Speakers

works as a Senior Engineer at COWI and is an expert in ventilation and climate in swimming pools as well as artificial turf. Previously, he was a Senior Engineer at SIAT (Centre for Sports Facilities and Technology) at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and is an active member of the IAKS outdoor sports surfaces expert group.

His career is characterized by dealing with the different dimensions of innovation. In addition to ten years of experience in the IT industry, the start-up founder is driven by a deep fascination for the trends of our time that are significantly changing our economy and society. The multi-award-winning innovation prizewinner led the Zukunftsinstitut Austria for more than three years. He has a huge passion for sports and already worked for big sports associations like the ECA, German Football Association (DFB), German football league (DFL), Austrian Triathlon Association (ÖTRV) or German Sports Youth (DSJ).

is a Senior Architectural Designer with over 19 years’ experience in sport stadiums, arenas, multi-functional complexes, ice hockey arenas, and sports parks. She develops solutions to optimise planning decisions and technological processes to increase the investment and operational attractiveness of the building, in accordance with the regulations, rules and requirements of international sports federations, including FIFA, FISU, IAAF, IIHF and KHL.

IAKS Vice President, she has an extensive background in the sport and recreation industry. Over the last two decades she has worked in local government, non-profit, commercial and education sectors. Yvette’s professional experiences include aquatic feasibility studies, open space and aquatic master planning, various sports strategies. Yvette has been the Australia and New Zealand Ambassador for IAKS since May 2020.

is a senior accessibility consultant with Direct Access. Jennifer brings 30 years of experience working in the field of accessibility and inclusion. As part of the Universal Design plan, she worked at Expo 2020 Dubai, advancing the Accessibility and Inclusion strategy to ensure the built and digital environments were accessible for all people with access needs. Jennifer serves on the advisory board for Team AngelWolf, a non-profit organisation that organises, participates in, and promotes inclusive sports.

Mary has spent the last two decades devoted to shaping recreational spaces. She is an advisor and facilitator with the Canadian Parks & Recreation Association’s Gender Equity Project and has conducted workshops across Canada. She is a frequent speaker at North American conferences, addressing a range of subjects related to facility design, including the implementation of universal design in spaces and how community engagement is integrated into the architectural process.

is the Director of Impact & Heritage Deputy of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee and General Delegate of the Paris 2024 Endowment Fund. He leads the Paris 2024 “Move more” programme, intended to promote physical and sporting activity in schools, cities and workplaces, and the Organizing Committee’s evaluation process.

Managing Principal at hcma architecture + design, for over 30 years Darryl has been responsible for the delivery of highly-innovative and award-winning sports and recreation facilities across Canada, including the curling venue for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. He currently chairs the Infrastructure and Facilities Task Group of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, and is Past-President of the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association.

holds a Master's degree in business economics with a specialization in sales and marketing. He has over 15 years experience in sales and marketing in the international synthetic turf industry. With the support of a Technical Director, Operational Director and Communications Director, he advises the ESTC on how to fulfil its mandate of being the Voice of the Synthetic Turf Industry within the EMEA region.

After 10 years working in Central and Eastern Europe for the second largest French Energy Company, he has worked five years in Shanghai as a consultant for diverse industries among which construction material and building companies. Three years ago, he started working at Berndorf Bäderbau for the development of stainless-steel pools mainly in the public sector in France and Belgium, working with municipalities, architects, and engineering companies.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Natalie Eßig holds as a full Professor the Chair for Sustainable Building at the Munich University of Applied Sciences and is founder of the Institute BiRN GmbH. She has a long experience in sustainability of buildings with the focus on sport facilities. Furthermore, she is part of the scientific advisory board of the Federal Institute for Sports Sciences (BiSP) and of the expert group “Future Buildings” of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction (BMWSB).

Prof.Habil, DLA is an Ybl and Pro- Architectura award winning Architect and full Member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA). He is also the owner and Executive Director of NAPUR Architect Ltd.

Benjamin Flowers is a Professor of Architecture and the Associate Director of the Knowlton School. Prior to joining the Knowlton School in 2019, Dr. Flowers was a Professor of Architecture in the College of Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the author of several books and also the editor of Architecture in an Age of Uncertainty, examination of the political economy of architecture during the 2008 global recession.

