Sodexo’s Kelly Englefield Joins Stadium Experience Leadership Team

Stadium Experience has welcomed a new team member to its Leadership Team, welcoming Kelly Englefield from Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events. Kelly is the new Head of Sales for Stadia across the Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events portfolio, including; Hampden Park, Newcastle United, Headingley Stadium, Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and the American Express Stadium Brighton to name a few. As part of the UK Senior Sales Leadership team, her role and responsibilities include taking the lead drive to drive forward the proactive direction and activity across all stadia and racecourse venues in the UK.

Kelly joins a team of expert industry volunteers who assist with the management of Stadium Experience. The association is a not‑for‑profit collaboration that was established in 2002 by 5 football clubs wanting to share knowledge and best practice about their venues and drive‑up standards. Today the association has grown, now working with over 50 major football, rugby and cricket clubs across the UK with the very same ethos at its core.

The Leadership Team meets regularly to discuss and guide the strategic direction of the association, and seek out new opportunities for its member venues. View more about Stadium Experience.

About Kelly…

Kelly started her hospitality career at 17 years old working as a matchday waitress at Barnsley Football club. She got ‘the bug’ knowing there and then on that first cold, miserable, very grey Saturday morning in November 2002 that this was 100% going to be the industry she would build her career in. Switching her education focus from business development to hospitality led courses, she continued to work through a variety of hospitality roles gaining on the job experience whilst learning.

Over the last 20 years she has worked alongside, supported, and led 18 Football, Rugby and Cricket grounds, covering a variety of departments including Operations, Sales, and Business Development.

Kelly joined Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events in 2018 as the Head of Business Development for Headingley Stadium in Leeds. In October 2023, she transitioned to a new role as Head of Sales for Stadia.

She commented: “I’m delighted to be joining this wonderful team of professionals. The Stadium Experience platform is so important to so many of us, I have been a brand ambassador/member for over 15 years understanding it’s value, appreciating the insights, and truly recognising the amazing work we all do. The support and advice delivered in this unique environment is invaluable in the current climate to ensure we are all helping each other. I look forward to bringing input from multi venue across different locations and hope to add a valuable contribution to this already excellent team.”

The Stadium Experience Leadership Team is a voluntary group of members who lead the strategic direction of the not‑for‑profit association. The team currently includes:

Collette Salmon – Sales Manager at Liverpool FC (Chair)

David Timms – Senior Manager: Venue & Hospitality Development at Chelsea FC (Vice‑Chair)

Sue France – Stadium Experience Treasurer & Co‑Founder

Nav Daine – Regional Manager (Retail Operations) at Chelsea FC (Public Catering Chair)

Aimee Richardson – Client Services Manager, UK & UAE for Provision Events

Marc Lee – Sales Manager at Principality Stadium

Jenni Ford – Director of Sales & Marketing at Coventry Building Society Arena

Kelly Englefield – Head of Sales for Stadia at Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events

Debbie Rigney – Marketing & PR Manager for Stadium Experience

Collette Salmon, Chair of Stadium Experience, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kelly into our Leadership Team. She has been involved with Stadium Experience for a number of years through her role at Leeds Headingley Stadium, and brings a wealth of experience, covering many prestigious venues across the UK.

“Stadium Experience was founded 22 years ago with the aim of sharing best practice and networking and this continues today with our growing membership. It is great to bring new and experienced people into our team, to continue driving our association forward and seeking out new opportunities for all of our fantastic stadium venues.”

Find out more details about joining Stadium Experience.