Maeve has had an impact on European sport over a long period, and has worked with iconic teams, organisations and major events such as Ryder Cup, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, Man City, Arsenal, FIFA, FIBA and UEFA.
Maeve specialises in performance and grassroots sport and has worked with FIFA, UEFA, FIBA and the IRFU amongst others. Maeve is a previous Board Member of the Sport Ireland Campus and the Federation of Irish Sport and is regularly voted one of the Most Influential Women in Sport (sportforbusiness.com).
Maeve specialises in commercial, marketing and sports strategy development on behalf of international federations, the development and commercialisation of international sports events, as well as advising city and national authorities, and sport governing bodies on strategic and marketing communications work. She has a deep understanding of the European sport industry and the most successful initiatives happening across that landscape.
She previously worked in international marketing roles with Orange, Salvatore Ferragamo and Bord Bia, based in Amsterdam, Milan and Madrid. She holds an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and has a BA (Hons) degree from University College Cork, and speaks French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Pranav is an international sports business executive with global experience across India, Spain, Brazil, and the Middle East. Prior to joining Druid Sport, he worked with leading rights holders, agencies, properties, and sports and entertainment law firms, focusing on sponsorship sales, commercial partnerships, business development, strategic advisory, and international sports law.
He has been involved in major football and lifestyle projects including The Messi Experience, Dubai Premier Padel, top-tier player transfers, and cross-border sports business deals. With a background in law and a focus on commercial strategy and international growth, he brings a unique blend of legal expertise, business acumen, and cultural fluency to projects
As Vice President at Druid Sport, Pranav leads the agency’s business in Saudi Arabia and supports commercial growth across international markets. His focus is on driving revenue-generating partnerships, building out market presence in the Middle East, and developing new verticals for the agency’s international expansion.
Pranav holds a Masters in Sports Management and Legal Skills with FC Barcelona from ISDE (Barcelona, Spain) and a BA LLB (Hons.) from Jindal Global Law School (India). He is the founder of Vilay Sports, an India-based sports consultancy, and serves as an advisor to his family’s education and sustainable textile businesses. Pranav is fluent in 4 languages, and has working knowledge of two more.
Favourite sport is football (with a soft spot for Brazil and Manchester City). Favourite sporting moment is Sergio Agüero’s last-minute winner in 2012 that helped City lift their first Premier League title.
Kelly is a partnerships and sales executive with academic and practical experience across Europe. She completed an LL.M. in International Sports Law at ISDE, covering areas such as contract law, global football governance, Swiss and EU legal frameworks, dispute resolution before CAS, doping regulations, and legal issues in sports across Europe, the U.S., and Latin America.
During her internship at Times Attorneys at Maison Du Sport in Lausanne, she assisted in preparing cases before sports tribunals such as CAS, BAT FIVB, and FIBA, with work involving legal research, case preparation, and sponsorship and media rights contracts.
Kelly also holds a Bachelor of Business and Law from University College Dublin, where she developed a strong foundation in both legal and commercial disciplines.
Since 2025, Kelly has worked with Druid as a Partnerships Sales Executive, contributing to the organisation of the Cork Super Cup, securing partners and sponsors, and managing its social media presence—driving over 2 million views through targeted campaigns. She also collaborates with Basketball Ireland on various projects supporting the sport’s development. In addition, Kelly works with Druid Padel, Druid Sport’s sister company, managing its first Padel club in Dublin 4 and leading efforts to secure corporate partnerships.
Kelly’s favourite sports are tennis and padel.
Favourite sporting moment is watching Serena Williams play her final match before retirement at the 2022 US Open.
Diarmuid is a C-suite executive and CEO of Druid Sport with more than two decades experience at IMG, the world’s premier sports marketing company and later at Portugal FA. At IMG, he oversaw all activities in Qatar, Turkey, Russia, and Brazil from initiation to profitability across multiple projects. Prior to that, he was Managing Director of IMG’s Venue Marketing Division and the company’s Hospitality Division.
Additionally, Diarmuid has management experience of major international sports events including the UEFA European Football Championships, the UEFA Champions League Final, Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
Since 2018, Diarmuid has founded and run Druid Sport as CEO, taking the agency from fledgling player to a powerful presence in the industry, winning business across the world and setting up teams in Ireland, Europe, Saudi Arabia and China. Clients include Portugal FA, UEFA, World Athletics, Populous and Sports Boulevard in Saudi Arabia.
During his career, Diarmuid has generated sales of US$1 billion, including for blue chip clients such as Wembley Stadium, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and UEFA. He holds a business degree, qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, and completed an MBA at INSEAD, Paris.
His favourite sport is padel, where he competes, unsuccessfully, against players half his age! Favourite sporting moment is Ireland’s win over England at Euro 1988!
