Speaker profiles
Louis Saha, Founder & CEO, AxisStars
Louis Saha is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for teams including Newcastle United, Fulham, Manchester United, Everton, Spurs and Lazio. He also represented France, playing in both UEFA Euro 2004 and the FIFA World Cup in 2006. At Manchester United he won the Premier League twice, the UEFA Champions League and the League Cup. He earned great respect from his managers and teammates with both Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney saying he was one of the best centre forwards that they worked with.
Since hanging up his boots, Louis has moved into the world of business where he has used his experience to develop propositions to support athletes and other people in the public eye, in their careers. For his latest venture, AxisStars, he has partnered with fellow entrepreneur Kate Hamer to create a win-win platform to connect Stars with trusted service providers and brands.
Kate Hamer, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer, AxisStars
Kate Hamer is a Marketeer who has specialised in Digital for over a decade. She worked client side for more than 15 years in global household brand names such as Orange, Unilever, Tesco, Disney and L’Oréal. She understands the importance of Digital Transformation within a business and also has experienced first-hand the challenges that the organisation can face when attempting to weave digital tools, practice and thinking into the strategy and ways of working.
She has a range of B2B and B2C experience. At Orange she worked in many areas including the Trade Marketing team where she was responsible for communications to retail partners. At Unilever she managed the Tesco.com and Asda.com business in the early days of online grocery shopping. At Disney she was responsible for driving traffic to the Disney Store ecommerce site in the UK and launched transactional sites in France and Germany. As Digital Director at L’Oreal she was responsible for the UK web and social presence of L’Oreal Paris, Maybelline, Garnier and Essie.
A common theme across all of her roles, where she was often the most senior (sometimes the only) digital expert, was the education and upskilling of the wider business who may have trained in their specialism pre-internet. In 2015 she left the corporate world and set up her own consultancy where she works with a wide range of clients in sectors such as Beauty, Entertainment,Food & Drink and Sport. She supports large brands on digital transformation, works with agencies to give them a clients-eye view and works with individuals in the public eye to develop their online presence and manage their reputation on the web. She is also a tutor for Google’s online Squared Programme and runs Masterclasses for the Guardian on Search Marketing.
In 2018 she joined forces with Louis Saha to develop AxisStars - a win-win platform connecting Stars from the worlds of Sport and Entertainment with trusted partners and service providers. Her hands on experience client side combines with Louis' extensive career at the highest level of professional football to create the perfect appreciation of the support needed for Stars and Partners alike.
MiS Background
In 2017, Dr Laura Chamberlain and Faye Neivens launched the Marketing Insight Series to bridge the gap between academia and industry at The University of Warwick. Designed to give attendees a varied insight into the marketing industry and careers they may not have considered beforehand.
Last year, the series welcomed marketing professionals from the Automotive, Finance, FMCG, Retail and Not-for-profit sectors. Join us this year for a chance to meet more marketing professionals, skills workshops and student competitions.
Undergraduate and MSc students should book via my.Advantage here
Staff & alumni should contact mis@wbs.ac.uk if you wish to attend