*** Note: in-person registration is now closed. Please click here to register for the live-stream, or contact ESA Events for more information ***
It has become a perennial fixture in the calendar – don’t miss your chance to hear ESA Chair Sophie Morris reveal the 2026 Sponsorship Trends in full during the year-opening ESA Breakfast.
Sophie will discuss the results of our yearly trends survey on Thursday 22 January (08:30-10:45 GMT) at Harbottle & Lewis LLP in central London, with a panel of expert speakers comprising Nicole Pacitti from Three UK, Norwegian partners Aleksander Eide (Kreftforeningen) and Carina Hansen (Coop) and the YouGov Sport duo of Sean Miller and Matt Mills.
For those who cannot make it to London in person, a live-stream is available. Please click here to register.
Aleksander Eide
Head of Partnerships, Kreftforeningen
Aleksander, 34, from Oslo, works as Head of Partnerships in the Norwegian Cancer Society where he leads the strategic and commercial work towards the Norwegian corporate sector. Before the Norwegian Cancer Society he worked for United Nations, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and a couple of private sector companies. Mostly in the field of partnerships, B2B, sponsorships and communications.
Carina Hansen
Senior Product Manager, Coop Norway
Carina has nine years of experience working with sponsorship at Coop, specializing in social responsibility and purpose-led partnerships. She leads Coop’s Pink Ribbon collaboration and plays a central role in driving Coop-dugnaden, an initiative enabling children from low-income families to access organized leisure activities. Through integrated sponsorship activations spanning in-store, marketing, PR, events, donation solutions and internal engagement, Carina focuses on how sponsorship can deliver genuine social value alongside strong brand and business impact, working closely with internal stakeholders, external partners, athletes and ambassadors.
Sean Miller
Head of Consumer – UK, YouGov Sport
Sean leads YouGov Sport’s consumer research team based in the UK, working with many of the biggest rights holders, teams, broadcasters and brands operating in the sports space. He has 10 years experience in the sports market research sector across both agency and client-side roles, with a focus on devising innovative and bespoke research solutions to address client challenges.
Matt Mills
Commercial Director – UK, YouGov Sport
Matt joined YouGov Sport Commercial team in the UK in 2020 with primary responsibility for helping grow and develop the business’ portfolio of rightsholder, brand, and agency clients. Through this work, Matt has become well versed in the sponsorship landscape, working with a variety of stakeholders to design and build research and insight programmes that support with partnership strategy, activation, and measurement efforts. Matt, alongside the wider YouGov Sport team, is constantly looking at how data can be better utilised to drive more successful sponsorships and ultimately evidence their effectiveness.
Nicole Pacitti
Sponsorship and Brand Activation Specialist, Three UK
Working at Three since 2021, Nicole leads the brand’s Chelsea FC Women partnership and helped launch the award-winning #WeSeeYou Network campaign. Most recently, she led Three’s Lily Parr AI campaign – a project combining creativity, technology, and storytelling to introduce one of women’s football’s true pioneers to a new generation. The campaign has been recognised across the industry for its innovation and cultural impact. Alongside her work in women’s football, Nicole also activates Three’s festival portfolio across the UK, delivering memorable live experiences for fans and customers.
