Speakers and Panellists
We are populating as speakers and panellists are fully confirmed.
For a list of invited speakers and panellists please reference the programme.
Steve Heap, Chairman of Events Industry Forum, General Secretary, of Association of Festival Organisers
Steve Heap has been the general secretary of the AFO since its formation in 1987. He is also the director of Mrs Casey Music and a co-director of Towersey Festival. He has more than 40 years' experience in the festival and events industry and is currently chairman of the Events Industry Forum (EIF).
Clare Breigal, CEO, World Netball
Clare has been the executive lead of World Netball since 2013, she has driven the development and implementation of the federation's strategic plan including the rebrand in 2021.
As a board member of Sport Liverpool, Clare oversees the delivery of Liverpool's major sports events and bidding for future events.
Bev Ward, Bid Consultant (Host Cities), The Football Association
Bev led the original bid for England to host the Women's Euros in 2022, which ultimately brought success for English women's football. She was also the lead on managing the host cities throughout the delivery of the Women's Euro and is now a consultant on a bid to host it again in 2028.
Eric Stuart, Chair, UKCMA
Eric is the director of Gentian Events, Chair of the United Kingdom Crowd Management Association (UKCMA) and Chair of the Global Crowd Management Alliance (GCMA). He is also a board member of the Events Industry Forum (EIF).
He is a Crowd Safety Manager for events ranging from music festivals to Edinburgh Hogmanay and is also engaged with crowd management at complex ‘crowded space’ environments across the US, Canada and UK.
Chris Barrett, Editor, Mash Media Group
Chris is an experienced writer and editor who creates compelling editorial, PR and marketing content across multiple platforms.
Daniel Gidney, CEO, Lancashire County Cricket Club
20 year veteran of leisure and entertainment industries. In addition to this large scale facilities management and catering through PFI projects.
James Price, Head of Communications , Emirates Old Trafford
James has worked at Emirates Old Trafford since 2015, in that time he has been part of the team that delivered the ICC Cricket World Cup, Ashes Tests, The One Love Concert after the Manchester Bombings and the behind-closed-doors, bio secure international cricket at Emirates Old Trafford
Chris Thompson, CEO, You Smart Thing
As CEO Chris lead the vision and strategy for 'You. Smart. Thing.', and an amazing team of talented individuals! We enhance visitor experience and engagement by guiding people to destinations, venues, and events the smart way: personalised; accessible; sustainable.
Joe Cusdin, CEO, Iventis
Joe is the founder of Iventis, a collaborative event mapping platform, following 10 years working with major events. He is a leading technical expert in the event industry, specialising in GIS, Crowd Modelling and Software Development. He’s worked across the world in major events including London 2012, the Baku European Games 2015, and Dubai Expo 2020.
Ken Scott MBE, Head of Inspectorate, Sports Ground Safety Authority
Ken has been Head of Inspectorate at the SGSA since 2016. He has been involved in local government, including being chair of the Safety Advisory Group for Sunderland Football Club.
Rick Stainton, Founder, The Power of Events and CEO of Smyle Creative
Rick oversees the growth strategy of Smyle Group, a 100 strong team based in London. It owns leading creative agency Smyle, that delivers live and video projects for some of the top global brands in a range of sectors including IT, Telco and Media.
Richard Bate, Chief Safety & Sustainability Officer, E Bike Grand Prix
Richard is the Chief Safety and Sustainability Officer for the E Bike Grand Prix, which is also part of the Cube International Group. He has become an accomplished Global Safety Leader, Vice President and Chartered Member of the Royal Institution of Occupational Health & Safety. Richard also has over 30 years of experience in safety leadership roles in the sport, music and major global events industry, that included 3 Olympic Games.
Dimitris Drakoulis, Managing Partner, Thridium
Dimitris works on technology for the protection of crowds in stadia and large event infrastructures. This includes the specialisation of the evacuation of stadia in response to crises and threats.
Chris Burr, Managing Director G4S Events, G4S
Chris has over 12 years exeprience in the security and events industry. He has experience in leading teams across a broad geographical remit and wide customer base. He has also been successful in delivering events in line with customer and internal business objectives.
Jon Drape, Director, Engine 4
Jon is a Director at Engine No. 4, music festival and event production specialists. Their current client list includes Parklife, Kendal Calling, The Warehouse Project and Snowbombing among others.
Tom Sammes, Head of Strategy at The Jockey Club
Tom has been able to combine creative flair with strong analytical skills to break down complex problems and come up with innovative solutions to deliver business objectives. He has also had previous experience as part of the European Tour as strategy and business development manager.
