Sean Hamil
Sean Hamil graduated with a BA in Economics and Politics from Trinity College, Dublin, then proceeded to the London School of Economics where he took an MSc in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management. He worked as a business analyst with the Henley Centre for Forecasting and then as a researcher for New Consumer, an educational charity focusing on corporate social and environmental responsibility. Prior to joining Birkbeck College he was a Lecturer in Business Management, specialising in business strategy, at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. His main research interests are corporate community and charitable involvement, and the governance and regulation of professional football. With regard to the latter, he is an elected director of Supporters Direct, the not-for-profit organisation established to assist football supporters to set up supporters' trusts at their football clubs. Supporters' trusts are democratically accountable organisations structured as not-for-profit industrial & provident societies (co-operatives), that aim to secure the position of football clubs in their historic role as key community assets. There are now over 100 supporters' trusts in existence in the UK, with nearly 30 in Scotland alone – www.supporters-direct.org. Sean co-ordinates the activities of Supporters Direct in Scotland. He has co-edited three books on regulation and governance in the football industry; look here for further details of these publications.