Join us online on 9 September for a much-anticipated ESA Webinar taking a look at sponsorship in the midst of one of the year’s biggest sports events.
This edition of From The Halfway Line will focus on the continuing commercial growth of women’s sport through the lens of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, taking place in England from 22 August to 27 September.
On the brand side, Marie Houlgate will represent Virgin Media O2 as sponsors of the host nation, England, with Leili Rees-Evans speaking on behalf of official tournament partners Asahi Super Dry.
Tassilo Hanau and Aoife Clarke will contribute rights-holder perspectives on behalf of World Rugby and the Irish Rugby Football Union respectively.
The session will be moderated by India Thomson from WeAreFearless.
Aoife Clarke
Director of Communications, Irish Rugby Football Union
Aoife oversees all corporate communications for the IRFU, communications across national teams and domestic competitions and Irish Rugby digital channels, while working closely with the Commercial team to ensure all IRFU partners are represented and their messaging aligns with the Union’s objectives. Previously as Communications & CSR Director at Lidl, Aoife was a key part of the team that launched a partnership with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association in 2016 that has become one of the most successful sponsorships in Ireland. Aoife holds a BA in Global Business from Dublin City University, a BSc in International Business from Northeastern University in Boston and a Postgraduate Diploma in Event Management & Public Relations.
Tassilo Hanau
Partnerships Director, World Rugby
Tassilo spearheads the strategy and execution of global sponsorships at World Rugby. In his capacity, Tassilo and the World Rugby Partnerships team play a pivotal role in securing brands as commercial partners that support World Rugby’s mission to grow the sport, enhance fan engagement and elevate tournaments such as the Women’s Rugby World Cup’s revenue generation. Before his tenure at World Rugby, Tassilo had a long-standing and senior role in the sports marketing agency Octagon.
Marie Houlgate
Head of Sport Partnerships and Sponsorship, Virgin Media O2
Marie oversees O2’s long-standing Principal Partnership with England Rugby as Head of Sport Partnerships and Sponsorship at Virgin Media O2. Since joining in 2016, she has driven initiatives for gender parity in sport, notably working on a landmark deal with England Rugby which saw O2 pledge to bringing spend parity across both the men’s and women’s teams. Currently, she is leading on the Women’s Rugby World Campaign for the England Rugby Red Roses. Previously, Marie managed Accenture’s UK sponsorship portfolio across sport and culture.
Leili Rees-Evans
Global Partnerships Director, Asahi Super Dry
In her current role as Global Partnerships Director at Asahi Super Dry, Leili is leading the brand’s campaign & activation of Women’s RWC. The campaign marks the company’s biggest investment into women’s sport to date. Prior to joining Asahi Super Dry in 2021, Leili spent 15 years at global events and media agency, IMG, delivering Rugby World Cup commercial rights for some of the biggest brands in sports marketing including Mastercard, Heineken, Coca-Cola, JLR, DHL and Emirates.
India Thomson
Group Account and Women’s Sport Director, WeAreFearless.
India brings over 15 years of marketing experience, with the past decade focused on sport and sponsorship — specialising in the women’s game. Her work shapes how brands engage with women’s sport, helping to elevate the space both creatively and commercially. India leads the Women’s Sport Division at WeAreFearless, named 2025 Agency of the Year at both the ESA Awards and the UK Sponsorship Awards.
The webinar recording is available exclusively to ESA members in our website event resources.
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