Ramata Thiam
LALIGA

Ramata Thiam
LALIGA Delegate for West Africa


SportsPro NEW ERA is a year-round programme and growing community designed to recognise, support and advocate for a new era of gender equality and representation within the international sports industry.
Our mission is to bring new ideas, underappreciated thinkers and under-represented individuals to the forefront and elevate their profiles. We do so by providing a global platform and ongoing community support powered by a diverse Steering Group of inspirational and accomplished women with unrivalled experience.
Leveraging SportsPro’s influential network, we are committed to shaping the future of the sports industry and empowering the individuals who will steer it.
Meet our Class of 2024, who are positively transforming the future of the sports sector.
Jascha Braeker works as a Manager for the Host City Partnerships division at ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the industry leaders in esports and gaming. Her team is responsible for building meaningful relationships with cities around the world, working with diverse stakeholders to drive economic and cultural value through event-hosting opportunities. She is also responsible for the strategy, development and delivery of their VIP hospitality initiatives, setting a new benchmark in hospitality for the events industry.
Before this role, she served as Partner Manager at EFG, where she supported global brand partners in activating their rights and maintained strong partner relationships across the network. She also previously built and led brand and hospitality activations at global sports events, such as the Tour de France and the Ice Hockey World Championship. Sports have always played an important role in her life, inspiring her professional journey and deepening her commitment to the industry.
Elysa is a Senior Marketing Manager with nine years of sports marketing experience in rights holder and agency positions (Six Nations, Central Sparks, CSM), working on brand partnerships and 360-degree cross-channel, multi-lingual marketing strategy development and implementation.
Elysa achieved a Distinction in the ESA Diploma (2018), and my career highlight is winning the Partnership Award at SIA and Leaders for our 2022 TikTok W6N campaign, which achieved 5.6bn #SixNationsRugby TikTok impressions, reaching a younger and more globally diverse audience and shining a spotlight on women’s rugby.
Outside of work, Elysa is a cricketer and has represented Hong Kong (semi-pro) over the last three years and Kent County. Elysa also sits on MCC’s Cricket & Women’s committees. Highlights include influencing new grassroots concussion protocols and encouraging Lord’s’ fixture list to diversify, seeing a maximum of 1x women’s fixture a year pre-Covid to 9x plus a first-ever disability match this year.
Betty Mazzoleni is a Commercial Media Manager at TEAM Marketing.
Born in Milan, Italy, Betty has been living abroad for the past nine years across Spain, the UK and Switzerland, bringing a global perspective to their day-to-day work. Since joining TEAM in 2022, Betty’s been dedicated to supporting broadcasters who have acquired the rights for the UEFA Men’s Club Competitions and developing strategic solutions that maximise the commercial value of their rights.
As someone who loves people and is passionate about pushing the limits of creativity, Betty thrives on ensuring that not only are commercial guidelines met and that activations align with UEFA’s commercial structure, but that UEFA’s media partners have a collaborative and trusted advisor to help them grow and develop as commercial entities.
In my spare time, Betty likes to watch and play (if injury-free) basketball, hike in the nearby Swiss alps and cook nourishing food for my friends and family.
Lola, a Nigerian-born Brit, embraces the cultural richness of her heritage while advocating for gender equity and increasing female participation in sports, particularly football. Transitioning from a successful career as a UK-qualified lawyer, she entered the football industry in 2016, where she has since led professional male and female teams across various continents, bringing her passion and expertise to the global stage.
As the Executive Director of Goals for Girls, a US-based non-profit organization, Lola plays a crucial role in uniting girls through football to inspire community change. Her work reflects her dedication to leadership development, gender empowerment, and the use of football as a tool for social progress.
In 2021, Lola made history as Burnley Football Club’s first-ever Head of Women’s Football. In this role, she oversees the Women’s Team’s daily operations and contributes significantly to shaping and executing the club’s Women’s Football Strategy, advancing the growth of the women’s game in the North West of England.
With over a decade of experience in sports, media, and entertainment, I’ve made it my mission to build partnerships that truly matter—ones that drive growth, engagement, and bring brands closer to their audiences. Born and raised in sunny Singapore and now braving the drizzles of London, I’ve worn many hats, though “professional matchmaker” for brands, rights holders and people in my community suits me best. When I’m not brokering deals, you’ll find me trying (and failing) to get my two dogs to listen to me, but they keep my days lively and full of joy. I’m also a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where I embrace the discipline, the art of losing gracefully, and the never-ending laundry that comes with the sport. Whether on the mat or in a meeting, I’m dedicated to growth, both personally and professionally, always looking for the next big opportunity to take on.
