Joel Lavery

Joel has over 30 years experience working in sport at city, region and national level, specialising in strategy, policy and partnerships. Joel is a former british Taekwondo champion and GB team member and a passionate advocate for the value of sport and its positive impact on people and places.

Joel began his professional career working in local government overseeing strategy, policy and performance for leisure, cultural and community services. He joined British Cycling in 2009 as National Partnerships Manager to lead the expansion of the award winning Skyride initiative, and after phenomenal success in London 2012 and Rio 2016 he took on the role of Head of Partnerships and Major Events. He was a key architect of the ‘societal partnership’ with HSBC UK and led the major national and international event strategy delivering British Championships, Track and BMX World Cups.

He is Strategic Lead for the West Midlands Major Sporting Events team, a strategic arm of the Birmingham and the West Midlands Convention Bureau, responsible for raising the profile of the region and bringing Major International Sporting Events to Birmingham and West Midlands as part of the ground-breaking Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games £24m Business and Tourism Programme (BATP). The Birmingham and West Midlands Convention Bureau is a division of the West Midlands Growth Company.