Experience

At England Rugby I led the communications for a number of professional teams, including the Rugby World Cup-winning Red Roses, both men’s and women’s Rugby Sevens teams as well as playing a key role in supporting the men’s senior XVs team.

This is where my passion for for high-performance communication began, and where - through working with the world’s leading head coaches and rugby’s most talented athletes - I realised the impact effective communication can have on delivering results.

As one of the few people on the ground at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, I was responsible for preparing every Team GB athlete for the biggest moment of their career, in some of the most extraordinary circumstances sport has ever seen.

Drawing on my understanding of how communication impacts performance, I delivered a tailored media programme that gave athletes their well-earned moment in the spotlight, while carefully managing the mental demands that come with intense media scrutiny on the Olympic stage.

The result was a cohort of athletes who felt confident and prepared heading into Tokyo, and media coverage that told the powerful stories of their performances to fans back home.

At World Rugby, I was tasked with developing a global communications strategy for women’s rugby - the fastest-growing area of the sport - in the build-up to its pinnacle event: the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2022.

Having previously led communications for England Rugby’s women’s teams, I brought first-hand insight into the unique nuances of women’s sport; from tone and storytelling to audience connection and commercial opportunity. That experience was invaluable in shaping a strategy that recognised the distinct identity of the women’s game, while elevating its visibility and impact on the world stage.

As Director of Communications and Partnerships at the UK Sports Institute, I sat on the senior leadership team, shaping the organisation’s communications and commercial strategy. Leading a cross‑functional team, I delivered B2B campaigns that connected government partners, sponsors and performance staff, while honing messaging for nearly every sport in the high‑performance system - across both Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic programmes.

The role demanded a deep grasp of the commercial complexities that underpin elite sport; steering rights negotiations, activating partnerships and safeguarding reputation gave me a 360° view of how funding, performance and storytelling intersect. Guiding and developing the comms function, I embedded clear processes and high standards that continue to serve the Institute and further cemented my insight into what it takes to drive success in high‑performance environments.

This is where it all began… what started as the best student job in the world (yes, I had a Mini Cooper that had a giant Red Bull can on the back) turned into a role within the communications team where I worked across the brand’s entire sport portfolio.

A huge career highlight was working on Red Bull Stratos which saw the late Felix Baumgartner skydive from the edge of space, making global headlines and setting the standard for brand activations in sport for years to come.