the agency has held since 2018.
KELLY SIMMONS OBE Kelly is a senior consultant advising international federations, leagues, clubs and investors in women’s professional sport. From 2018-2023, Kelly was the Director of the Women’s Professional Game for the FA in England, where she led the transformation of the women’s professional game into one the world’s leading domestic systems securing record sponsorship and media deals. Prior to this Kelly was Director of Development for The FA, overseeing the delivery of a £200M four year plan for children’s and grassroots football. Kelly is also a NED of Women in Football.
Lee Doyle B.E.M. Founder and CEO Brentford FC Community Sports Trust Lee joined Brentford FC Football in the Community Programme in 1988 as part of a full-time team of two. They won several national awards for innovation. He founded the organisation as a Charitable Trust in 2005, which was one of the first amongst professional football clubs. It now has a turnover approaching £5m employing over 200 staff and volunteers, delivering thousands of multi-sport, physical activity and mentoring sessions per annum for all ages and abilities, focusing on health, education and employment. The Trust played a part in obtaining planning permission for the Gtech Community Stadium as well as being part of the team that developed The Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub, one of the largest Park Life sites in the UK, which together have formed a Community Campus. Promotion to the Premier League has further enhanced creativity, with the Trust recently launching ‘Changing the Game’ an apprenticeship for the Sport for Development sector plus developing projects such as a Social Café training people experiencing homelessness. www.brentfordfccst.com
Luke Brooks-Smith is Head of Community Sport at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, where he leads a diverse portfolio of community sport programmes. With 18 years of experience in the community sport sector, Luke specialises in developing sustainable programmes that use the power of sport to address local need, increase participation and create opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. His remit spans school sport, community football, disability sport and talent development, alongside the management of community sports facilities. Luke is passionate about driving programme growth through income generation, strategic partnerships and innovative delivery models, ensuring community sport delivers meaningful social impact while building long-term organisational sustainability. He is particularly focused on creating inclusive pathways that enable young people to develop their skills, confidence and aspirations, both on and off the pitch.
Mandip Sehmi is Partnerships Lead at Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) and a proud three-time Paralympian. After sustaining a spinal cord injury at the age of 19 in a life-changing car accident in 2000, Mandip discovered wheelchair rugby during his rehabilitation. What began as part of his recovery quickly became a passion that transformed his life. He went on to represent Great Britain at three Paralympic Games - Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 - gaining a first-hand understanding of the sport’s power to build confidence, create opportunity and change perceptions of disability. Today, Mandip brings that experience into his role at GBWR, where he leads on partnerships and commercial development. Through his work, Mandip is passionate about demonstrating the power of collaboration, changing perceptions of disability and creating a lasting legacy for wheelchair rugby and disability sport
Matthew is the Founder and CEO of Goal Click, an organisation building deeper understanding of people and cultures through storytelling in sport. Goal Click finds and supports people from around the world to tell real, human stories about their sporting lives and communities, in their own voice and from their own perspective. From grassroots sport to elite athletes, fan culture, and sport for good, Goal Click brings stories to life through short-form video, photography, written word, live spoken storytelling events, and exhibitions. Matthew has a multi-disciplinary background in the sports industry, spanning communications, sponsorship sales and partnership activation, working with international brands and rights-holders. He spent his early career in the Sports Marketing & Sponsorship team at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, before joining ESP Properties and later Two Circles as a Partnerships Consultant, advising leading sports and entertainment rights-holders on their Partnerships strategy, sales, and activation. Since 2021, he has been a Board Member of Football For Future, a not-for-profit working with individuals and organisations from across football to build a more environmentally sustainable culture in the sport.
Mark Harrison prefers to be called MH3. If you know anything about his football hero, Gale Sayers, you will understand why. He is the host and ringleader of The Convenor, a platform that provides inspiration and information to help individuals embark on significant professional transformation. Entrepreneurially, he founded the MH3 Collective, a group that matches ideas with people to drive commercial and societal impact. The Collective includes Humanity, T1, Sidekick, SponsorshipX, the Black Talent Initiative, and Park Street Education. His approach to life, work, and community is grounded in passion, people, profit and purpose. This approach manifests itself in volunteerism, entrepreneurship, travel, public speaking, event attendance, podcasting, squash, sports, reading and connecting. Often, this approach appears vividly in the way Mark fights for the underestimated. MH3's past community involvement included serving as the Board Chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto and as a Board Member of the CAMH Foundation and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/The JUNO Awards. He also received the Black Business and Professional Association's Harry Jerome Award, the Association of Canadian Advertisers’ 2022 Gold Medal Award, induction into the 2025 American Marketing Association Marketing Hall of Legends, and the 2025 Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada Hall of Fame. MH3 is CBC Toronto Metro Morning’s business columnist, regularly discussing marketing, the workplace, and entrepreneurship.
