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Speakers and Panellists

Speakers are being confirmed every day so make sure to keep up to date here and on our social media channels

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Christophe Dubi
Olympic Games Executive Director, IOC

 

In 1996, the year of the centenary of the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi joined the IOC as a trainee to work on his favourite subjects: sports management and the impact of the Games.

In July 2007, Christophe Dubi was appointed IOC Sports Director, a role that required him to oversee the sports components of the Olympic Games and to manage relations with the International Sports Federations. He was also responsible for the following IOC Commissions: Athletes’, Olympic Programme, Sport for All and Entourage, each of which being of paramount importance for the IOC and the Olympic Movement.

Since September 2014, Christophe Dubi has been Olympic Games Executive Director. In collaboration with all IOC departments, OBS, as well as Olympic Movement stakeholders, the Olympic Games Department is in charge of managing and coordinating all activities related to the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games, from the candidature phase to the dissolution of the organising committees.

All strategic developments involving the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games, as well as the Coordination and Evaluation commissions also fall under the responsibility of the Department.

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Virginie Faivre
Executive President, Foundation Lausanne Olympic Capital

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Nevio Devidè
Marketing, Licensing & Events Director, Milano Cortina 2026

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Finn Taylor
Chief Executive Officer, Volleyball World

 
Finn Taylor has been the CEO of Volleyball World since the company was founded in 2020. Volleyball World is focused on driving new commercial value into the sport of Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. Before Volleyball World Finn was a senior executive at Cirque du Soleil where he had worked for over 20 years.

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Damiano Zamana
Deputy CEO and Operations Director, FIM


 

Damiano Zamana is the Deputy CEO and Director of Operations at the Fédération Internationale de  Motocyclisme (FIM). 

He is a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board of the FIM and supports the CEO.  He delivers daily management of operations, programs and projects funded by the organisation. As part of his role Damiano develops strategic activities to engage with worldwide audiences in support of the 115 national motorcycle federations. He is in charge of spearheading global initiatives on education, information technology and knowledge sharing; facilitating processes’ improvements that enable the organisation to scale effectively through multiple projects. He oversees the management  

of worldwide activities on tourism, sustainability, gender equality, and motorcycle mobility. Prior to joining the FIM, apart from volunteering for the world of motorcycle, he was responsible for the coordination of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) education programmes and was supervising Civil Affairs Operations for the Italian Ministry of Defence. 

Damiano earned his degrees in Business Administration and Management at the Sheffield International College and International Relations at the Università della Tuscia – Italy.

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Mikko Saarinen
Head of Sports Tourism, Visit Lahti


Head of Sports Tourism at Visit Lahti. Co-founder of sports and tourism business consulting companies Klue and Allegra Nordics Oy. Secretary General of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and Head of Levi Events at Levi, Finland (2006-2014). Marketing & Events Director at the Finnish Ski Association and Head of the Commercial team at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships Lahti2017 (2014-2017). Business Finland’s Winter Sports Cluster and Lahti Region winter sports co-operation with China and the Beijing 2022 Games (2018-2022).

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Ariane Croteau
Account Executive, Québec City Business Destination

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Ivan Khodabakhsh
Head of Innovation, Swiss Timing

Ivan Khodabakhsh is Head of Innovation at Swiss Timing, the leading sport technology and timing provider in the world of sport, at the forefront of innovation at Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Ivan is responsible for the innovation process, from ideation to business model fit. He has developed a new focus on data analytics to reshape Swiss Timing’s current and future innovative products and create a new offering to all sport organisations and enable them to drive their business through data and technology. Ivan joined Swiss Timing in 2022 with two decades of experience in event, commercial and media operations at major international sporting events working with international, and national federations, local organising committees, TV broadcasting companies, sponsors and technical service partners. He served as the Chief Executive of the World Golf Series (2018-2022), the Ladies European Tour (2013-2017), the World Series of Boxing (2009-2012) and Event Director of the European Athletic Association (2001-2008) to name his international sports career’s stages.

