Speakers at Leadersinperformance

2010 Leaders in Performance Speakers include:

2009 Speakers included:

Mike Forde, Director of Team Operations, Chelsea FC

Mike Forde was appointed Performance Director for Chelsea Football Club in August 2007. Through this role he is involved in all areas of performance relating to the Senior Squad, including player recruitment, medical, sport science, psychology and performance analysis to drive player selection. Prior to joining Chelsea, Mike served in a similar position for Bolton Wanderers where, in a 5 year spell, the team never finished outside the Premiership top ten and qualified for the UEFA Cup twice - an extraordinary achievement for a club of its size

Damien Comolli, Sporting Director, St Etienne

Damien is one of the most knowledgeable Sporting Directors in Football with an extensive network of player information from around the world. Having started his coaching career at AS Monaco he joined Arsenal in 1996 spending 7 years as their European scout and was credited with the discovery of several of Arsenal's players such as Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy. After a brief and successful spell at St Etienne he was appointed Director of Football at Tottenham Hotspur with overall responsibility for the medical, academy, scouting and club secretarial departments, replacing the outgoing Frank Arnesen and is now back at St Etienne as their Sporting Director.

Valter di Salvo, Head of Real Madrid TEC High Performance Centre

Valter was re-signed by the then Spanish champions from Manchester United and is now Director of the Real Madrid High Performance Centre. Heavily involved in setting the personal and team performance schedules of the Real Madrid players, Valter is one of the most learned Performance Directors in football and is a Professor of Theory and Methodology of Sport Training at Rome's University Institute of Motor Science having completed a Ph.D. in Sports Science.

Bernie Mullin, Former President and CEO, Atlanta Hawks NBA team and Atlanta Thrashers NHL team

Bernie is one of the most respected figures in American professional sports and brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience as a former Senior VP of Team Affairs for the NBA, President of the Atlanta Hawks NBA team as well as President of the Thrashers NHL team. With an MBA and PhD in business, and having bought and sold numerous top players in American sport, Bernie is the perfect addition to the conference platform to provide a US perspective on the business of team affairs.

Bruno DeMichelis, Asst. Manager, Chelsea FC

De Michelis has been credited with Chelsea's new mental toughness - reference a stronger nerve in the Community Shield penalty shoot out with Man Utd. In a recent interview, Sun reporter Ian McGarry commented, "Combined with Ancelotti's technical prowess, the marriage of evolutionary sports science and proven motivational techniques could prove a winning one. When it comes to a 12th man, there is almost no one you would rather have on your side".

Roger Draper , CEO, Lawn Tennis Association

Roger is currently leading the transformation of British Tennis with a new world class tennis team a clear strategy that has been widely acclaimed, and an organisation that's been modernised to perform in the 21st century sports environment. His wide experience in the 'business of sport' has included time as CEO of Sport England, leading a major review and re-organisation of the 500m spent on sport in this country, involvement in the London 2012 bid and Team England's 2006 Commonwealth Games campaign. As an elite athlete, Roger has gained international honors in both rugby league and tennis.

Frank Dick, OBE, President, European Coaches Association

Coaching has been Frank's raison d'etre for decades, inspiring world-beating performances from some of the top names in sport - Daley Thompson, Boris Becker, Gerhard Berger, Denise Lewis, Marat Safin and Katarina Witt. Currently he is the President of the European Athletics Coaches Association and a board member of the UK Sports Institute, Scottish Institute of Sport and member of the IAAF Coaches Commission. Frank is also renowned for being one of the best motivational speakers of today.

Chris Wright , President Minnesota Timber Wolves NBA

As President of a high profile sports franchise, Wright is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the team, encompassing all aspects of player and business performance.With 18 years of top level management at the Timberwolves he leads a senior management group responsible for setting the strategic direction and developing a culture of success.

Tony Copsey, CEO, Wasps Rugby Union

Copsey spent most of his career at Welsh club Llanelli, and made 17 appearances for his adopted country. Copsey, 44, worked for two seasons as the Marketing Director at Llanelli before heading back to his native London, where he spent seven years as Managing Director at Harlequins. During this time he masterminded a threefold increase in turnover as well as transforming the old Stoop ground into one of the best arenas in the Guinness Premiership. He joined Wasps, the most successful English rugby union team of the past five years, in 2007. Wasps have just bolstered their commercial strength with recent sponsorship deals from Greene King, Canterbury of New Zealand, and, most impressively, signing the biggest Guinness Premiership shirt deal ever recorded with EMC.