Tim Crowley, our CFO, is a UK Chartered Accountant with an MSc in Sustainable Finance. Tim is experienced in the setup, funding and sale of companies across various sectors, including technology and renewable energy.
Tim has a background in Finance for Sustainable Projects across corporate supply chains, affordable housing and sport. Previously, he was founder and CEO of Martello Low Carbon Financial Solutions, where he worked with corporate leaders in sustainability to implement Corporate Sustainability Fund solutions that deliver net zero emissions.
Prior to that, he was Co-founder & Finance Director at Pace Soft Silicon, Dublin and India-based video technology company sold to Nvidia Inc in 2006. Tim began his career in financial auditing with pwc in London and subsequently worked as a Senior Manager in Corporate Finance & Restructuring at pwc in London and Moscow during the mid-1990s.
An original member of the senior team and Diarmuid’s brother, Tim has played a significant role making key strategic and financial decisions as Druid has evolved, including handling negotiations relating to recent investment into the business.
Qualifications include UK Chartered Accountant with MSc in Sustainable Energy Finance from DCU in 2014 and a Commerce degree from UCC. Tim is a Taisce Climate Change Ambassador.
Tim has completed more than 12 marathons but doesn’t quote his more recent finishing times! His favourite sporting moment is Rory McIlroy’s career defining triumph at the Masters at Augusta - pure drama and long awaited sporting redemption!
Inês is a sports marketing executive with a strong background in commercial consultancy, market analysis and revenue strategy across international sports properties. She combines practical industry experience with an academic background in Economics, having worked with both federations and private sector clients. Her areas of expertise include strategic research, commercial planning and feasibility analysis.
Inês began her career at Sport Matters, a sports marketing boutique consultancy, where she supported high-impact international projects for UEFA and Dentsu and other players in the industry — including commercial strategy reviews, revenue benchmarking and due diligence for major investments in sport.
Since joining Druid in 2024, Inês has played a key role in commercial development and sales enablement across leading accounts including La Vuelta, Populous, Porto Coliseum, Sports Boulevard Foundation, UEFA and World Athletics. Her work includes building and managing targeted brand outreach databases, supporting business planning, and delivering bespoke commercial insights aligned with each client’s growth and sponsorship strategy.
2020–2024: Marketing Coordinator, Sport Matters
Her favourite sport is gymnastics.
Luís is a sports marketing executive with eight years’ experience at the Portuguese Football Federation and Druid Sport.
His expertise includes international and regional sponsorship, international brand development, venue commercialisation and media and betting rights sales. Luís has been part of the successful commercial and marketing teams at the Portuguese Football Federation, reporting directly to the Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Marketing Officer.
He has been involved in high-profile projects, including FIFA World Cup 2018, UEFA Nations League Finals Portugal 2019, UEFA EURO 2020, FIFA World Cup 2022, UEFA EURO 2024, a marketing programme for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and sponsorship strategy development for the Saudi Professional League.
Since 2019, Luís has joined Druid as Sales & Marketing Manager, working closely with a number of global high-profile rights holders, including the Portuguese Football Federation, UEFA, World Athletics, Populous, Sports Boulevard Foundation, SC Braga, La Vuelta and Porto Coliseum. Luís has been a key contributor at Druid helping clients to restructure its commercial strategies, increase revenue, identify new sources of income, and develop business plans and feasibility studies.
2017 – 2019: Sales Manager, Portuguese Football Federation
His favourite sports are football, snooker and motorsports and the best sporting moment is Portugal’s dramatic win over England at Euro 2004!
Nicolas is an international sports business executive with over 25 years of experience at leading companies such as ISL Worldwide, IMG and Eurovision, and major international event organisers such as the 32nd America’s Cup and the multisport European Championships.
With a sharp eye for commercial growth and a deep understanding of the sports ecosystem, Nicolas has helped shape and deliver successful marketing and broadcast campaigns for major rights holders (FIFA, UEFA, FIBA, World Swimming), top athletes, emerging sports, and innovative properties. His career spans Olympic sports, football, basketball, sailing and motorsport, always with a focus on creating long-term value for clients, brand and broadcast partners.
Nicolas has joined Druid Sport in 2024 at an exciting time in the international growth trajectory of the agency. He is defining the team the strategic vision, expand its global footprint and accelerate ongoing sustainable business growth
Nicolas has successfully managed multi-million sponsorship, media and hosting rights including for UEFA EURO 2012, World Swimming Championships and multiple European governing bodies, led broadcast and event management teams and designed & delivered new event concepts. He holds a business degree, speaks fluently in French, English, Spanish and German, and had the honour to play international matches for the Swiss football national team U19.
He loves and practices many sports but alpine skiing, (e-)mountain biking and football would be among his favourites. Favourite sporting moment would be when Switzerland beat France at Euro 2021.