Prof. Dr. Takanori Fukuoka is an associate professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture, Dept. of Landscape Architecture Science where he teaches landscape and urban design. Prior to current position, he worked all over the world as Landscape Architect where he designed and managed various scale of landscape design projects. He is currently a vice delegate of IAKS Japan, and IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects) Japan.

Scott Groves P.Eng, is Director, Corporate Projects for the Township of Langley in British Columbia, Canada, responsible for planning, design, and construction of facilities and parks. His passion for making better facilities and parks to serve the communities he serves has resulted in challenging owners, operators, and designers to deal with sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion beyond previous best practice levels.

Mike Hall specialises in the design of sports facilities. He is an advocate of developing expertise as a springboard for innovative solutions in this specialist field, where the social spaces are as valuable as the fields of play. Mike has travelled widely, researching, and benchmarking facilities around the world and brings a national and international perspective to this field. He is an active member of the International Union of Architects (UIA) sports and leisure working group.

Bernd Helmstadt has worked at the NUSSLI Group for more than 30 years. In his role as Director of Business Development, and with his extensive experience of providing temporary infrastructures, he is involved in many major projects worldwide Beyond constructing various temporary solutions for sporting, cultural, and business events, he has also completed numerous national and international stadium projects of different sizes and designs.

David is the Sustainability Design Lead for Populous in the EMEA region. With two decades of global sustainability leadership, he excels in formulating and executing long-term strategies. David actively leads teams in innovative design implementation, maximising benefits for all stakeholders, including investors, asset owners, building users, and facilities managers. His commitment to staying at the forefront of the industry ensures that his projects deliver innovative and sustainable outcomes.

Tom is a Senior Principal in the London office of Populous and has a keen interest in how sports and entertainment buildings and events can enhance cities and communities. He has a great passion for sport and has been able to use this in the design and delivery of a number of high-profile projects around the world, including the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Emirates Stadium for Arsenal FC and the Olympic Stadium for the London 2012 Olympic Games.  He has also worked on other major sports events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup and NFL Super Bowl.

In addition to running major projects, Tom has co-authored the technical guide to Sports Facilities in the Metric Handbook and contributed to a series of international publications. He is a member of the IAKS Executive Board since 2017 and sits on the Sports Economy Sector Advisory Group for DIT (Department of Industry and Trade).  He has also spoken at a range of conferences and events around the world on the sustainability of sports and entertainment buildings.

is UK Director at ActiveXchange where he leads the organisation’s work across UK and Europe, as well as working closely with colleagues across Australasia and North America on strategy and company culture. With more than 20 years of experience working in sport and physical activity across the public, private, and voluntary & community sectors, Ben has a deep understanding of working with complexity, as well as system-based approaches to inequality reduction. 

After completing his MBA and Ph.D. in economic sciences at University St.Gallen (Switzerland), Dr. Stefan Kannewischer has worked for four years at strategy consultants Bain & Company in Zurich, Munich and London. In 2001, he became Managing Director of the Swiss family business Kannewischer Management AG that is since 1972 a specialist in consulting, technical design and operations of public swimming pools and thermal spas. Kannewischer Collection operates six thermal spas in Germany. Stefan became President of IAKS Switzerland in 2009 and since 2015 he is President of IAKS worldwide. In 2017, he was appointed by Thomas Bach to the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission.

Irina is a key member of FaulknerBrowns Architects’ renowned sports team and is experienced in leading the design and delivery of high-profile leisure and education projects. She is particularly interested in reducing the energy consumption of sports facilities and challenging traditional operational models, to drive innovation in the sector. Irina has also participated in the IAKS expert circle on sports halls and is a keen advocate for using active design principles, to promote healthy lifestyles and stronger communities.

