SPEAKER PROFILE

Ian Smith, eSports Integrity Commissioner, ESIC

Ian Smith is the esports integrity commissioner. Ian is a UK lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in traditional sports, primarily in regulation and governance. His particular focus has always been the connection between the athlete and the rules and regulations that govern the athletes’ professional life. Ian left private practice in 2004 to go in-house as legal director of the Professional Cricketers’ Association in the UK where he was responsible for advising players on a range of issues, but also negotiating, on their behalf, the contracts, rules and regulations that applied to them, such as the Anti-Doping and Anti-Corruption Codes. For two years between 2013 and 2015 Ian also ran the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), the umbrella body for all the Player Associations in International cricket, which meant he dealt with the terms and conditions under which players participated in the Cricket World Cup, the World T20 Championships and the Champions Trophy and was the player representative on the Security Directorate of all major events through to 2015. He sat on the Athletes Committee of UK Anti-Doping for five years.