Steve Davies, Operations Director, Lancashire County Cricket Club
Steve has been in the events industry for over 10 years. Before working for Lancashire CCC he was working for Merlin Entertainments, where he held roles such as head of operations at Alton Towers and operations director at Chessington World of Adventures.
Pippa Strasser - Ganderton, Product Director, ATPI Halo
Pippa is spearheading the delivery of ATPI's sustainable travel approach by managing all aspects of their carbo reduction portfolio. She is also leading the global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Steering Group for ATPI. This has involved bringing together expertise from key areas of the business in order to define the forward-think TMC's sustainability path.
Trudy Lindblade, Chief Executive Officer, Glasgow 2023 UC World Championships
Trudy is the Chief Executive Officer of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships and joined the organisation in October 2020.
Having spent more than 20 years leading, planning, and delivering major international events in Australia and around the world, Trudy has a strong background and experience working on complex large-scale major events working with governments, local organising committees, event hosts and international and national sports federations in the process to support government ambitions to deliver positive economic and social outcomes.
Her experience in cycling events spans over 12 years, including senior roles at the 2010 UCI Road World Championships, the first UCI Road World Championships to be held in the southern hemisphere, Event Director for the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and General Manager of Australia Cycling Events, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cycling Australia that was responsible for major cycling event delivery.
Prior to joining the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championship, Trudy worked for leading events acquisition organisation, Victorian Major Events Company, now Visit Victoria from 2013 to 2020. During this time, she played a pivotal role in the feasibility, creation, and delivery of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. First held in 2015, this event now features the opening UCI WorldTour one-day races for men and women as well as participation events for people of all ages and abilities.
In addition to her cycling credentials, Trudy worked on a range of acquisition projects most notably she was a member of the team who secured Melbourne’s bid for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup matches as well as Liverpool Football Club’s first appearance in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2013.
Prior to her work in cycling, Trudy spent over eight years working in Australian and international cricket, including heading up the Event Management Department for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup head quartered in Kingston, Jamaica, where matches were played in venues across multiple countries in the West Indies.
As Chief Executive of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championship, Trudy has overall executive responsibility for the planning and delivery of the event, which will take place in Glasgow and across Scotland in August 2023, combining 13 UCI World Championships into one mega event for the first time.
Sarah Bickerton, Director of Event Delivery and Operations, Manchester Central
With a successful career in the events industry spanning 20 years, Sarah has extensive experience in and a passion for hosting major events. She has held senior positions at Manchester Central for more than 11 years and oversees event delivery and service to ensure all aspects are delivered to the highest of standards.
Sarah and the events team work closely with all clients to plan and host unique events collaboratively, often on a world stage. This has included a range of high profile events including political party conferences, concerts and live TV shows such as the X Factor final.
Manchester Central hosts and manages a vast array of events, welcoming over half a million visitors to the city each year. Sarah enjoys working in the fast paced environment of a major conference venue, tailoring requirements exactly to the needs of a variety of clients.
As an expert in the delivery of events for one of the UK's largest international convention centres, Sarah is keen for Manchester Central to play its part in leading the way for the sector. She has an interest in operational delivery excellence, sustainability, innovation and future trends.
Stephane Bazire, Head of Business, Sustainability & Partnerships, Silverstone
Stephane has specialised in event & venue management and sustainability development through his work on the ATP Tour, Extreme Barcelona Urban Festival and project management for Nissan Europe, Circuit of Barcelona-Catalonia and World Roller Games.
Currently he is working to drive forward the journey towards Carbon Net Zero at one of the worlds most iconic circuits, Silverstone.
Michael Emery, CEO, Joymo
Michael is the CEO of a streaming platform, in Joymo, that prioritises grassroots sports and is available for clubs, athletes, coaches and fans.
The Joymo platform allows users to film using their own camera equipment, as well as generate revenue through ticket sales and advertising opportunities as well.
Craig Mathie, Managing Director, Bournemouth 7's Festival
Craig heads up a team that delivers one of the UK's favourite, multi-award-winning sport and music festival in the form of Bournemouth 7's. It welcomes 30,000 people each year across 3 days, with 100 live acts and DJ's.
Craig also looks after the health and safety planning making sure there are minimal risks across the weekend. He is also responsible for the day to day project management of the festival as well as coordinating the teams efforts to deliver the event.
David Griffiths, Senior Advisor, Sport and Entertainment, Miller Insurance
David is the senior advisor for sport and entertainment at Miller Insurance, where he has over 25years experience working with International and National Federations, professional leagues and clubs.
