Sid Lee Sport Promotes Leadership Duo and Strengthens Strategy Team

Left to right, Lynn Jung, Mike Grumbridge, and Rory Natkiel

Sid Lee Sport has today announced two major leadership promotions, and a new hire within its strategy team, signalling the company’s continued growth and strategic ambition.

Mike Grumbridge, formerly the group account director, steps into the role of managing director (MD), while Rory Natkiel, previously Head of Strategy, becomes the agency’s new Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).

Mike joined Sid Lee in September 2022 having worked in senior client leadership roles for the likes of Antidote, McCann, Grey and News UK working across properties such as the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Team Sky (now Ineos Grenadiers) and cycling lifestyle brand, Rapha. At Sid Lee, Mike has led the way on global accounts such as Tommy Hilfiger, Visa, UEFA, OPPO, and Lidl, building strong partnerships and delivering exceptional results for clients.

In his capacity as MD, Mike will be responsible for Sid Lee Sport’s day-to-day operations, ensuring exceptional client delivery and fostering a culture of creativity, where talent thrives, and client needs are consistently exceeded.

Since joining Sid Lee in July 2023 with 15 years’ of multidisciplinary experience working with global brands at the intersection of sport and entertainment, such as adidas and Pizza Hut, Rory has played a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s distinctive point of view and has been a driving force behind the agency’s most impactful campaigns.

As CSO, Rory will oversee Sid Lee Sport's global strategic direction, ensuring it delivers innovative solutions to complex client problems by combining brand planning, CX, analytics, and marketing effectiveness principles with the AEV approaches typical of the sports sector.

“Mike and Rory have been instrumental in building Sid Lee Sport and their promotions are recognition of the vision, expertise, execution, and leadership that they display and provide to clients day in, day out,” said Stephen Hall, CEO of Sid Lee Sport.

Commenting on his new role, Mike Grumbridge, said, “This is a hugely exciting time for everyone associated with Sid Lee Sport. We are a new breed of agency that combines world class creativity with deep sponsorship expertise and a culture of marketing effectiveness. I, along with the senior leadership team, embrace the responsibility of making this a reality for our clients.”

“We often say Sid Lee Sport is probably the most effective sports agency in the world. For the past decade, there’s been far too much talk from sport agencies about sitting at the cutting edge of culture, and nowhere near enough about demonstrating commercial returns for clients. We’re here to change that. That focus on commercial results often leads to bold, attention-grabbing creativity, which you can see in the work we’ve produced over the past couple of years ” said Sid Lee Sport’s new CSO, Rory Natkiel.

In addition to the promotions of Mike and Rory, Sid Lee Sport has appointed Lynn Jung as a strategist to help plan, develop, and optimise client campaigns.

Lynn is a former professional free runner and parkour athlete and joins Sid Lee Sport from Parkour UK, the national governing body for the sport, where she has been digital lead for the past two years. Alongside her athletic career, Lynn studied an MA in Advertising at the University of the Arts London, graduating in December 2024.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lynn to the Sid Lee Sport squad. The classic advice is to hire people better than you, and from her first interview Lynn blew me away with her ability and focus. She brings a unique skill set with digital marketing experience, an innovative approach to research, a holistic understanding of the advertising industry, and elite-athlete mentality. Her appointment is testament to our continued growth,” said Rory, who Lynn will report to.