10 Minutes with Ayo Fasanya

Can you give our readers a bit of background on yourself and when you knew you wanted to work in the sports industry?

I didn’t know I wanted to work in sports until I had worked in sports if that makes sense. Before Portas, my work experience was strictly finance – private equity, investment banking & management. Despite enjoying aspects of these different roles, I wasn’t working across a subject matter that excited me. Sports has been recurring in my life as a player and consumer, so it felt natural to be my occupation as well.

What does your current role as a Global Business Analyst entail?

The role of a Global Business Analyst really lies in the name. Our role is to conduct the analysis that provides the cornerstone for our client recommendations, alongside building productive day-to-day relationships with client team members. The global aspect of my role definitely reflects the company’s international nature. While based in London, I’ve supported on projects in both Europe and the Middle East, which has led to the opportunity for me to work on the ground in KSA (Saudi Arabia).

What are three skills you think are essential to your particular role?

Effective oral and written communication, the ability to analyse and solve problems, and resilience.

One of the biggest challenges for young people who want to work in sports is the lack of knowledge about available opportunities. Do you know of any opportunities or initiatives Portas Consulting runs to help young people gain industry experience? 

Portas offers internships and graduate roles across all office locations; you can find job openings on the company website. Additionally, the firm recently hosted a ‘Female in Sports Consulting’ webinar and an ‘Ethnic Minorities in Sports Consulting’ webinar to introduce and inform young people about the industry and the work Portas does. We had over 100 sign-ups for each and had great feedback from our attendees. Hosting these webinars is one of many initiatives being implemented by Portas to tackle challenges in the industry.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a young person who is looking to enter into the sports industry?

Reach out to people working in the industry you want to work in. Do your due diligence and ask the right questions, which will allow you to make more informed decisions about whether or not the industry is for you. However, it’s hard to know without trying. Competition is only increasing to get into the sports industry, so be more creative in your approach. For example, alongside traditional applications, network and see if you can get a day shadowing people across different roles that you may find interesting.

If you were to choose one person to shine a light on in the industry, who would it be and why?

I’d say the DiBS (Diversity in the Business of Sport) team, Alex Norman specifically. Having been part of the DiBS community for six months, I can say that what they’re doing is special. They’ve built a truly diverse network of people from many backgrounds in the sports industry and are facilitating powerful conversations and relationships. I have massively benefitted from the DiBS mentoring programme, and I would urge anyone currently in the sports business or wanting to break into the sports business industry to apply.

Want to connect with Ayo? Head over to our Networks page to find out more!