Personal Statement
I am Professor in Sports Business and Director of the Centre for Sports Business, a leading research hub which supports the sports industry through research insights, consultancy and executive education. Prior to starting this role, I was Professor in Management and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Birkbeck, University of London, where I was also the Director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre. I began my academic career at Birkbeck studying for an ESRC funded PhD focused on understanding corporate governance in the football industry.

My research focuses on the governance and regulation of sport. I have a particular interest in the organisational governance practices of sport organisations. I am also interested in the practice of financial regulation within the professional football industry. My research has been published in the leading international sport management journals (European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Management Review) as well as journals within the business and management field (Business History, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly). My research has contributed to debate and policy developments within the sport sector. In addition, I teach on various executive education programmes that support the continuing professional development of practitioners working within the sports industry.

Research Overview
My research focuses, broadly, on the governance and regulation of sport. There are two main strands to this. Firstly. I am interested in the organisational governance practices of sport organisations, and in particular, the role of the board. Despite a long history of research into organisational governance there is still recognition that there is little understanding of what actually happens within the boardroom. Drawing on practice theory, I focus on seeking to get a better sense of what happens in the boardroom, how decisions are made, the importance of relationships in shaping decisions, and how the wider context influences the inner workings of the boardroom.

My second area of interest is in the practice of financial regulation within the professional football industry. I have looked at financial regulation from two approaches: the economic approach which looks at the impact of the various forms of regulation on football club financial performance: and the political science approach which looks at the dynamics and relationships involved in the formation and ongoing development of the regulatory space. I believe both approaches are important to a more rounded and developed understanding of regulation.