Sport is an absolute passion for James

Whether it is corporate hospitality at sporting events like the Dubai Grand Prix or Wimbledon or raising over £ 4 million for charities across the UK, CEO of Impulse Decisions, James Marsden always puts his employees and clients first. We talked to him about his career and future ambitions.

Passionate about sports throughout his life, and since attending Northumbria University studying Geography with Sports Management, the seeds were sown for James to turn his passion into a career. "Whilst I love sport it was quite a random degree to choose, but in the final year, one module of the course included Event Management. As part of this, we ran a golf day for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. This was a huge success, and it really piqued my interest levels In Event Management. My career basically unfolded from there, but I have always worked since being young, from doing a paper round, to working in a steel fabrication unit, to the shop floor in Fenwick’s department store, and bar/pub shifts. I've always wanted to earn my own money and support myself to ultimately become my own boss. Sport however is my absolute passion. If I didn’t do what I currently do, I'd love to be a sports lawyer/agent. Stil l time? Maybe.”

Launching Impulse Decisions in 2010, James put all his experience to use. "Following my degree I worked in Manchester for an events company. Whilst I was only there for 6 months, this was enough to give me the confidence to give it a go myself. It was a young age to start my own company, but I had the ambition and drive needed, and we now employ over twenty people. The scope of our business includes corporate hospitality at all major sporting events, but we also do a lot of event management. Alongside this, we support charities by running auctions and have now reached the incredible fundraising figure of over £ 4 million for all the charities that we have supported since March 2021. We not only run the auctions but also support charities by providing some of the prizes, which are often limitededition pieces or experiences they wouldn't otherwise have access to. We have the opportunity to give back through a lot of the work we do, and we get a lot of job satisfaction being ab le to do this."

With a focus on the development of his employees, how does this work in practice? "We very much have an employee-first approach in the office. All of this was prior to the pandemic, but that also contributed to our policies, to ensure we supported and look after every team member. The whole team does fitness training once a week and has allocated time for personal development, whether this relates to their own well-being or developing their roles. People have done everything from creating a putting green in their garden to reading self-development or businessrelated books and courses. I also think it is important for the team to experience the events we are selling to our customers so that most of the team gets the opportunity to attend and experience our packages firsthand. This ranges from golf days to Grand Prix and even horse racingwe cover all sports. Earlier this year some of the team also did mental health training, and we run monthly events for everyone to join In. This has included pottery painting, walks

Fact File

Wife/partner name:

Charlotte

What car do you drive?

Mercedes

What do you do in your leisure time?

Sport and dine out with friends and family.

Where is your favourite restaurant?

Hard to say, been very luckymaybe Shaun Rankin at Grantley or Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

What is your favourite food and drink?

Depends on my moodhomemade spaghetti Bolognese or steak with parmesan, salad and balsamic vinegar especially from somewhere in Italy.

Where is your favourite holiday destination?

Italy but a caveat here is that it depends on what we are doing and who I am with.

Where is your favourite place in Yorkshire?

Home

What is your favourite gadget?

Phone

What couldn’t you live without?

Sport and more recently a group of us took part in the Tough Mudder! We are all part of the team, and we all look out for each other".

So what is a typical day like for James? "Wake up, shower, some days I have to do a morning check-in with a coach that I'm working with, breakfast at home, big kiss to son and wife before leaving for the office. Arrive at the office between 8:30 and 09:00, say hello to every team member individually and check that they are ok, ask about their plans for the day, go back to my laptop and get through the priority emails. Have meetings with team members and calls with clients and suppliers. Sometimes collect my son from pre-school then head to either the gym, go for a walk, play golf etc. Try to get home in time to read him a bedtime story. And if I'm not doing that you will see me at some form of charity or sports event around the country."

So what does th e future hold?

"I want to con tinue to build Impulse revenues and profitability. As part of this I want to ensure we also work with more charities and continue to raise large sums of money for them around the UK and beyo nd. The future is exciting!".