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Julie Mantout
Head of FISE brand development

Hurricane Action Sports

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Guntur Dwiarmein
Strategic Lead, Host Venues, SailGP


At SailGP, Guntur is responsible for developing a world-class calendar for the series, seeking to partner with the world’s most iconic and most sustainable cities and venues. SailGP has grown from 5 events in Season 1 (2019) to a recently announced record 12-event Season 4 Calendar (2023-24). Guntur’s previous experience includes working on global multi-stakeholder projects in sport, supporting a variety of clients from international federations and governing bodies to major event bidding & organising committees, brands and rights holders. His expertise includes major event bidding & planning, event delivery, research & intelligence, strategy development and global sports governance. In 2019, Guntur was recognised as one of 30 rising sport business professionals aged under 30 in the UK as part of Sport Industry's NextGen Leadership Programme.

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Richard Walmsley
Head of Sport Federations and former Chair Professional Tennis Events, Miller Insurance Holdings Ltd


Established for 122 years, Miller lead and innovate in sport and entertainment risk management, insuring high profile clients ranging from The Premier League, global tours for the likes of Coldplay, and with global risk clients including the United Nations. Richard has held board positions in world tennis and has consulted with new growth sports and events over the last 20 years including Beach and Padel Tennis, and the US phenomenon, Pickleball. 

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Per Olav Andersen
Chief Executive Officer, Lillehammer Olympic Park

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Tom Hickson
President, World Dodgeball Association

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Ian Adamson
President, World Obstacle


Ian started sports governance in 1984 on the University of Sydney Sports Union Management Committee. He has 10 world championship wins, 18 international championship titles and Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the ESPN X-Games. Ian is a 3 time Guinness world record holder for endurance kayaking. He has a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine and an Honors Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

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Philippe Tuccelli
Competitions Director, Rugby Europe

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Janika Judeika
Director of Women in Motorcycling Commission

International Motorcycling Federation

I was a former Bobsleigh athlete and competed for National Bobsleigh Team from 2007 to 2009. After finishing my sporting career, I obtained a Bachelor's in Sports Science. In 2010 I started working in the Latvian Motorsports Federation as Assistant Secretary General. Motocross has always been my passion which led me to start working for the FIM and FIM Europe as Motocross Commission member and become an international referee in 2014. In 2015 I also joined the Latvian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation as Executive Director and Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup Manager in Latvia/Sigulda. 2022 was an exciting and challenging year. I completed my Master’s in Sports Administration and, a month after, became the first female board member of the Latvian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. The Latvian Olympic Committee appointed me as Ethics commission member a couple of months after that. The end of 2022 (December) brought me new exciting duties and the pleasure to become the FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission (CFM) director. As of January 1st, 2023, I have been actively involved in exploring the opportunities how to promote, assist and increase the number of women in motorcycling at all levels, how to create awareness within National Federations and Continental Unions, and establish close cooperation with our external partners who are experts in areas of inclusion and gender diversity.

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Laurent Petrynka
President, International School Sport Federation


With more than 20 years of experience in the education and sport system in France and at the international level, Laurent Petrynka was the National Director of the UNSS (Union Nationale du Sport Scolaire) until 2018 and was appointed as inter-ministerial coordinator of the SNU (Service National Universel) under the authority of the Ministry of Education in France. He is currently the inspector general of education in France (IGEN), President of the International School Sport Federation since 2014 and Member of the IOC Olympic Education.

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Rick Sleegers
International Relations, 
Orange Sports Forum

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Pippa Strasser-Ganderton
Director ATPI Halo - Sustainable Travel & Events Solutions, ATPI


Pippa Ganderton: Product Director ATPI Halo, responsible for servises that support ATPI’s portfolio of global clients with more sustainable travel and events solutions. Helping them achieve their decarbonisation targets in line with the Paris Agreement despite operating in sectors where travel is unavoidable, by adopting ATPI’s Measure-Reduce-Offset approach. Pippa has been with ATPI since 2006, previously fulfilling the role of Global Account Management Strategy Director. Both roles represent strategic experience in client facing solutions for the travel management of specialist corporate markets such as Shipping, Energy, Construction & Engineering and Events. From 1990 to 2006 Pippa worked for British Airways, initially in Austria, then back in UK, where her last role in Head Office introduced her to global specialist markets (such as Shipping, Energy and the Humanitarian markets). Pippa is part of ATPI’s Head Office team based in UK.

