About
ON YOUR SIDE.
A consultancy built on real experience inside schools and sport — not theory from the outside.
Anthony O'Riordan
Founder, Onside Consultancy
Founder
Anthony O'Riordan
Anthony O'Riordan is a commercial and operational executive who works where sport, education and business development meet.
He has spent more than a decade in senior executive leadership in independent education, most recently leading business development and operations at an Excitative level. He originated and oversaw a partnership with a Premier League football club and its foundation, spanning education, women's academy and facility agreements. He also directed capital investment in sporting and educational infrastructure, and built sustainable non-fee income streams across summer schools, lettings, international partnerships and academic programmes.
Over ten years he led the development of a world-renowned schools rugby festival from a two-day weekend into a three-day national sporting, commercial and media platform. He built its tiered sponsorship, broadcast and livestreaming, brand and digital strategy, and introduced girls' age groups. He has also built formal partnerships with professional clubs, universities and organisations in the UK and internationally.
His commercial work rests on real sporting leadership: eight years as Director of Rugby at Colchester RFC, lecturing at Hartpury College, and earlier commercial and project management roles at RBS and Marney Construction. His instinct is to bring people in early, give them ownership and hand over something that runs without him.
Credentials
- Executive MBA, University of Birmingham (nearing completion)
- CMI Level 7 Senior Leader (nearing completion)
- NPQH
- NPQSL
Our approach
How we work with you
On your side
We act as an extension of your leadership team, aligned to your mission and your governance — not an external voice telling you what to do.
Fluent in your world
We understand the calendars, safeguarding requirements, governance structures and stakeholder sensitivities of schools and sports clubs.
With you after launch
We stay on hand to support implementation and any later reviews, so strategies keep working long after the plan is signed off.
Ready to work together?
LET'S WORK TOGETHER.
Tell us about your organisation and what you're trying to build.