Mike Geddes leads the USA practice of 17 Sport, a global, purpose-led sports marketing, advisory, and investment firm. Over the last 25 years Mike has been one of the leading voices at the intersection of ‘sports and purpose’: As a reporter for the BBC he reported from five continents on topics like corruption, racism and hooliganism as well as on the world’s biggest sporting events before moving into non-profit leadership in underserved communities in the UK, South Africa, Colombia, Cambodia and many others. As a social entrepreneur he has co-founded several startups including Oakland Roots, the first, purpose-driven professional sports team in the United States. As the first ‘Chief Purpose Officer’ in American pro sports, he helped grow the Roots to a $100M valuation including leading the most successful community investment round in American pro sports history. He has written and spoken on the topic on CNN, MSNBC, Forbes and others and at many academic institutions and is an accomplished and experienced public speaker and moderator. He is a Climatebase Fellow (Cohort 4) and Voiz Academy graduate.
With 30+ years of experience helping brands and sports properties maximize their return on investment, Neill embraces purpose as a key strategic business driver to deliver positive social, environmental, and business outcomes.
Paula Kowalska is a marketing and partnerships professional with nearly a decade of experience designing and managing commercial partnerships across sport, esports and the charity sector. Currently, she serves as the Head of Marketing and Partnerships at the Kinetic Foundation, a London-based football and education charity which uses sport to empower young people to reach their potential on and off the pitch.
Richard Ames has over 30 years' international experience in elite sports properties, including the UEFA Champions League, Formula 1, and currently The FA, where he serves as Head of Commercial Acquisitions. Ten years ago, he pioneered a purpose-led approach to partnerships at The FA and created new constructs with business. At the same time, Richard reengineered the rights sales process, recognising that existing market approaches had become flawed. This has resulted in record-breaking partnership revenues and the creation of intervention-based purpose programmes such as The Greater Game, specifically built to improve young people's health. Richard strongly believes purpose provides business and sport with a stronger, more meaningful platform to drive social change.
Currently Partnerships Director at Brentford FC managing a team of 11 across sales and servicing. My previous experience includes 3-years spent as a professional athlete at Hampshire Cricket and at rights holders across the sports industry including the Professional Cricketers' Association, Cheltenham Town FC and Swansea City AFC.
Sam Seddon is a commercial strategy and partnerships leader with over 20 years' experience across global technology brands, FTSE 100 organisations and national governing bodies, including long-standing partnerships with IBM, DXC, Manchester United and Wimbledon. He combines strategic clarity with hands-on delivery, designing propositions, negotiating complex partnerships, and building the evidence base and business cases that connects purpose to commercial outcomes, including the award-winning Manchester United Foundation STEM programme. He sits on the board of GB Wheelchair Rugby as their commercial trustee. Sam is currently developing The Purpose Framework™, a dual model for executing and valuing purpose-led sponsorship in sport, helping organisations turn what they believe in into what it's provably worth.
Co-founder of ENSO, a future design company. He's helped Google, SpaceX, Khan Academy and COP28 design what's next. Futures happen by default or by design.
Shannon Carter leads player development at Hackney Laces, where she shapes the pathways that help players grow, on the pitch and beyond it. She holds an MSc (Honours) in Sports Management and Development and also works as a Trauma Informed Practitioner in secondary education at Football Beyond Borders, using football as a tool to support young people and unlock their potential. Shannon is a current Premier Division player at AFC Leyton and has featured in anumber of campaigns including EE's Women's Euros campaign, reflecting her wider role in championing the women's game and the community around it.
Stuart McReynolds joined Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities in November 2022 and serves as Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he provides enterprise leadership across strategy execution and organizational performance, helping guide the design and delivery of investments, programs, and partnerships that enable children and youth across Canada to experience the transformational benefits of sport and play. Throughout his career, Stuart has held provincial, national, and international advisory and trustee roles, providing strategic counsel to governments, charities, academic institutions, and multi-sector partnerships focused on sport, physical activity, inclusion, and community development. Prior to joining Jumpstart, he served as President & CEO of Abilities Centre, a national charity recognized for its leadership in accessibility innovation. He has also held leadership roles with the Canadian Paralympic Committee and is a former high-performance athlete who represented England at the varsity level and played professionally in Europe. Stuart holds a BA (Hons.) in Sport & Leisure Management from Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from Auckland University of Technology, NZ. He brings extensive expertise in sport-for-development, systems leadership, and social impact, and was recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his contributions to Canada.