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Karena Vleck
Gerneral Counsel, World Athletics

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Janelle Janis
Executive Director, Event and Business Development
Explore Edmonton

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Andy Fuller
Managing Director
International Federation of American Football

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Manoela Penna
Communications and Marketing Director,
Association of National Olympic Committees

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Manoela Penna is a senior executive in the sports industry, with over 25 years’ experience. Currently working as communication and marketing consultant for the Association of National Olympic Committee (who organizes the ANOC World Beach Games, next one being in Bali from 5th to 12th August 2023), Manoela has been Communication and Marketing Director for the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB - 2018-2021) as well as executive director and founder of In Press - Media Guide PR Agency (Omnicom Group). Manoela has worked in the past five Summer Olympic Games, being Deputy Chief of Mission for Brazil in Tokyo 2020, before moving with her family to live in Paris. During the Rio 2016, Manoela led the work for 14 brands, including major local Games sponsors, the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, a number of national and international sports federations and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee itself. As Director of COB, Manoela created the Canal Olímpico do Brasil, the successful streaming platform of the Brazilian Olympic Committee that has over 300k subscribers today, and developed the strategy that led Brazil to #1 position in growth and fan engagement on social media during Tokyo 2020, as per numbers presented by the ANOC Social Media Dashboard.

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Katie Kennedy
Director of Event Development
Explore Edmonton

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Michele Uva
Director Football & Social Responsibility
UEFA

Luca Fasani
Digital Manager
World Aquatics

Nicolas Widmer 
3x3 Competition Manager
The International Basketball Federation, FIBA

Jonny Gray
Senior Managing Director, Sport
Ankura

 

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Eamon Kerrigan
Business Development & Partnerships Manager
Iventis

 

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Michael D'hulst
CEO and Co-Founder
Super League Triathlon

 

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Jonny Cowan
Europe General Manager
World Table Tennis (WTT)

 

Sarah Lewis OBE OLY
Managing Director
Global Sports Leader

Jean-Christophe Albou
Sales Director, Europe
TVU Networks

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Peter Wyrwich
Sales Director, DACH
TVU Networks

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Benoit Girardin
CEO / Team Member
LBB Strategies / Tourisme Montreal

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Gustavo Arellano
Head of Commercial Development
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA)


Graduated as a Chemical Engineer with an MBA in his native Venezuela, Gustavo Arellano has worked extensively outside the sport industry in commercial areas with a special focus on marketing. He lives in Switzerland since 2015, upon completing a Master's Degree in Sports Administration and Technology.
His experience in different markets allowed him to successfully build the FIBA Market Intelligence and Research Program; he also supported the National Federation teams worldwide in the implementation of a new competition system and managed the global sponsorship program for the FIBA China Basketball World Cup 2019 with historic results for the organization.
Gustavo is currently responsible for the commercial development of the FIBA family with special attention to the sustainable growth of basketball around the world, establishing strategies and building new assets and innovative partnerships such as Twitch, Synergy Sports, and more recently ESL Facit Group (EFG) for the development of eFIBA.
As personal projects, he founded a sports thinking group in Lausanne and he is an ad honorem commercial advisor for Special Olympics

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Valerio Cianfoni
Head of Special Projects
World Baseball Softball Confederation

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Alice Ronchetti
Head of Sport
FIS Freeride World Tour

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Colin Grahamslaw
Secretary General
World Curling and AIOWF

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Benjamin Gauthier
Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer
Basketball Champions League

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Alejandro Perez-Llabata
Founder
IUDRO

 

Created by the next generation of engineers, IUDRO is a global university drone racing organiser and rights holder – moderating its league and identifying opportunities to strengthen its network. Pivoting during the pandemic by partnering with LuGus Studios and their multi-million-pound simulator Liftoff, the league hosted an eSports series to triple the amount of registered teams across the UK and USA.