Essar is the Co-Founder of Druid Sports, a very close friend and associate of Diarmuid Crowley and all that is Druid. He has over 20 years’ experience in the management and delivery of the largest international sporting events, including the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup and has worked at C-suite level for the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics.
Essar spent his career creating and developing large multi-sport events and working with event owners/local organisers on national marketing, commercial and promotional plans. He led the conception and implementation of the now well established Youth Olympic Games in 2019, and led ideation, planning and the delivery of the inaugural World Urban Games in Budapest.
Essar is an expert in elite sports facility operations, having operated some of the most iconic venues in the world including Stade de France & Accor Arena in Paris, Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and the Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing.
He now specialises in C-Level advisory work and strategic and operational consultancy. Essar is trilingual, speaking English, French and Arabic and has an MBA from INSEAD and an MSc in Civil Engineering.
Prior to joining Druid, Rahel was Head of Community Fundraising in the charity Leukaemia Research. Rahel’s primary responsibility was the strategic development of the Community Fundraising service.
Before Leukaemia Research, Rahel worked as a Senior Account Manager for Gartner, the global IT research and consultancy organisation. Rahel was responsible for retaining, managing and growing new business within the Irish client portfolio. Rahel achieved “Winners Circle” status in Gartner, for exceptional sales performance, in three successive years.
Since 2018, Rahel has worked as Operations Manager. Her role invovles coordinating Druid’s day-to-day sales activities as well as organising Druid events and liasing between the various Druid offices.
1991 - 1992 Michael Smurfit School of Business, Blackrock. Co. Dublin, Ireland
Diploma in Business Studies (DBS), Marketing Major
1985 - 1989 University College Dublin, Ireland: BA Honours Psychology (2.1)
Rahel’s favourite sports is Padel.
Her favourite sporting moment is watching, from Centre Court, the 2007 Wimbledon Men’s Final between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
Mark is Chief Marketing Officer and has extensive experience working for both Ireland's largest sponsor and rights holder, bringing expertise to sports organisations and brands aiming to generate exceptional value. He has a track record of securing strong returns from sponsorship and partnerships to build brand equity, maximise commercial revenues, and unlock potential.
Prior to Druid, he was Group Sponsorship Manager at Aviva Insurance, leading award-winning campaigns, and securing 5 Sponsorship Industry Awards in 7 years. At the Football Association of Ireland, as Commercial & Marketing Director, Mark successfully navigated a challenging market to deliver major marketing campaigns and secure key partnerships with leading brands like Nissan and Sky. His career started at British Airways where he spent over a decade working across multiple departments, especially marketing.
Mark collaborates with sports rights holders and brands to deliver tailored sponsorship strategies, build compelling propositions, and forge win-win partnerships. Passionate about staying ahead of industry trends and helping businesses unlock lasting value in sponsorship and partnerships, he aligns opportunities with brand objectives, ensuring every partnership delivers impact and success.
He has worked with a multitude of clients including World Athletics, UEFA, Basketball Ireland, Ulster Rugby, and the Cork GAA.
Mark is a football and rugby fan with a sideline in baseball. His favourite moment is the 1981 Botham Ashes alongside Aston Villa’s win vs InterMilan in 1994.
Doug Thackrey is Commercial Director for Sport Matters – a small consultancy founded in 2012 focused on helping rightsholders, sponsors, broadcasters, and their agencies do the right things well in matters of sport.
At Sport Matters, Doug has taken a lead role in strategic consultancy projects for a wide range of major rightsholders and their agencies, including UEFA, AFC, CONMEBOL, F1, Dentsu, CAA, the PE firm TPG and Starcom Mediavest Group.
For UEFA, Doug has supported strategic commercial projects for UEFA Marketing , and served as a UEFA Grow Commercial Mentor since 2015 - working with 49 UEFA National Associations to date on developing and/or stress testing their commercial strategies.
Before Sport Matters, Doug started his sports marketing career with TEAM Marketing in 1998 and spent 10 years there, most of it selling sponsorship for the UEFA Champions League – primarily developing sales strategy and targeting new prospects. While at TEAM, Doug also took on various responsibilities in strategy, account management, licensing and merchandising, and event management.
Doug has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, and an Executive Masters in European Sport Governance (MESGO).
Yang has over 15 years of experience in events and projects at IMG, including consulting, events, winter sports, and exhibitions.
Since 2020, Yang has joined Druid Sport China as Vice President. He has played a key role alongside Barbara in signing two major event deals - Desafío China by La Vuelta and Challenge Beijing - with local governments and managed their executions.
Yang graduated from Loughborough University, UK with a postgraduate degree in Sports Management. 2007-2020: Senior Director, IMG, managed over 50 local and international sport and cultural events, across running, triathlon, and cycling
His favourite sport is badminton.
