Darren Jayasekera

Growing up in Sydney, my days revolved solely around playing sport. Whether it was spending a day with my mates on the cricket field, sprinting on the athletics track, or engaging in competitive lunchtime football games at school - I couldn't get enough of it! After school, I had the opportunity to work with a rights holder in the Big Bash League, laying the groundwork for my career aspirations to work in sport.

When I moved to London, I had two goals in mind: find a cricket club (check) and pursue a career in sport & entertainment. With eight years of experience in consulting, I have delivered finance strategy and transformation solutions to insurance and banking clients. I am looking forward to combining this experience in an industry I am passionate about.

I enjoy problem-solving and am a naturally curious person, making this opportunity particularly exciting for me.

5:00am - Alarm goes off. Snooze - maybe tomorrow I'll join the 5am club?

6:00am – Jump out of bed, and it's off to the gym or a morning run, all the while questioning my decision to sign up for a half-marathon.

7:00am - Back home for a quick shower, breakfast whilst checking the latest sports headlines. Another win for Australia in cricket? Sounds about right!

8:00am - Out the door, podcast on play, thankful I can skip the tube and walk to work instead.

8:30am - Arrive at the office, check any overnight emails, and note down my priorities for the day. Then, it’s off to grab a coffee nearby (still haven’t mastered the office coffee machine).

9:00am - Team stand-up to update the wider Gemba EU team on the status of ongoing strategy projects.

10:00am - Present a project update to a global sport governing body on multiple workstreams across Sponsorships, Digital KPIs and Research.

10:30am - Dive into focus time, whether it’s preparing a data strategy report, developing a licensing strategy business case, or constructing a proposal for a new client, the work is always interesting.

12:30pm - Lunch break. If it’s not a quick meal deal from Sainsbury's, I’m grabbing a Panini from Ben's beloved Deli or enjoying a stroll around Covent Garden.

1:30pm - Brainstorming session with the team to tackle any complex issues on the whiteboard.

3:30pm - Link with Allen to discuss all things data, insights and hub builds or with Angus on strategy-related deliverables.

4:30pm - Final push to wrap up any outstanding deliverables for the day.

5:30pm - Begin winding down, compiling a list of tomorrow’s tasks.

6:00pm - Off to cricket training with Hampstead CC, swapping the office for the pitch.