ELITE COMPETITIONS STRENGTHENS EXECUTIVE TEAM

Online prize draw company aims to scale at pace after headhunting major players from leading brands.  

 

Elite Competitions has made a trio of executive hires intended to help the company increase its market share of the online prize draw industry.

 

The company made each high profile appointment in December 2025 with specific aims to build brand awareness, accelerate sales and improve customer relations over the coming year.

 

The appointments see the arrival of Chief Marketing Officer Sharon Wright for The Pools, Head of Performance Alex Wall from Hoover and Head of CRM Neil McKendrick from the JD Group.

 

All join Elite Competitions as the company enters a sustained period of expansion with further staff additions made recently to its sales, content creation and social media marketing teams.

 

Elite Competitions CEO Alex Beckett welcomed his new recruits, and said: “Bringing three senior leaders with such pedigree into Elite Competitions is a clear statement of our ambition.

 

“The appointments build structure into the company and add much-needed expertise across three key departments, as the company seeks to scale at pace during the next 18 months.

 

“Sharon, Alex and Neil each come with impressive track records developed at established brands and their arrivals illustrate belief and trust in what Elite Competitions is seeking to achieve as a business and brand.”

 

New CMO Sharon Wright was responsible for growing women’s sectors at both Adidas and Nike before becoming Reebok’s global ‘go-to-market’ director. Her work at Reebok earned her a European Marketing Excellence Award in 2012, after which she joined The Pools as Marketing Director.

 

Head of Performance Alex Wall has held digital marketing positions at Hoover, Haier Europe, BT and Regatta. A former winner at the UK E-Commerce Awards for managing its 2019 Team of the Year, he was also included in PC Retail’s 30 under 30 list in 2016.

 

Head of CRM Neil McKendrick headed up Go Outdoors CRM strategy, launching multi-million pound loyalty and affinity schemes, as part of a remit to manage customer relations across all outdoor brands for the JD Group. 

 

Wright, who played key roles in securing the hires of Wall and McKendrick, said: “Elite Competitions has built something genuinely special in a short space of time, and the opportunity now is to professionalise that success without losing what makes the brand unique. 

 

“My role is to sharpen the brand story, elevate our customer touchpoints and ensure every campaign reflects the trust and excitement our audience expects. Bringing Alex and Neil into the business gives us the structure and expertise to support Elite’s next phase of growth.”

 

Alex Wall said: “What attracted me to Elite Competitions is the ambition and pace of the business. There's a huge opportunity to accelerate growth through performance marketing, smarter acquisition and continual optimisation.

 

“My role is to make sure every channel works harder, every campaign is measurable and every decision is driven by data. Elite already has a powerful brand presence, and I’m excited to help take that to the next level.”

 

Neil McKendrick added: “Elite Competitions has a loyal and engaged customer base, and my priority is to strengthen that relationship even further. By developing smarter CRM strategies, and personalised journeys, we can improve retention and enhance the overall customer experience.

 

“It’s an exciting time to join the business, and I’m looking forward to helping build long-term value for both the brand and its players.”