From the Pitch to the Boardroom: Leadership Lessons from Ben Foster, the English Football League and AFC Wimbledon.
Change is constant in football – new players, higher expectations, and growing pressure to perform. How do great leaders keep teams resilient when the stakes are high?
In this Sage‑hosted session, former EFL & Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster joins Laurie Hill, Head of Finance at AFC Wimbledon and Andrea Brown, Director of Football Operations at the English Football League (EFL), to share leadership lessons from the pitch to the boardroom. Drawing on elite sport and EFL leadership experience, the panel explores leading under pressure, protecting culture, making tough decisions & adapting to change.
Lessons accountants can learn from elite sport
The one-hour stage presentation, delivered by Steve and Roger, explores the non-negotiable traits of high performance in sport. Drawing on their own journeys, they reveal how these principles were forged through personal experience and how they translate directly into the mindset and behaviours required for success within any organisation.
Through powerful storytelling, Steve and Roger share the highs of success and the lessons learned from the challenges they faced along the way. Each story connects back to a simple idea: how individuals in the room can develop the mindset, resilience and habits needed to perform at their best.
The ROI of relationships: How community interaction builds better businesses
We’re bringing four people to the stage who have each built, shaped, or supported real communities—very different ones—and seen first-hand how they create value that lasts.
Together, these four perspectives answer one core question:
Why do businesses rooted in communities perform better over time?
1 They retain clients longer.
2 They rely less on constant marketing spend.
3 They weather crises better.
4 They attract better people.
5 And they build trust—something no algorithm or automation can replace.