David has held previous senior positions at a number of global and independent brokers and has developed himself as a sports sector specialist.
Rahul Bissoonauth, UK Director, Yunus Sports Hub
As Director of Business Development Rahul is responsible for offering strategy and fundraising consultancy to socially minded organisations. These organisations will be primarily based within sports, education and social housing sectors.
Rahul also helps shape the growth strategy and delivers on increasingly ambitious new business targets at Oaks.
Philip Atkins, CEO, Off to Work
Philip is the founder and CEO of Off to Work, the idea behind Off to Work was that something better could be added to the industry in terms of the quality of the staff that were being brought into it and the way that they are dealt with.
With over 25 years in the hospitality industry behind him, Philip remains hugely passionate about that and the events industry and is looking to create additional synergy between Off to Work and their clients at every opportunity.
Victoria Brookes, Senior Security Manager, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
Victoria is an experienced staffing and workforce manager within the sport and entertainment industry, and she specialises in safety and security.
She has previously worked at Lords Cricket Ground before moving to work on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Peter Swordy, Director, Health Safety and Compliance, London Stadium
Peter has an extensive experience around manging major events at various sporting stadia around the UK. This includes Selhurst Park, Carrow Road and the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
For the past 3 years he has worked as the director of Health and Safety at the London Stadium, implementing public access trauma kits to give members of the public easy access to first aid tools if they are needed in an emergency.
Sue Storey, CEO, Badminton England
Before joining Badminton England Sue was the Chief Executive at Volleyball England, where she provided leadership in the development of a ten year strategy, secured an increase in funding, improved commercial income and helped drive an increase in junior participation across the country.
Before this she spent a number of years at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) and made a significant contribution to improving safety, security and service at major sports venues across the UK.
Gareth Lloyd, UK Sponsorship Sales Director, ASM Global
Before working for ASM Global Gareth was the Head of Partnerships for Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. Here he was responsible for leading the team who developed the innovative and very successful partnerships for the Commonwealth Games.
Gareth has a number of years experience in the sports, events and venues industry, while specialising in creating mutually beneficial partnerships between brands and rights holders.
Alex Balfour, Former Digital Strategy Consultant to the Commonwealth Games Federation
Alex has been a highly successful senior executive with a world class record in creating, building and growing digital media in sport. Previous experiences including creating and managing the official digital channels for London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics, developed and implemented a digital commercial strategy for the UEFA Champions League and other UEFA club competitions and helped develop the Guardian newspapers first politics website.
James Robinson, Managing Director, Limelight Sports Club
James has been been working as part of mass participation events for the past 10 years this includes The Great Run Company, Lagardère Sports and WME-IMG. In his past roles he has been involved with World Triathlon Series, ITU World Championships as well as over 30 more annual international events.
Now as part of Limelight Sports Club they have acquired IMG Mass Participation and Virgin Sport. This has resulted in an increase in turnover and gross profit in the last 2 years.
Giles Chatter, CEO, Spartan
Before becoming the CEO of Spartan, Giles was a member of the team behind Tough Mudder Inc for 4 years and is currently a board member at World Obstacle.
Phil Davies, Head of Safety and Security, ECB
Phil has over a decade working in safety and security moving from the Lancashire Constabulary to the ECB.
At the the ECB he has been responsible, as Head of Security for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 and most recently the Head of Safety and Security for the ECB. He has also worked on the The Ashes in 2019, ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and also the the lead planner and COVID-19 enforcer for the ECB's International Summer in 2019.
Marian Sudbury, Director of the English Regions, Department of International Trade
A Cambridge graduate with an MBA from Manchester Business School, Marian’s background as a senior business leader means she brings commercial acumen to the role of Director English Regions for the Department for International Trade.
Marian has worked on behalf of major blue chip companies, charities and government, defining organisational direction and designing and delivering short and long-term commercial strategy. She was made a Board Director in 2001 for planning and then setting up the international division within a Greater Manchester research firm.
Subsequently a Senior Vice President in a top 15 research firm she ran a business division conducting research and advice contracts for multinationals such as DuPont, Caterpillar, Mars and Oxfam. She then founded her own lifestyle business which worked for clients in locations ranging from Sakhalin to Birmingham Alabama. After three very successful years of trading she experienced, at a very personal level, the impact of the banking crisis.
Her career in advising clients on internationalisation began in Istanbul, where she provided research and advice to help Eveready, Mercedes and Avon Cosmetics understand how to operate in the Turkish market.
Since January 2013 she has been working for the Department for International Trade, initially leading Global Operations and the Northern Powerhouse and now as the Director for English Regions, a national role focussed on growing the UK economy by helping high potential businesses learn and grow through doing business overseas and high quality global businesses create wealth by investing in the UK.