Thomas Bulitta joined Lidl International (Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG) in 2022 and is currently Head of Partnerships Sport, leading the strategic direction and overall management of all international sports sponsorships with a strong focus on football, handball and active lifestyle. He is responsible for developing and executing the global sponsorship strategy to sustainably sharpen brand positioning and engage new target audiences. In his role, Thomas oversees the data-driven identification of relevant sports platforms, specifically focusing on finding partnerships that enable Lidl to make a genuine impact in their respective fields.
Tony Simpson is a Partner and Sport and Entertainment Lead at Oliver Wyman, where he also sits within the firm’s Private Capital team and leads its global Sport, Media and Entertainment practice. Since April 2026, he has been a Senior Fellow at the World Economic Forum, co-leading the Shaping the Global Sport Economy initiative, part of the broader Global Experience Economy. He has served as a Board Advisor to Special Olympics Great Britain, Independent Observer to the English Rugby Football Union Governance Review, Vice Chair of Birmingham Museums and Art Trust, and Trustee at Drive Forward. In 2023, he was recognised as one of Empower’s Top 100 Executive Role Models. Tony played a leading role in scoping and introducing the English Independent Football Regulator and has advised on high-profile sports investment transactions across North America and Europe. He spent eight years advising GCC governments in the Middle East, including four years as Chief of Staff at Al Jazeera Network. He has also presented a BBC Radio 4 programme on resilience and served as a Board Director at the UK’s Black Cultural Archives, where he recruited and restructured the executive team.
Tristan is Head of Fundraising at Kinetic Foundation, a London-based charity combining football and education to help young people achieve their potential. An experienced fundraising professional, Tristan has worked in the non-profit sector for more than 15 years with a number of roles in the sport for good space. He oversees all income generating activity at Kinetic, with a particular focus on building long-term strategic partnerships that achieve, evidence and celebrate social impact.
Tom Corbett is Managing Director, Group Head of Sponsorship and Client Experience at Barclays, where he leads the Group’s global sponsorship strategy and oversees a distinctive portfolio spanning sport, entertainment and the arts. Across more than 20 years with Barclays, he has helped create and scale partnerships that go beyond brand visibility to deliver meaningful impact in communities — expanding access, increasing participation, inspiring young people and creating opportunities for colleagues, customers and clients to connect with the causes and cultural moments that matter. His team’s portfolio includes major partnerships across the Barclays Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship, Wimbledon, the Premier League, Formula 1, Lord’s, London Spirit, The O2, Sadler’s Wells and the Donmar Warehouse. Together, these partnerships provide powerful platforms to support grassroots sport, champion women’s football, open up access to arts and culture, strengthen local communities and bring Barclays’ purpose to life through experiences with lasting social value.
Neill Duffy, Group CEO and Co-Founder, 17 Sport
Jermain Raffington, Creative / Director / Executive Producer, Jayraff
Jordan Guard, Founder & MD, Women's Sports Alliance
Guillaume Sabran, Chief of Sponsorship & Licensing, UEFA
Kathryn Wilson, Sales Director, Two Circles
Joanne Deponio, Director of Host Relations, UK & Ireland 2028
Mike Geddes, VP USA, 17 Sport
Sam Seddon, Director, Ormsdale Associates
Thom Rawson, Head of Sustainability, Football For Future
Alisar Awwad, Head of Comms & Content, 17 Sport
Matthew Barrett, CEO, Goal Click
Shannon Carter, Director of Player Development, Hackney Laces
Tristan Paton, Head of Fundraising, Kinetic Foundation
Mandip Sehmi, Partnerships Lead, GB Wheelchair Rugby
Claire Petzal, Senior Manager, UK Partnerships and Activation, Indeed
Richard Morris, Partnerships Director, Brentford FC
Georgie Young, Head of Client Services Europe, 17 Sport
Tammy Parlour, CEO, Women's Sport Trust
Kelly Simmons OBE, Sports Consultant and NED, Kelly Simmons Sports Consultancy
Fabien Paget, Co-Founder & CEO, 17 Sport
Fiona Morgan, Chief Brand Officer, Whisper
Richard Ames, Head of Commercial Acquisitions, The FA
Andrew Wisniewski, Managing Director, 17 Sport
Sam Seddon, Director, Ormsdale Associates
Thom Rawson, Head of Sustainability, Football For Future
Alisar Awwad, Head of Comms & Content, 17 Sport
Matthew Barrett, CEO, Goal Click
Charlotte Peyraud, Co-head Sustainability Advisory Services, Houlihan Lokey
Neill Duffy, Group CEO and Co-Founder, 17 Sport
our partners
Founded in 2005, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is a national charity that enables lifelong success through affordable sport and works to remove barriers to make life better for kids across Canada. Jumpstart joins the Purpose League with a shared commitment to advancing sponsorship models that deliver commercial growth alongside meaningful societal contribution.
