LDC Top 50 2024
Nick Keller
Founder
Benchmark
Nick Keller created Benchmark with a mission to use the power of sport to improve society. Benchmark, which is now a B Corp, is a group of companies that includes a social impact consultancy, and it helps brands to drive value in areas such as wellbeing and sustainability.
“We were a live events business, so the pandemic cut us in half, but now we’re back, turning over £14m,” says Keller. “We’re opening a new European office and growing in the US.” According to Keller, who was described as “unteachable” at school, “there’s nothing better than driving value in society and for our clients at the same time.”
Driving value in your business and in society is the ultimate reward.”
Q&A
How have you grown the businesses?
Our growth has come from a big focus on our market leading ESG consulting and strategy business, Think Beyond. We now work with the likes of Liverpool FC, Persil, Subway and Audible. TrybWorld, our active wellness consultancy, has also seen the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay go from no cities to 14 financial centres across the globe and secure new blue chip clients. Then there’s the Sport Industry Awards, which are well and truly back, cemented as the main industry event of the year. In three years, the team at Benchmark has gone from 40 to 75 people and we have worked in every continent.
What is Benchmark?
Our strapline is “United by Sport, Driven by Purpose.” We are a group of businesses that help organisations to develop and deliver their strategies around purpose, people and the planet. We help brands and sporting institutions to drive value in complex areas such as wellbeing and sustainability through our consultancies Think Beyond and TrybWorld, and our solutions tend to be based around sports and active experiences.
We also run a global foundation, Beyond Sport, which helps to fund initiatives that focus on sport’s role in racial justice, mental wellbeing, crisis response, access to movement, and gender equality. This delivers intentional social impact.
Where does your passion for business come from?
I’m passionate about a more intelligent form of capitalism, and the ability to use sport and wellness to create positive outcomes in both business and society. Sport was invaluable to me when growing up.
There’s also nothing better than watching a super bright group of people come together around an idea – and it working!
