Team.

Paul is one of the world’s leading football and sporting public relations practitioners.  He is the founder and chairman of Macesport which has been advising clubs, governing bodies, elite athletes and brands including Vauxhall, the NFL, William Hill, the English Professional Footballers Association (PFA), Under Armour, Soccerex, Major League Soccer and Leicester City for over 15 years.

He enjoyed over 30 years in professional sports, firstly as a trained journalist before becoming one of Britain’s first football press officers at Leicester City in 1991 and went on to become the club’s Chief Operating Officer and an executive Board Director.

Ben Thompson has been at Macesport since 2009 and took over the business in 2018.

Ben has spent all of his life in professional sport as a player for Nottingham Rugby and Exeter Chiefs before taking the helm at Macesport.

The talented sportsman played cricket for Middlesex and his home county of Oxfordshire. Ben is a Masters Graduate from the University of Exeter where he studied Business Economics and International Management whilst on a cricket scholarship.

He has worked on FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships and a variety of major international sporting events in all continents.

Simon Bristow is a creative consultant with 15 years’ experience in sports PR and Marketing.

Simon has both agency and client-side experience during a career that has seen him work with major brands, events, rights holders, sponsors and individuals.

A two year spell as Global PR Director at Adidas involved management of the brands PR activity across all categories as well as activation of global events and partnerships.

Prior to this Simon led work with The FA for four years, focusing on everything from England teams to growing women’s football participation and championing the grassroots game.

Shaun joined Macesport as Head of Digital in July 2018.

Since graduating from De Montfort University Shaun has gained vast experience in digital marketing, website management and Sports PR. Shaun previously worked for a regional TV station and a large web agency.

Shaun is experienced in managing and producing great branded content as well as organising large-scale digital campaigns for global brands and high-profile talent.

Sarah has been part of the Macesport team since October 2019 as our Administrator and logistical extraordinaire. With 29 years’ experience working in the NHS, Sarah brings a raft of communication, customer service and organisational skills to our team and plays an integral role in the facilitation of events, activations and remote projects, as well as our day to day operations. Since her graduation from Birmingham University, Sarah has continued to develop her expertise in business support and strategic planning. When not at work, Sarah can often be found at the side of a rugby pitch.

Since graduating from the University of Leeds in 2018 with a degree in Communications and Media, Jacob spent a year creating social content for various boxing outlets, including Boxing Guru and Gold Star Promotions, featuring high profile athletes such as Tyson Fury.

Jacob has an extensive background in digital content production, with excellent videography, photography and editing skills.

Jacob has always been involved in sport, representing England in Latvia and Prague as part of the Midlands Ice Hockey team and chairing his University club.

Outside the office, he is involved in wider sports media, presenting for various boxing and football channels.

Martin joined Macesport in 2020 as a successful commercial professional with experience within the sponsorship, partnerships and hospitality sectors.

Martin has connection and contacts in a variety of sports and governing bodies.

John has been working with Macesport in a consultancy capacity since March 2015.

During 13 years as Press Officer and Head of Communications at The Hawthorns, he played a central role in raising the Baggies’ profile and managing the ever-increasing global media interest in the club during a challenging-but-exciting period which yielded three relegations and four promotions.

John has developed and maintained wide-ranging sports media connections during two decades in the industry and now works on a variety of sporting events.