Dr Jan Breitsohl is Associate Professor in Digital Marketing at the University of Glasgow, with 13+ years’ experience researching social media conflict, online harms, digital wellbeing, brand purpose, and values-led communication. He helps sport organisations understand how sustainability and social value messages are received online, why they sometimes trigger fan criticism or Fan-to-Fan conflict, and how to respond in ways that protect wellbeing, credibility, reputation, and commercial outcomes. Jan works with brands, charities, football clubs, and governing bodies to develop science-based tools for campaign pre-testing and backlash response. Using social media analysis and experimental methods, he measures real effects beyond likes and sentiment, helping organisations communicate their values with confidence and harmonise rather than polarise.
Main Summit
Brazos Barber
Shaun A. Hoyte
Shaun Hoyte is a sustainability leader with over 20 years of experience in the energy and utilities sector, with a growing influence at the intersection of sustainability, sports, and entertainment. He began his career at Con Edison as an electrician building the infrastructure that powers New York City, and has since administered more than $250 million in energy efficiency and building electrification incentives while leading strategies to advance an equitable clean energy economy.
At Columbia University, where he earned his master’s degree, Shaun is an adjunct professor and advisor. He created and co-teaches Columbia’s first course on Sustainability in Sports, translating academic theory into practice across the industry. He is also the founder and director of SEEN Media, a Columbia Climate School initiative leveraging entertainment and culture to advance climate action. Shaun has been recognized for his leadership with multiple industry and public service honors.
Fernando Monfardini
Attorney, author of the book Compliance in Football, specialist in Compliance, Anti-Corruption Law and Public Administration Control from FDV, and in Regulatory Compliance from Penn University.
He currently serves as Compliance, Data Protection & ESG Officer at Atlético Mineiro SAF, President of the Ethics Council of the Brazilian Triathlon Confederation, and Professor in the Graduate Program in Governance, Risk Management and Compliance at FDV.
He previously served as President of the Compliance Committee of the Brazilian Bar Association – Espírito Santo Section, and as Undersecretary of Internal Control and Audit for the Municipality of Vitória/ES. Named one of the most admired compliance professionals in Brazilian companies by the Compliance On Top Awards.
Samuel Mattis
Sam Mattis is a 2x Olympian in the discus throw for Team USA. He grew up in New Jersey, and after tripping over a hurdle in his first race, found the discus and hasn’t put it down yet.
After graduating cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, he turned down an offer to work on Wall Street to pursue his dream of becoming an Olympian. Since becoming a professional athlete, he has made two Olympic teams (Tokyo and Paris, with his best finish being 8th in Tokyo), won multiple national championships and just broke the American record this year.
Off the track, he’s gone from working odd jobs, to working for start-ups, to starting a small business himself, and has become passionate about sustainability. After a wake up call reading David Wallace-Well’s Uninhabitable Earth, he has decided to use his platform as an athlete to advocate for sustainability and to dedicate his second act to a career in sustainability. He is an EcoAthlete’s Champion, a World Athletics Champion for a Better World, a member of World Athletics’s Sustainability Management Review Steering Group, and has spoken at COP about the impact that athletes can have in the fight against climate change.
He also recently joined The Long Game as the Athlete Relations Lead to amplify athlete voices to help drive sustainable behaviors, lifestyles, and cultural change. He’s currently training to make his third Olympic team and learning as much as he can to transition to a career in sustainability once his athletic career ends.
Ioannis Konstantopoulos
Ioannis is currently an FNS researcher at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and has worked in research roles at the University of Innsbruck and ETH Zurich. He is, also, a sustainability advisor at Sportad, Founder of The Sports Footprint, a sustainability consultancy that has been awarded the Prince’s Trust Global Sustainability Award for Europe, having a notable and diverse list of clients from the sports industry. Ioannis is a Board Member at the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) responsible for safeguarding and sustainability and has also, developed several educational courses in sport and sustainability for organisations such as the Football Business Academy, the International Olympic Academy and the Athens University of Economics and Business. He has taught across sport management degrees in various universities and institutions across Europe.
Riley Nelson
As NASCAR’s Head of Sustainability, Riley Nelson develops, directs and champions the motorsports league’s first comprehensive environmental sustainability strategy, including oversight of 15 racetracks, seven office locations, 1200+ employees, and 20+ events that draw millions of attendees annually. She was a leading voice behind the sport’s first public-facing sustainability goal – net zero operating emissions by 2035 – and the formation of NASCAR IMPACT. Additionally, she helped secure the company’s first NASCAR IMPACT partnership in global electrification leader ABB; published the sport’s first IMPACT report; launched composting, reuse and expanded recycling programs across events; and built the renewable energy strategy for 60K+ MWh of electricity per year. She was named to Sports Business Journal’s 2024 class of New Voices Under 30 and was included on SBJ’s Ones to Watch in Sustainability list in 2023. Based in Denver and originally from Boston, Nelson received her MBA in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Vermont and BA in Sport Management from the University of Michigan.
Julia Vergueiro
Julia Vergueiro is a Brazilian entrepreneur and sports industry leader dedicated to advancing opportunities for girls and women through sports. She is the co-founder of Nossa Arena, Latin America’s first women-dedicated sports complex, and co-founder of the Instituto Nossa Arena, a nonprofit organization that uses sports as a tool for empowerment, health, and social inclusion in underserved communities. For over a decade, she has led initiatives that combine sports, education, and community development, creating pathways for thousands of girls and women to access opportunities both on and off the field.
Matt Toombs
Matt Toombs is currently Director for International Climate Finance and Strategy in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Matt leads teams working on the long-term global transition to net zero, including supporting clean energy transitions, green finance, sustainable supply chains, and increasing the uptake of electric vehicles, as well as delivering on global climate ambition through the G7, G20 and UNFCCC.
He is Senior Reporting Officer for the department’s share of the UK’s £11.6bn International Climate Finance, overseeing a range of programmes designed to support developing countries to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change. The portfolio includes projects aimed at accelerating clean energy transitions, reducing deforestation, mobilising private finance, scaling up low carbon technologies and providing cutting-edge technical assistance, drawing on UK clean growth expertise.
Prior to this, Matt was Director of Partnerships and Engagement in the COP Unit of the Cabinet Office, where he was responsible for driving international collaboration around the five focus areas of the UK’s presidency of the COP26 summit which was held in Glasgow in November 2021.
Sally Horax
Sally is Chief of Women’s Rugby at World Rugby, where she leads the global acceleration of the women and girls’ game. She brings over 15 years of international experience in the professional and commercial development of women’s sport, including roles in football with The FA and UEFA, as well as with England Netball and the LTA.
Passionate about growing women’s sport, raising its profile, and increasing investment, Sally has a proven track record in creating and developing professional leagues, major events, and commercial partnerships. She has a deep understanding of how to grow participation, fan bases, and revenue.
A former solicitor, she also serves as a UEFA mentor and Non-Executive Chair, bringing both expertise and cultural sensitivity to her mission of advancing sport for women and girls worldwide.
