From Manchester United to GSW: How Nicola Adkin is redefining commercial strategy in football

After 15 years at one of the world’s most recognised football clubs, Nicola Adkin has become one of the leading voices in commercial strategy across sport. Now, as GSW’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations, she is bringing that expertise to clubs and organizations across the game.

During her time at Manchester United, Nicola played a central role in transforming the club’s stadium revenue – not by adding capacity, but by redesigning the commercial strategy that maximised it. When she stepped into senior leadership, hospitality was underperforming. Seasonal packages were around 50% sold.

Nicola explained:

The opportunity wasn’t more seats — it was a better strategy.

Through a combination of data-led thinking, product redesign and digital transformation, Nicola repositioned the club’s hospitality offering to appeal to both businesses and fans. She oversaw multi-million pound targeted refurbishments across more than 20 facilities – each with a sub-two-year payback period – and drove a shift in match-by-match hospitality sales from 25% to 75% online.

The result was significant revenue growth without a single additional seat. She added:

There’s been a real shift over the last decade. Hospitality isn’t just corporate anymore — it should be a balance between business and consumer, built around experience.

Nicola joined GSW in January 2025. Since then, she has quickly become a key figure in the senior leadership team, heading up GSW’s commercial operations consultancy and supporting clients across the football pyramid.

GSW Chairman Andy Appleby said:

Nicola was much sought after when she left Manchester United. It was a real coup for us when she decided to join GSW.

CEO Sam Rush added:

Nicola brings enormous credibility and expertise to her role and is a huge asset for us as one of British football’s leading commercial strategists.

Alongside her commercial work, Nicola is a champion for greater diversity in sport. Having returned to senior leadership following two periods of maternity leave, she advocates for family-friendly policies and broader representation in leadership roles across the industry.

I’ve seen first-hand how the industry is evolving — but there’s still more to do. If we want the best talent, we have to create environments where people can build careers alongside their home lives.