Access the top 5% of sports talent.
Our Executive Search practice is the heart of Executives in Sport — led by industry-deep consultants with specialist focus areas across business, performance and technology. We’ve spent over a decade recruiting at leadership level, delivering on 500+ searches across 25 different sports globally.
Underpinned by rigorous, insight-driven assessment, we help you build high-performing, diverse leadership teams that don’t just deliver this season’s results — they shape your organisation’s long-term legacy.
THE FULL LEADERSHIP SPECTRUM
Few search firms credibly cover both sides of a sports organisation. We do. From the boardroom to the boot room, our consultants are specialists in the disciplines that decide whether a sports business — or a sports team — wins or loses.
Sports Level
- Board member
- Non Executive Director
- C-Level
- Executive
- Management
- Consultant
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Sports Business
- Commercial
- Marketing
- Operations
- Digital / Content
- Technology
- Communications
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Human Resources
- Finance
Sports High-Performance
- Leadership
- Talent ID / Recruitment
- Technical Scouting
- Academy
- Data Science
- Performance Analysis
- Data Analytics
- Medicine / Physiotherapy
- Psychology
BUILT FOR SPORT’S BIGGEST MOMENTS
Leadership hires rarely happen at routine moments. The brief usually lands when something significant is changing — and the cost of a wrong call is amplified by everything else in motion. Our Executive Search practice is built for those moments. We’re trusted by clients navigating:
New ownership and investment More
Building the leadership team to deliver an ambitious new vision
League entry, promotion and expansion More
Scaling the executive team to match a step-change in commercial and competitive ambition
Major events and hosting cycles More
Building credibility and capacity ahead of a World Cup, Olympics or rights cycle
Commercial transformation More
Appointing the leaders to unlock new revenue streams, partnerships and audiences
Performance turnaround More
Finding the high-performance leadership to reset a team, a department or a culture
Succession and renewal More
Bringing in the next generation of executive leadership while protecting institutional knowledge
Whatever the trigger, we’ll find you the leader who can deliver in the moment and build for the years that follow.
A NETWORK BUILT OVER A DECADE
The top 5% of sports leaders aren’t on job boards, and they rarely respond to cold approaches from generalist headhunters. They take our calls because we’ve earned the relationship — through a decade of conversations, introductions and successful placements across the global sports industry.
That network is the single most important asset we bring to every search. It’s how we shortlist faster, reach passive talent others can’t, and present candidates clients didn’t know existed.
COGNITIVE DIVERSITY BY DESIGN
The best leadership teams blend deep sports expertise with proven leaders from outside the industry. Sport is increasingly competing for fans, talent and revenue with the world’s most sophisticated consumer brands, media businesses and technology platforms — and the leadership challenges look more familiar than ever before.
When the brief calls for it, we bring credible candidates from FMCG, media, retail, technology, hospitality and management consulting, alongside our deep bench of sports operators. Sports expertise where it matters. Fresh thinking where it counts.
RIGOROUS EVERY TIME
Every candidate we present has been through our full Talent Assessment framework — a structured, bias-free evaluation of skills, experience, leadership behaviours and cultural fit, designed to give you everything you need to hire with confidence.
Why we would be a great search partner
Leadership hiring in sport is high stakes. Get it right and the impact lasts for years. Get it wrong and the cost is significant. We’ve spent over a decade getting it right — building the networks, the methodology and the trust that gives our clients a genuine talent advantage.
01
Fanatical
Fanatical about delivering a brilliant service for clients and candidates. Fanatical about creating opportunities for future legends. We do this because we genuinely love the industry and everything it brings!
02
Diverse
Our team and our networks reflect the diversity of the industry and fans you serve, drawing on leadership talent from sport and the most relevant adjacent sectors. Different backgrounds. Different perspectives. Stronger shortlists.
03
Trusted
Built on 100% delivery success and long-lasting relationships, sports organisations worldwide trust us with their most senior hires — appointments that shape the next decade of the organisation, handled with discretion and care.
04
Precise
Targeted. Data driven. Rigorous. From our search and selection process to our Talent Assessment methodology, we ensure every candidate presented is a perfect match for the brief — and ready to lead from day one.
05
Innovative
We combine the depth of traditional executive search with the speed and insight of modern talent intelligence — always looking for smarter, faster, better ways to find the leaders our clients need.
06
Relentless
The Executives in Sport team are passionate, agile experts who live and breathe the sports industry. They work hard and smart to deliver results — no shortcuts, no compromises, just dedication and passion all the way.