Marion LaRue is an Architect and Partner at DIALOG Design. She was instrumental in the development of the Community Well Being Framework, focuses on sports architecture and is committed to the advancement of women in architecture. She is the lead architect for VIVO for Healthier Generations.

is a development consultant for the Danish Foundation for Culture and Sports Team Sports. He has considerable experience of advising governmental agencies, municipalities, and sport clubs, and of consulting with architects and other specialists to provide innovative, creative meeting places for the leisure pursuits of the future. Ola Mattsson sits on the board for IAKS Nordic.

is a development consultant at The Danish Foundation for Culture and Sports Facilities, working mainly on innovative outdoor and pool facilities. He has a master´s degree in physical education & health science, and he has worked with development of facilities for many years in different jobs, both on strategic and practical level. He is also a passionate outdoor user and former outdoor guide and outdoor educator. He is a member of the IAKS Pool Expert Circle and the IAKS Nature activity area Expert Circle.

A Senior Principal at MJMA, Jeanne has been instrumental in furthering the firm’s architecture and community engagement goals since 1997. Jeanne has played an integral role in over a dozen of community recreation projects, including the Regent Park (Pam McConnell) Aquatic Centre and Western North York Community Centre. Her depth of experience with aquatic centres, athletic venues, and master planning for recreation gives her a unique understanding of user groups’ differing needs within a facility.

is a Director of Engineering and the Sports Sector Leader at Max Fordham. For nearly 30 years he has been designing high-performance, sustainable sports buildings for universities, local authorities, and major events. Mark has recently completed the Ravelin Sports Centre at the University of Portsmouth, one of the UK's most sustainable ultra-low energy sports centres with a BREEAM 'Outstanding' rating. Mark is also a member of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard group for Sport & Leisure.

is the Technical R&D Director at Myrtha Pools. Based in Italy, Innocenzo is also the Sustainability Manager of the company. Prior to his work with Myrtha Pools, he was a technical manager in the automotive safety sector, dealing with the highest quality standards of OEMs all over the world. He graduated from Federico II University in Naples-Italy, with a degree in mechanical engineering, spec. in polymers and materials technology.

Theresa Rüdiger studied environmental engineering at RWTH Aachen University and then pursued her interest in material ecology, life cycle assessment and recyclability as a project manager in the field of sustainability certification of buildings. As a DGNB consultant, her professional path led her to TFI Aachen, where she is responsible for the Sustainability Product Passport.

Philip has almost 25 years’ experience in planning and delivering community sports infrastructure, mostly with Sport and Recreation Victoria in the Victorian Government and has overseen infrastructure investment of over AUD 1.5 billion over the past decade, in partnership with local governments and sporting organisations. He is nationally recognised for driving world-leading public policy to ensure more people secure the health, social and economic benefits of participation, particularly in socio-economic disadvantaged communities and for groups that participate less.

Managing Director, Smart Connection Consultancy, has over 40 years of experience in the sport and leisure industry and provides extensive sports management, programming, planning knowledge and insights into the design, procurement, management and maintenance of sports fields and facilities. He is the Chair of IAKS Expert Circle on Sports Surfaces and currently the Technical Consultant for Football Australia, the NRL, Rugby Australia and Hockey Australia.

Project Manager for Oberbillwerder district development at IBA Hamburg. Apart from the zoning plan, he is dealing with the various conceptual aspects of sustainable urban development. This includes the aim of creating a model-district for the City of Hamburg’s „Active-City“-Strategy by promoting movement, sports and exercise within the daily life of Oberbillwerder’s future inhabitants. IBA Hamburg explores innovative approaches to an „Active City“ within all fields of district development.

Cynthia Watson is Chief Executive Officer of Vivo for Healthier Generations. She leads a non-profit team trying to improve the health and wellbeing of all their constituents. Cynthia is also a Member of the Board of Directors for Parks Foundation Calgary and Co-chair of ActiveCity Collective. Through her leadership Vivo is pioneering local solutions to Canada’s national challenge of sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity. Cynthia’s focus in the presentation will be to -present the case study of VIVO in Calgary Canada.

Lisa Mari Watson, Managing Director of Tverga, The Norwegian Resource Centre of self-organized sports. Experienced executive officer with a demonstrated history of working in sports. Skilled speaker and narrator with a passion for social equality and a more inclusive sports industry.