Meet Nicky
Founder of Affleck & Co. Strategic advisor in sport and social impact.
I work at the intersection of sport, business and social impact, helping organisations think clearly, lead confidently and build systems that actually work.
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For more than 20 years, I’ve supported boards, executive teams and purpose-led organisations to navigate complexity and turn ambition into action. From community sport settings to national partnerships and boardrooms, I understand how decisions at the top shape experiences on the ground.
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I don’t just write strategies. I help organisations make them real.
What I bring:
My work centres on strategic clarity, governance strength and long-term system design.
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I support organisations to:
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Define and sharpen their strategic direction
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Strengthen leadership and governance confidence
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Build sustainable funding and partnership models
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Design inclusive, future-facing operating structures
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Align commercial growth with community impact
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Alongside this, much of my recent work and writing has focused on the business of women’s sport. Not just visibility and participation, but the investment models, leadership pipelines and governance frameworks that determine whether growth is short-term momentum or long-term infrastructure.
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Women’s sport represents one of the most significant growth opportunities in the global sports economy. But growth without structure risks repeating old patterns. My work sits in that space, helping organisations scale responsibly, inclusively and strategically.
“It was sport that saved me. Sport has always been my safe space and has fundamentally made me who I am. The power of sport to drive change cannot be underestimated. That's why we do what we do.
Affleck & Co. leverages this power to make impactful societal change."
Experience That Shapes My Perspective​
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My career began across education, sports development and youth participation, working in schools and community environments before moving into strategic leadership. That grounding still shapes how I think. I understand how programmes land in real settings, how partnerships operate day to day and where systems either unlock or restrict opportunity.
I later served as Chief Executive of the London Youth Games Foundation, leading one of Europe’s largest youth sports programmes and engaging more than 125,000 young Londoners every year. During that time, I strengthened commercial partnerships, embedded inclusive pathways and worked across boroughs, brands and governing bodies to build a model that balanced community credibility with long-term strategic ambition.
Since then, I have worked with organisations including several Active Partnerships across the country, the Youth Sport Trust, the Football Foundation, Laureus, the Mayor of London, Sported, The Jockey Club and Chelsea Football Club Foundation. My work has focused on strategic development, governance and board advisory, funding and partnership design, evaluation and system-level change.
What connects all of this is perspective. I understand the ecosystem from multiple angles, from grassroots participation and school sport through to executive leadership and national strategy. I know how decisions made at board level shape what happens in communities, and I work to ensure those decisions are thoughtful, inclusive and commercially sound.
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Why I Built Affleck & Co.​
Affleck & Co was built on two beliefs.
The first is personal. Sport shaped my life. It gave me confidence, belonging and direction. I have seen what it can do for individuals and communities when the right systems are in place.
The second is professional. Consultancy needed to change.
Too often it feels transactional, overly corporate or disconnected from lived experience. I wanted to build a different kind of model. One that centres people over hierarchy and collaboration over ego.
Today, Affleck & Co operates as a women-powered Collective, bringing together experienced consultants across strategy, governance, partnerships, evaluation and inclusion. We build teams around client needs rather than job titles.
It is flexible, rigorous and grounded in reality.
“Beyond my consultancy work, I’m committed to opening doors for women and girls in sport and business. Through roles such as Trustee of the Sweaty Betty Foundation and mentoring emerging leaders through programmes like The Girls’ Network and Sport England’s Leading the Movement, I’m proud to support the next generation of women into leadership. That’s how lasting change happens.”
How I Lead
I lead with clarity and challenge. I listen carefully. I ask difficult questions when needed. I focus on long-term value rather than short-term optics. I am comfortable navigating complexity, particularly where governance, equity and commercial growth intersect. I believe strategy should be practical. Inclusion should be structural, not performative. Growth should not come at the expense of integrity.
Most of all, I believe organisations are capable of more than they often realise.
Let’s Work Together
If you are looking for strategic clarity, governance confidence or a partner who understands both the business and social value of sport, I would welcome the conversation.