Emma Holling, Festival Director & Event Manager, Underneath The Stars Festival
Emma is the Festival Director and Event Manager for the Underneath the Stars Festival in Yorkshire that is all about art and music.
Emma is involved in the running of the festival which includes over 400 volunteers, a number of international artists and thousands of attendees over the course of 3 days at the beginning of August.
Jonathan Gregory, Commercial Director, The Goodwood Group
Jonathan is the Commercial Director for the Goodwood Group, but has past experiences in the same role for the Bahrain International Circuit and Leicester City Football Club.
Jonathans commercial experience has been gained across the sports and entertainment industries working for rights holders, governing bodies, venues and events.
Diane McLeod, Head of Workforce and Volunteering, London Marathon
Diane is the Head of Workforce and Volunteering for the London Marathon, but also has previous experiences at multi sport events including London 2012, Glasgow 2014 and Baku 2015.
Diane has been able to successfully oversee the strategic planning and coordination of workforce operations across all areas of multi sport events.
Paul Townsend, Associate Director, Crowd Dynamics International
Paul is the Associate Director for Crowd Dynamics International, he has a background in Mathematics. He joined Crowd Dynamics in 2006 and has been responsible for project management, research and software development.
Graham Dames, Business Development Director: Events Infrastructure, Sunbelt Rentals
Graham is the Business Development Director for Sunbelt Rentals and has two decades of experience in sales and customer based roles. He is ensuring that businesses are operating commercially to deliver events-based projects of all shapes and sizes around the UK and Europe.
Grahams other areas of speciality include supporting tenders and aligning common synergies to support collective sustainability goals. Looking to build long lasting partnerships with both new and existing clients.
James Dean, Director UK Strategy and Commercial, ESL Gaming
James is the Director of UK Strategy and Commercial for ESL Gaming. ESL operates the UK's longest running national esports tournament, the ESL Premiership. This spans across four gaming titles and ESL still holds records for the largest ever online audience for a UK esports tournament.
Jon Dutton, Chief Executive Officer, Rugby League World Cup
John is the Chief Executive Officer of the Rugby League World Cup for 2022 after leaving his post as the RFL Director of Projects and People. He led the successful bid for the tournament which included a £25m funding award from HM Government.
He has also previously served in roles for the PGA European Golf Tour, Manchester FA and ran his own sports consultancy company.
Claire O'Neil, Co Founder, A Greener Festival
Claire Co founded the A Greener Festival in 2006, which looks to set the standard for green events across the UK. The A Greener Festival now delivers sustainable events training globally, consults with major music and events organisations on their sustainability strategy and actions.
Claire was also the Director of Sustainability for HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant. She is also currently the event producer for the Green Events &? innovations Conference.
Shaun Whatling, CEO, Redmandarin
Shaun, for the last 14 years, has worked with a number of Europe's 100 biggest businesses. In the last decade he has also helped consolidate Redmandarin and their Olympic Consulting IP and had 5 Tokyo Partner clients.
Shaun is an expert at helping clients find smart solutions which help achieve business objectives, cots less and delver added value to the business and their bottom line.
Jonathan North, Digital and Content Lead, MCC/Lords Ground
Jonathan is the Digital and Content Lead for the MCC, where he is skilled in digital strategy and content creation. Before this he was the Digital Communications Manager at UK Sport, Watford FC and Paralympics GB during Tokyo 2020.
Ronan Moore, Managing Director, uTRAC Online
Ronan has over 15 years in the live events industry working across production, management and stage building. He is now the Managing Director of uTRAC Online, which is an online workforce management system for the temporary labour provision industry.
Ric Robins, Head of Operational Expertise Propositions, Met Office
Ric is the Head of Operational Expertise Propositions, where he is accountable for the operational expertise products that sit at the core of expert weather services that are offered by the Met Office.
He is a regular speaker at industry events where he demonstrates how to exploit the opportunities and manage the threats caused by various weather events.
Param Kanabar, CEO and Founder, NOQ Group
Param is the CEO of NOQ Group, where he created an app with the intent of eradicating queueing when ordering food & drinks at major events. Param focuses on driving the sales and marketing of NOQ and since 2020 has participated in over 150 events to increase the reach and awarness of the group and its app.
Niall Griffin, General Manager, Hardstaff Secure
Niall has worked in the policing and temporary security sector for over 3 decades and brings with him extensive experience from a multitude of perspectives and disciplines. These in include Counter Terrorism for Sussex Police among others.