Jonathan Blackledge

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT JONATHAN BLACKLEDGE

In 2007 I graduated from the University of Oxford with a B.A. in Geography, international athletics honours, six Oxford Blues, a double winner of the University\'s Sportsman of the year award and British Universities cross country champion. I then embarked on a senior athletics career in Europe, Africa and the USA while at the same time undertaking a Graduate Diploma in Law. In 2009 I started my own business as a sports journalist and providing an advisory service for horse racing betting while continuing to compete as an international sportsman and graduating in law.In 2011 I joined William Hill Online\'s Gibraltar office in the role of Sportsbook Product Owner. In 2013 I was appointed Product Owner for the sportsbook transformation project involving bringing the entire platform in house and updating the page designs and user journeys onto a device agnostic offering. Owning a team of 20+ personnel working with agile methodologies and backlog prioritisation, stayed on top of the ever changing industry as every sport was updated and transitioned.In 2015, I joined Sky Betting and Gaming as the Product and Commercial Manager for Sporting Life and Super 6. By drawing upon product experience both these 2 brands were kept fresh and innovative, while the commercial gains were brought from driving acquisition and bet through revenue. Taking a fully analytical approach to the customer base and forecasting ensures that CRM and marketing strategies are undertaken to best effect. For the next 5 years I was the Sports and Gaming Director at the Football Pools, responsible for the full betting and gaming division of the company, setting the strategic direction with full P/L ownership and in charge of all departments from marketing to product to trading. Reporting directly to the CEO and working with the Private Equity owners twice a week. Launched the sportsbook and casino brand upon joining the company, grew the customer database from zero to 300k and delivered the first quarter of EBITDA contribution within 2 years.I am now the Product Director at the UK Tote Group focused on OKR led thinking and cross-functional collaboration.I remain strongly connected to sport as a regular commentator for the IAAF at major world athletics competitions plus I provided commentary for a television documentary on the first sub-4 minute mile (regularly aired on the BBC and across American networks).