Claire Kelly

I love problem solving and psychology, so I’m forever asking “why” questions.  Inevitably this has led me to a career in insights and strategy.  For over a decade I have worked consultancy and client side in the Retail, Sports & Entertainment industries, solving big nutty problems with customer-led analytics and tech solutions.

Together with my family, my big passion is playing and watching sport.  Whether it be football, rugby, tennis, cricket, F1, I love the inevitable rollercoaster of emotions that comes with being a fan.  I love playing racquet sports and have recently become hooked on Padel, which I try to play twice a week.  To be able to combine my professional and personal life by working in sport continues to be a pinch myself moment.

I’m incredibly excited to be part of the industry push towards more high profile and successful Women’s sporting calendar, as well as diving deep into ensuring we successfully baton pass sports participation and engagement onto Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

My role at Gemba Europe is to ensure our partner clients receive best in class work across our data, insights and advisory projects, as well as making sure our business is operationally set up for success.

6:00am – Alarm goes off.  Scramble around trying to turn it off before it wakes up my two toddlers. Get up and enjoy a quiet cup of tea to myself whilst flicking through overnight emails from Condo and the team in Australia. Realise it’s my turn to do the kids school and nursery drop off so quickly get changed and brace for impact.

7:00am – Morning bedlam begins as I hear the inevitable “it’s wakey time, can we come downstairs?!” from the kids. Hurtle at 100mph through breakfast, 3 rounds of “The Pizza Game: and 1 Paw Patrol, before managing to get the kids dressed and out of the door.

9:00am – Regain my composure on the way into work. Enjoy listening to the latest Unofficial Partner podcast, and check and re-check whether Man Utd could yet have an outside shot at the title.

10:00am – Start my day chatting to Gemba and Turnstile teams about current and future opportunities. Try my best not to appear too over-excited about the number of potential Padel projects on the horizon.

11:00am – Meet another brilliant client-side connection to add to my network in the industry. Their passion, energy and ideas remind me just how much I love working in sport & entertainment.

12:30pm – Create a presentation for a potential client showcasing Gemba’s capabilities and case studies.

3:00pm – Speak to a potential candidate who is interested in joining Gemba in our London office.

4:30pm – Chat to Rob and Nic about our respective days. Try and fail to remember to only say Padel once every 3 sentences.

6:00pm – Head home to do the kids bath and bedtime. Confirm that working in Paddington means I enjoyed my regular marmalade sandwich with Paddington bear today.

7:30pm – Play Padel with my husband and love every minute of it.