Meet the Team
HITESH PATEL
Executive Director
Hitesh joined the Coalition as Executive Director in April 2022 after almost two decades working in UK Civil Service where a large part of his career focused on sport at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). As Head of International Sport, Major Sports Events and Sports Integrity, he oversaw the UK’s engagement in international sport policy across areas including anti-corruption, anti-doping, match-fixing, governance, soft power and sport for development, representing the UK in various intergovernmental and multilateral settings including the Commonwealth, Council of Europe, EU, G20, OECD, UNESCO, UNODC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He played a leading role in the development of the ‘International Partnership against Corruption in Sport’ (IPACS) in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other international sports organisations, and helped develop the first UK Code for Sports Governance working with Sport England and UK Sport.Hitesh, who is originally from West Bromwich, led on the UK Government’s support for the programme of major sports events following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart, 2015 Rugby World Cup, 2017 IAAF and IPC World Championships, 2019 UCI Road World Championships and last year’s UEFA Euro 2020. He also worked as Head of Music, Publishing and Copyright at DCMS where he oversaw a key workstream on the economics of music streaming. Hitesh also holds a number of voluntary roles relating to sport for development, including Chair of Sport 4 Life UK, and trustee of the Tennis Foundation and the Albion Foundation, the charitable arm of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. He is Rapporteur to UNESCO’s International Convention against Doping in Sport, a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Governance Task Force, and also chaired WADA’s Independent Observer team at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
ANDREW SHAW
Operations Manager
Andrew joined the Coalition in July 2024 on a secondment from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), bringing with him a wealth of experience in securing and delivering major international sporting events. During his tenure at DCMS, Andrew played a key role in organising and securing several high-profile events, including the 2019 UCI Road World Championships, the 2020 Men’s and 2022 Women’s UEFA European Championships, the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, and the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final.
His strategic leadership has been instrumental in helping to secure some of the UK's largest upcoming sporting events, such as the 2025 Rugby World Cup, the 2028 UEFA European Championships, and the 2030 T20 Cricket World Cup. Andrew's work has not only brought these significant events to the UK but has also fostered community engagement and encouraged increased participation in local sports and leisure activities.
Andrew also previously worked in what was once the digital arm of the department where he project managed multi stakeholder delegations from across government and the private sector at UN negotiating conferences, including the ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference in Dubai and the ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Conference in Argentina.
ERIN KIRBY
Administration & Logistics
Erin joined the Coalition team in 2020 and provides administration and logistics support across all work streams. Prior to joining, Erin spent 18 years at the Rugby Football Union working in rugby development where she supported 250+ staff working at the grass roots level within clubs, schools and universities.