Chris John (entrepreneur)

Chris John (born 6 February 1959) is a British businessman, sports executive and competitive indoor rower. He is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Sports Travel and Hospitality Group (STH), a global provider of commercial hospitality and ticketing programmes for major international sports events. He previously served as CEO of Global Events at Sodexo between 2010 and 2015.

John won a bronze medal in the 65-70 age group at the 2024 World Indoor Rowing Championships in Prague[1][2], and a silver medal at the 2024 British National Indoor Rowing Championships in Birmingham.[3][4]

Career

John began his career in marketing, holding executive roles at Telewest and the Dunlop Slazenger Group. He later became marketing director at the British Horseracing Board in 2002.[5][6]

In 2010, while serving as CEO of Global Events at Sodexo,[7] he co-founded Sports Travel and Hospitality Group (STH), a joint venture with Andrew Burton of the Mike Burton Group.[8] STH was appointed to manage the first official commercial hospitality programme for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Since then, the company has operated travel and hospitality services for the Rugby World Cups in 2011, 2015, and 2019, among other global tournaments.[9]

In April 2023, Sodexo Live! acquired full ownership of STH, retaining John as Chairman and CEO.[10][11] Under his leadership, STH continues to manage commercial ticketing and hospitality programmes for international sporting events, including the Rugby World Cups (2025, 2027, 2029),[12][13] the Australian Open,[14] Cricket World Cups, and the World Baseball Classic.[15][16][17]

Personal life

John is married to Helen Glanville, a journalist, media trainer, author and former BBC television producer. They have two children.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ "2024 World Rowing Indoor Championships | Time-Team". regatta.time-team.nl. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  2. ^ Fraser, Alexandra (2024-02-27). "Success for Brits at the 2024 World Rowing Indoor Championships". British Rowing. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  3. ^ "World Rowing Virtual Indoor Sprints 2024". Concept2 Logbook. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  4. ^ "British Rowing Indoor Championships & Super Sprints 2024 Results". racecreator.online. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  5. ^ "Horseracing appoints ex-Telewest marketer". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  6. ^ "BHB MARKETING DIRECTOR TO LEAVE IN THE NEW YEAR | British Horseracing Authority". www.britishhorseracing.com. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  7. ^ "Sodexo celebrates successful delivery of catering services to Glasgow 2014". AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY. Archived from the original on 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  8. ^ "New Venture Takes Capital By Storm". Business Insight Scotland. 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  9. ^ "New World Rugby partnership looks to redefine fan experience". www.ausleisure.com.au. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  10. ^ "Our Global Leadership Team | Sodexo Live!". www.sodexolive.com. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  11. ^ Newswires, M. T. (2023-04-25). "France's Sodexo Takes Full Ownership of STH | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  12. ^ "World Rugby and STH to redefine Rugby World Cup premium experiences". Women's and Men's Rugby World Cup. 2025-09-01. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  13. ^ "Official Travel Agents appointed for Men's Rugby World Cup Australia 2027". Rugby World Cup 2027 Australia. 2025-11-19. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  14. ^ "Australian Open partners with STH Group to launch AO Travel | AO". ausopen.com. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  15. ^ Saleh, Tariq (2025-01-10). "STH secures hospitality sales remit for trio of Rugby World Cups". Sportcal. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  16. ^ Reporter, Staff (2023-04-24). "Sodexo Takes Control of STH". FM Industry. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  17. ^ "STH Group and JTB Corp. Launch World Baseball Classic Experiences, the Official Hospitality Partner for the 2026 World Baseball Classic ™｜News Room｜JTB GROUP SITE". JTB GROUP SITE. 2025-10-21. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  18. ^ "Helen John | Daring To Be". 2025-03-05. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  19. ^ "'I found my mother's story of escape from the Nazis hidden in a shoebox'". Harrow Times. 2025-04-27. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.