Coming from a sporting family and being a competitive swimmer for over 15 years, I developed a deep passion for sports, which led me to pursue a career in the sports industry. Over the years, I’ve navigated a variety of roles, starting in operational and project management before transitioning into brand sponsorship and stakeholder management. This diverse experience has allowed me to develop expertise in fostering strategic collaborations and managing commercial relationships.
At Cricket Australia, I spent five successful years leading the National Cricket Blast program, where I played a key role in driving over 30% growth in participation. More recently, I’ve had the privilege of joining the Partnerships Team, where I’ve worked closely with major brands to advance strategic partnerships and spearhead new initiatives.
As a mother of three girls, I strive to be a role model for them and for other girls who aspire to succeed in the sports industry that has historically underrepresented women. Balancing motherhood with a career has provided me with invaluable insights into the challenges women often encounter in the workplace. I’m committed to empowering the next generation of women to pursue leadership roles and excel in the sports industry.
With over eight years of experience in the sports industry, particularly in football, Camille has developed a comprehensive understanding of how football clubs operate from a 360° perspective. Her various roles at Paris Saint-Germain have allowed her to engage with multiple facets of the industry, including business development, international strategy, brand activations, events, and fan engagement. After a couple of years in Paris, Camille’s roles have focused strongly on the Asian market, leveraging her knowledge of this diverse and dynamic region to drive initiatives that resonate with local audiences. Passionate about the industry and equipped with a strategic mindset, she is culturally aware of Asia’s diversity, enabling her to navigate the unique challenges and opportunities in her daily tasks within the football landscape. Dedicated to contributing to the development of football, and sports more generally, in the region, Camille aims to make a lasting impact in the dynamic sports industry.
Laura Andriani is based in New York City and has spent the past 12 years working in DTC (direct-to-consumer) sports marketing and audience development after having previously worked in publishing and education. As Senior Vice President, Consulting at Two Circles, she is focused on helping sports rightsholders and properties drive revenue through a blend of creative campaign concepting and data-driven marketing strategies predicated on fan engagement. In her time at Two Circles, she has worked in partnership with the NBA, FIFA, Amazon, and Premier League to drive fan acquisition and retention on owned, operated and earned channels. From 2011-2018, Laura worked within ESPN’s international marketing team, executing global growth marketing campaigns for UEFA Champions League, US Open, Wimbledon, FIFA World Cup and X Games. From 2018-2020, she served as Head of Audience Development at DAZN, spearheading subscriber acquisition campaign strategy and platform engagement through DAZN’s publishing platforms.
As a NEW ERA community member, you will have access to content from the Class of 2024/25, our Steering Group members and other inspirational contributors. Sign up to connect with members and learn from their expertise and personal experiences within sports.
We are proudly supported by a Steering Group of diverse global senior executives whose backgrounds, job descriptions, experiences and specialities align with SportsPro NEW ERA’s ethos.
Benny Bonsu is an award-winning industry leader and the Director of Daily Content at The International Olympic Committee (Olympics.com).
She was previously the Head of Editorial for Women’s Sports at GiveMeSport, where she led one of the most successful launches of the coverage of Women’s Sport in the UK. Upon starting this role in 2019, Benny historically became the UK’s first female sports editor. Before that, she undertook various high-profile on-air endeavours, working alongside broadcasting behemoths BBC, Sky Sports, BT Sport, Modern Times Group, LOCOG 2012, and Alibaba to cover and produce award-winning content on and around FAWSL, English Premier League, NBA, NFL, London 2012 Olympics to name a few.
Renowned for her charismatic, direct, and irrepressible approach in sport, she is one most respected leaders by her industry peers, athletes, and the new generation of future sport leaders. Her distinguished body of work has garnered plaudits far and wide; receiving nominations and awards for “Sports Leader Under 40 of the year,” “Sportswoman of the Year” at the 2018 Baton Awards, whilst also a finalist in the 2017 edition of the esteemed Women’s Trust Award “Best Media Individual of the Year” category, to name a few.
Bonsu is on the board of directors for Basketball England, the Sports Journalists Association, and African Health Now. An advocate for diverse newsrooms in the UK and developing future talents for the sports industry.
