Ellvee, the Dubai-based commercial and strategic advisory business for the sports and entertainment industry, announced the appointment of Iain Higgins, the former chief operating officer of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and first ever chief executive of USA Cricket, as its new managing director. 

 

Higgins, who started this month, is the latest appointment to Ellvee’s leadership team, which was also strengthened over the summer by the arrival from UEFA of Brett Sherrard, as Commercial Director. 

 

Higgins, a former professional rugby-league player, who, in 2019, left the ICC after eleven years to spearhead efforts to develop cricket in the USA, returns to the UAE to join Ellvee’s growing business as it moves into new offices in One Central, Dubai.

 

He has previously led campaigns to secure the inclusion of women’s cricket in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and to secure the awarding of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024 to the USA and Caribbean. He was also responsible for the development of a Global Strategy for the sport of cricket and a Foundational Plan to establish cricket as a mainstream sport in the USA by the end of the decade.  

 

Like Higgins, Sherrard, brings with him a wealth of sports leadership and knowledge, with particular expertise in supporting the staging of major global events such as UEFA EURO Championships, UEFA Champions League and the Ladies European Golf Tour, and in structuring and delivering the commercial programs around them. Sherrard has also previously held a senior role within Standard Chartered Bank providing support across its entire global sponsorship portfolio, which included the bank’s marquee sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club.

 

Ellvee Founder and CEO, Sam Hollis, commented, “We are thrilled and very proud to have Iain and Brett join the team at ELLVEE following an extensive executive search process. Over the past twelve months, ELLVEE has quickly established itself as a trusted adviser to senior leaders in sports and entertainment in the Middle East and to those looking to do business in the region."

 

"From their years of experience in leadership roles, both Iain and Brett have a deep understanding of the business of international and domestic sporting rights holders and events, and are ideally suited to help Ellvee capitalize on the evolving opportunities within the UAE, KSA and Qatar,” stated Hollis. 

 

Higgins said: “Brett and I have followed the recent growth and success of Ellvee, which has a talented and motivated team with great connections, experience and insight across the region. We are both very excited to be working alongside them to help drive the continued growth of Ellvee’s business."

 

"We are observing an emergence of exciting opportunities in this part of the world that Ellvee is uniquely placed to support, and we are looking forward to helping local authorities, operators, investors and other entities identify and partner with sporting and entertainment properties in ways that will help them to achieve their business objectives,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service