Ian Graham Keynote Speaker

Built Premier League’s first in-house analytics department
Director of Research, Liverpool FC (2012–2023)
Sunday Times bestseller; Sports Book Awards shortlist (2025)

Ian Graham's Biography

Ian Graham is a pioneering voice in football analytics whose work helped redefine how elite teams make decisions. Trained as a physicist and shaped by years of applied research, he brings a rare blend of scientific rigour and competitive realism to the world of high-performance sport.

From 2012–2023, Graham served as Director of Research at Liverpool FC, building the Premier League’s first fully in-house analytics function and embedding evidence into recruitment, match strategy and performance evaluation. His tenure aligned with Liverpool’s most successful era in decades, including major trophy wins across domestic and European competition.

Known for developing influential models such as “possession value” and for translating complex evidence into clear choices, Graham has been at the centre of football’s data revolution informing pivotal decisions, from leadership appointments to transfer strategy. In 2024, he published How to Win the Premier League, a Sunday Times bestseller that was also recognised as a Book of the Year by the Financial Times, Sunday Times and Telegraph, and it went on to earn “Highly Commended” recognition on the 2025 Sports Book Awards Football Book of the Year shortlist.

In 2023, he founded Ludonautics, advising sporting organisations on building decision-making systems that stand up under pressure. On stage, Graham is an engaging, practical storyteller: he demystifies analytics, shows how high-performing cultures use evidence well, and equips leaders to make smarter calls when outcomes and scrutiny are at their highest.

Building a data-driven culture in elite performance

Talent identification and recruitment: finding signal in noise

Decision-making under uncertainty: risk, probability and pressure

Bridging analytics and leadership: influencing coaches and boards

AI, tracking data, and the next frontier in sport

He built the Premier League’s first in-house data science department at Liverpool FC (2012–2023), showing organisations how to turn analysis into recruitment and performance advantage.
He reveals how evidence shaped pivotal Liverpool decisions, from the appointment of Jürgen Klopp (2015) to title-winning squad building, giving leaders a practical model for decision-making under uncertainty.
He translates models such as expected goals and possession value into clear, board-level trade-offs, helping audiences measure what matters and align teams around smarter choices.
He brings the inside story of football’s data revolution from his 2024 book and his advisory work at Ludonautics (founded 2023), equipping executives to build decision systems that stand up under pressure.