 

And over the years, IUDRO has been the first in:

  • Creating Europe’s largest university drone racing team

  • Hosting the first inter-university drone racing event outside the USA

  • Hosting the first urban drone racing event in the UK

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Hannah Rosenberg
Head of Commercial Content
Websedge

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Stephen Purkess
Head of Sport
Creative Technology

Shelby Mull
Marketing and Communications Director
International Ice Hockey Federation

Birgitte Nestande
Sports and Cultural Events
Innovation Norway

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Dr Lombe Mwambwa
Research Director
Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport

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Paul Airey
Commercial Director
NEP Connect 

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Dr Manuel Urban
Director Business Development
Drone Champions League

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Sergey Nifontov
General Secretary
World DanceSport Federation

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Florian Lamblin
Executive Director
UTMB International

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Mayi Cruz Blanco

Managing Director

The Adecco Group

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Ben Barrett

Sustainability Consultant

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

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Lee Dennison

Head of Marketing and Client Services

Creative Technology

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Alessandro Ciro Scirett
Chief Executive Officer
Torino 2025 FISU World University Games

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Marc Gutierrez
Technology Leader, Sports and Major Events
Deloitte

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Marie Sallois Dembreville

Director of Corporate Development and Sustainability

International Olympic Committee (IOC)

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Craig Lovett

Principal

Incognitus

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Anette Larsen Bogno

Director of Events

Region Stanvanger Visitors and Convention Bureau

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Chris Thompson

CEO

You. Smart. Thing.

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Clayton D'Costa
Partner and Head of Global Events
Portas Consulting

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Helmut Josef Spahn
Director Safety, Security and Access
FIFA

Steve Laws

Event Safety and Security Consultant

Taylor Bridges

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Sabine Horvath

Head of External Relations & Location Marketing

City of Basel

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Neil Hudd
Business Development Manager
AP / Associated Press

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Joel Lavery

Strategic Lead Major Sporting Events

West Midlands Growth Company

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David Galbaugh
Vice President of Sports Sales & Marketing
Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Sameer Janmohamed
Assistant to Director General
International University Sports Federation (FISU)

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David Mangan
Commercial Development and Special Projects Manager
FGH

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Luca Santaniello
Lead FWC Planning and Integration
FIFA

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Roberta Werner
Director
Visit Rio

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Francois Vergnol
Marketing & Commercial Director
European Professional Clubs Rugby (EPCR)

 

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Carlee Savory
Director, Sport, Culture & Major Events
Tourism Calgary

 

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Santiago de la Morena Munoz
Deputy Director
Spain Lacrosse


Santiago is an experienced sports manager who began his career in the industry in 2005 working for a professional handball club, after several years as a coach for youth teams. His university background is in Sports events management and protocol. His diploma in “Senior Management of Sports Entities” has allowed him to plan and organize international events and competitions in sports such as handball, track and field, or lacrosse. He has also held executive roles in professional Spanish teams. Currently, Santiago serves as the Deputy Director of the Spanish Lacrosse Association, a position he combines with his position as Senior Advisor at the International Institute of Excellence and Sports Certifications (IINS).

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Alana Vought
2032 Programme Manager
City of GoldCoast

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Bernard Sinnaeve
Chief Operating Officer

Deloitte
 

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Sophia Awan
Strategic Parternerships Manager
MoneyCorp
 

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Chris Gerstle
Director, Strategy & Development
European Leagues
 

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Colin Hart
Chairman of Sports Business
International Wayfinding & Wakeboading Association

 

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Nithi Suppiah
Advisor Marketing and Communications
Virtus Sport

 

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Angela McGuire 
FWC World Cup Project Experience Manager
FIFA

 

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Nicolas Bianco
Responsibe Development Commercial - Sport & Esport & Gaming

ViParis Development
 

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Sophie Spink
Manager, APAC Public Sector
Portas Consulting

 

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Christian Manzi
MICE Sales Manager
Rwanda Convention Bureau

 

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