Boyuan Xing is Event Manager of Druid China. He has over six years of professional expertise at IMG Action Sport & Mass Participation with the organisation and operations for running, cycling, and triathlon events in multiple cities across China. Boyuan has extensive experience in event and venue operations consulting, planning, execution, and liaison.
Since assuming the role of Event Manager at Druid China in 2020, Boyuan has spearheaded athlete service and event operation of Druid China’s flagship events such as Desafío China by La Vuelta and Challenge Beijing. Additionally, Boyuan also manages part of the business development and communication with various brands, athletic clubs, and other teams.
Rowena is a seasoned sports and events executive with more than 20 years of international experience across consulting, project management, major global sporting events, and hospitality. She has held high-level roles for some of the world’s leading organisations, including the Canadian Olympic Committee, Euroleague Basketball, LOCOG, and VANOC.
Her leadership has been pivotal in the success of projects and events within the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, Paris 2024), FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai, etc.
Rowena has built a reputation for excellence in stakeholder engagement, strategic operations, and end-to-end project delivery. She has consistently overseen multimillion-dollar budgets and led high-performing teams across Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Her client-centric approach, combined with strong leadership, negotiation and organizational skills, has made her a go-to expert for complex, high-impact projects in both the public and private sectors.
As a Projects and Events Director at Druid Sport, Rowena has led several major initiatives, including the project management for the Decathlon’s Paris 2024 sponsorship activation, and the development of hospitality and sponsorship strategies for blue-chip clients. Her project portfolio at Druid spans global engagements in France, Saudi Arabia, and beyond.
Rowena holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Hotel Management and Tourism from Notre Dame University. Fluent in French and English, and conversational Spanish and Arabic, she thrives in multicultural environments. She has managed projects exceeding US$10 million in value, led teams of over 30 people, and collaborated with top-tier stakeholders including national governments, sponsors, and international federations.
Her favourite sport is ballet which she practices recreationally. Her favourite sporting moment is running with the Olympic flame for Vancouver 2010.
Barbara is one of the most highly regarded sports marketing executives in China with 15 years’ experience at IMG. She has extensive knowledge and experience as well as top level management, consulting and negotiation skills in sports events, sport tourism, recreational properties and operation of sport facilities.
As VP of IMG China, she led sports and leisure market research, signature events strategy and operations as well as sports and leisure facilities business planning and development. Driving the company’s growth activities, she generated new businesses and firsts in the world of sport and entertainment, working with government institutions throughout the country to promote cities and provinces.
Highlights include the organisation of the Beijing NBA exhibition games of LA Lakers, NY Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, and the ATP Champions Tour to Chengdu. From 2012, she spearheaded the development of Mass Participation events in China including the Beijing International Triathlon, The Colour Run events across China (+1M runners) and Run To The Beat Half marathon, overseeing the event production and management, as well as sponsorship sales and sponsor services.
Babara is a lecturer on sports marketing for MBA courses including Olympic economy seminar, the US Embassy corporate investment seminar, and Fudan University MBA.
In 2020, Barbara joined Druid Sport China as President. Leading the China team, her achievements include the signing of a 5-year event deal (2023-27) of Desafio China By La Vuelta Beijing Changping (Cycling) and 3-year event deal (2024-26) for “Challenge Beijing” Triathlon with local governments, overseeing event executions.
2005-2020: Vice President, IMG
2003-2005: Bowling Green State of University, Ohio, Master Degree in Sport Administration
2001-2003: Project Director, Administration Dept, Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee
1976-2001: Athlete and coach of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army)
Her favourite sport is tennis.
Yin Hao had been working on local government’s international affairs for over 15 years in China’s Nanjing Municipality. He introduced Lufthansa’s direct flight from Frankfurt to Nanjing, commanded the set up of a Dutch park in Nanjing as a token of sister-city relations with Eindhoven, NL, and made exchange of zoo animals with city of Bloemfontein in South Africa.
Yin Hao started to work in sports from 2009, when Nanjing decided to bid for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games 2014. He served as IOC Service and Protocol Director from 2010-2014, then Secretary General of IOC Hotel team during Nanjing 2014 games time.
In 2015 Yin Hao worked as IAAF’s consultant in Beijing under Essar Gabriel, coordinating the preparations of IAAF World Athletics Championship. One year after that, he served as FIBA China’s director till 2019, making successful coordination on FIBA World Cup 2019 which were delivered across 8 Chinese cities. He continued to work in FIBA China after 2019 with FIBA’s coaching courses in greater China area.
Yin Hao joined Druid Sport China in 2023, in charge of foreign affairs and international pro athletes (legends).
Yin Hao acted as a bridge between international sports federation or company and Chinese government, and delivered three international sport events all with the presence of Chinese head of state (YOG Nanjing 2014, IAAF World Athletics Championship Beijing 2015, FIBA World Cup 2019). He has bachelor’s degree of English literature and master’s degree of journalism and communication from Nanjing Normal University.