Alexandra is a marketing, digital media and communications specialist, currently employed as Director of Digital Media and Audience Development at the Premier League. Formerly Communications & Marketing Director at Wimbledon and a former sports journalist, Alexandra’s role is to help sporting organisations appeal to the next generation of sports fans and event-goers through the development of content, products and direct to consumer offerings, while also demonstrating that sport can thrive on brand and tradition alongside innovation and new technology.
Melissa Soobratty is the Head of Media and Marketing at the Professional Squash Association.
She has accrued a wealth of experience in the fields of sports media, OTT, business development, strategy and production over the years both in Europe and Asia. Her previous roles include Vice President, Media at Football Marketing Asia (FMA), Business Development Director, APAC at Endeavor Streaming plus commercial roles at StarHub, Setanta Africa, Fox Sports and BBC Worldwide.
Fiona joined the global purpose-driven sports entertainment league SailGP last year with a mission to help make sustainability and inclusivity essential to the fabric of sport. Fiona is the mastermind of the SailGP Impact League – a world-first in sport which sees athletes race to win two podiums: one for sporting performance and one for the planet. The league champions authentic, committed and impactful initiatives and rewards positive sustainability and social actions.
Fiona has an exceptional track record of shaping social impact strategy, promoting gender equality and campaigns for some of the world’s most high-profile sports brands and talent. She was the driving force behind Sky’s corporate and social purpose team, The Bigger Picture, and led the Sky Ocean Rescue consumer campaign, which reached an awareness of over 50 million people across Europe and resulted in behavioural change among its customers towards plastics. Fiona is proud to be an Ambassador for Meaningful Business, an advisory board member at 17 Sport and a Non-Executive Board Member of the Manchester Originals a team in the new Hundred tournament shaking up and growing the game of cricket.
Sharon Fuller is Founder of Rational Collective, a specialist consultancy to support clients across the sports industry in Content Creation & Strategy, Media, Rights, Innovation and Digital Product Development.
She is the former Chief Content Officer at the eSkootr Championship and was previously Global Head of Central Content at Red Bull Media House and Editor at BBC Sport. She has been involved in innovation and tech-driven development in sports broadcasting throughout her career and she and teams she has overseen have won multiple awards for innovation in sports coverage.
Gabrielle Guedj is the Director of Commercial Rights Sales & New Business Development at ATP Media, previously at IMG and its subsidiary SNTV for 22 years as Senior Vice President in Media looking after various territories in Europe and MENA..
A sociologist by formation Gabrielle has lived in France, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in her formative years. She has studied in the Czech Republic ( and is a fluent Czech speaker ) and lived in her native France before relocating to the UK where she has been based for most of her professional life.
Kim is an accomplished marketing leader with a rich background in sports marketing, brand sponsorship, broadcasting and rights holding. She brings more than 25 years experience to TEQ, having achieved excellent results in her previous roles utilising a consumer-centric approach, and is the first female to be permanently appointed as TEQ’s Marketing Group Executive.
Leading Pepsi Sports Sponsorship, as part of PepsiCo, Kim oversaw the prestigious Super Bowl half-time show from 2014 to 2017, featuring artists including Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Cold Play, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Kim also worked across PepsiCo in Bangkok, overseeing North and South East Asia including China, New York, Melbourne and Sydney.
Returning to Australia in 2017, Kim was appointed the General Manager for the Big Bash Leagues, using her expertise in US sports entertainment to make the BBL and WBBL the family entertainment spectacles they are today.
Most recently, Kim was the Director of Marketing at Kayo Sports where she developed Kayo into one of the world’s most comprehensive sports streaming services. Her leadership drove Kayo’s subscriber base to nearly 1.5m sports fans and helped it achieved its highest ever net promoter score.
Sarah joined Six Nations Rugby in 2020 as a key hire to strengthen the executive team and support the implementation of the organisations strategic vision. A fundamental area of the strategy Sarah is responsible for delivering, is the creation of the most unmissable and engaging sporting experiences for fans through the organisations year-round offering of international rugby Championships and Series’.
Sarah has forged over 15 years’ experience in marketing and communications, within the sports and technology industries, prior to joining Six Nations Rugby. Sarah was VP of Marketing, Expansion at DAZN after her role as Global Director of Communications and PR within the business. Prior to this, Sarah held senior roles within brands such as telecoms business, Three, as Head of PR and Social, and Head of Employer Brand.