Global Sustainable Sport is an independent sustainability rating and media intelligence company for the global sports sector. Its SPI Assessment Programme gives sports organisations an independent rating of how Sustainable, Purposeful and Impactful they are, measured against the 7 Sustainable Pillars of Sport. GSS has assessed over 3,000 organisations worldwide, building the sector's most comprehensive sustainability dataset. The full SPI Index and Purpose Podiums publishes at the end of 2026. The GSS Network connects federations, clubs, brands, host cities and service providers through the GSS DataHub, weekly news service, education programme, workshops and in-person events.
With our community work spanning more than three decades, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has established itself as a pioneering organisation for the local community. It uses the power of sport to educate, motivate and inspire people from all backgrounds. Working in partnership with Brentford FC, the Trust delivers a range of programmes in education, employability, sports participation, health and community engagement. We have won the ‘Football League Community Club of the Year’ award four times and have cemented our reputation as a community-led Football Club. Our Sustainability strategy is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment towards sustainability. The Trust now operates across two new state of the art sites. We are a key partner at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub which opened its doors to the public in 2021, whilst also enjoying a purpose-built office space at our Community Stadium Hub adjacent to the Brentford FC Stadium.
Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) is the national governing body for the game of wheelchair rugby in England, Scotland, and Wales, is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, and is a full member of World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) and of the British Paralympic Association (BPA). GBWR also operates a subsidiary, GBWR Trading Limited, which manages GBWR’s commercial opportunities and sponsorship. Wheelchair rugby is a London 2012 Paralympic Games legacy success story and GBWR has grown the sport from a domestic league with a single division comprised of seven teams, to one which now has four leagues providing competition opportunities for over 20 teams. The domestic league is internationally recognised for its high level of competition, where it regularly sees international players from Europe joining domestic teams and strengthening the level of competition. The GB national team are the current Paralympic champions, having taken the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games – the first medal of any colour for a European nation. The team have secured gold at the Wheelchair Rugby European Championship a record total of seven times since 1995, narrowly missing out on the title at both the 2022 and 2023 editions against France. The team are currently ranked fourth in the world. GBWR offers the sport for young people and our junior programme provides an opportunity for those aged 8 to 17 years to experience wheelchair rugby in a junior-only environment. In recent years GBWR developed a new discipline of the game aimed at attracting those with greater functionality than the Paralympic discipline permits. Wheelchair rugby fives allows us to reach more people with wheelchair rugby. Although in its infancy, the discipline has proved popular with new teams developing across the country, and more recently has seen international growth through WWR. In addition, GBWR has in the past delivered programmes in military rehabilitation centres, in conjunction with the charity Help for Heroes. Testament to this work is the military-based team which has evolved from these programmes. GBWR also provides the coaching and support for the Invictus wheelchair rugby team, where Great Britain took the gold medal in 2015. GBWR activities are funded through a mix of government, National Lottery, commercial and philanthropic funding. UK Sport has recognised the achievement of the GB national team, with GBWR being in receipt of the maximum level of Aspiration Award funding, £500k, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and £2.6M for the Paris 2024 cycle. The Paris award was uplifted by a further £300k to support GBWR’s pathway development. Sport England has also recognised the success of GBWR, with a four-year award totalling £1.4M to support grassroots delivery. In 2022, GBWR launched a new brand, with a new-look logo and strategy towards the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Hackney Laces is one of the UK's largest football communities for girls and women. Built on a model of community-led sport for development, Laces reduces barriers and creates pathways for women and girls in football and in life.
Kinetic Foundation is a London-based football and education charity which uses sport to empower young people to reach their potential on and off the pitch.
What we do Partnerships We create equitable and purpose aligned partnerships that make a real splash in brands’ communities. Grounded in research and data-backed, we prioritize measuring your return on objectives to prove what we are doing together is effective and works. Activation We unleash the inherent power of brands to connect with real people in real ways. Our campaigns defy the ordinary, fostering deep brand love and unwavering loyalty. With an omni-channel approach at our core, we shatter conventions, ignite emotions, and create extraordinary interactions that leave a memorable mark. Amplification The most creative campaigns are only as good as who they reach and how they relate to it. Through powerful storytelling, we create a presence that resonates, inspiring clicks, followers, and meaningful interactions. We take brands, make them larger-than-life and leave a lasting impression.
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