Few people have reshaped the way the world connects with sport quite like Ellie Norman. From the roar of Old Trafford to the sleek precision of Formula 1, from disruptive challenger brands to the electric frontier of Formula E, her career is a study in how to turn audiences into believers, and believers into fans.
Ellie doesn’t just market brands; she transforms them into living, breathing stories people want to be a part of. At Honda, she learnt the power of building trust across borders and distilling it into universal human truths. At Virgin Media, she thrived on the thrill of the challenger mindset, making a big impact with leaner teams and sharper tactics. At Formula 1, she helped pull the sport out of a ratings slump and into the cultural spotlight, putting drivers centre stage and reimagining what fandom could look like. At Manchester United, she navigated one of the most passionate and high-pressure fan ecosystems in the world, forging connection even when the pitch told a tougher story.
Now, as Chief Marketing Officer of Formula E, she’s helping define what the future of motorsport will feel like. A sport with the freedom to grow without the weight of a century-old legacy, but with the challenge of turning a young idea into a global movement.
Ellie’s philosophy is rooted in a deceptively simple truth: start with the fan. Her playbook blends commercial insight with cultural instinct, data with emotion, and vision with execution. In a world where noise often outweighs nuance, she offers leaders a rare lens on building brands that not only grow but endure.
Making People the Story: How Drive to Survive Changed the Game
Formula 1 has always had spectacle: the roar of engines, the precision of pit stops, the thrill of the chequered flag. Yet for years, the sport was wrapped in a certain mystique; a world seen only from the outside, familiar only to die-hard fans and insiders. That all changed following the launch of Drive to Survive, the Netflix docuseries that brought the personalities behind the visors front and centre.
Ellie, who was instrumental in shaping the promotion and storytelling side of the series, describes the show as “a huge unlock” for Formula 1. “People buy people,” she says simply. The docuseries stripped away the mystique, giving fans unprecedented access to the emotions, rivalries and human stories driving the competition.
“For the first time, we focused squarely on the people,” she explains. “Incredible humans pushing their bodies and the cars to the absolute limits. Previously, we never saw behind the visor – who they are, what makes them tick, their motivations, their rivalries. [The production company] Box to Box were just superb at capturing that essence and telling the story of what happens in the paddock and behind the scenes at Formula 1.”
The strategy worked. Drive to Survive didn’t just entertain; it broadened the sport’s audience beyond its core fan base, attracting a new generation of fans emotionally invested in the people as much as the racing.
Across Honda, Manchester United, Formula 1 and Formula E, that belief in human connection has always stayed with Ellie: if you want your brand to matter, make its people matter. It’s the foundation for transforming how a brand is seen, understood and experienced.
Leading Brand Transformation: Ellie’s Three-Stage Playbook
Transforming a brand – especially one with global reach and deep heritage – is no small feat. For Ellie, it’s not about breezing in with a grand plan and forcing it to fit. It’s about curiosity.
Wherever she’s landed, whether that’s the global stages of Formula 1 and Manchester United, or the boardroom at Honda and Virgin Media, her approach has always been deliberately human, methodical and grounded in listening. It’s about creating clarity, momentum and belief.
Ellie breaks it down into three distinct but interconnected stages: listen and learn, distil and simplify, and set the vision.
1. Listen and Learn
Every transformation starts with humility and curiosity. Ellie emphasises the importance of absorbing the landscape before making any bold moves. That means, crucially, she listens to not just the usual boardroom voices, but to those from every corner of the business.
“I spend a lot of time talking to as many people as possible across the organisation,” she explains. From finance to legal, commercial partners to media rights, her own team to C-suite, the founder to the drivers, Ellie asks everyone the same five questions. The result is a patchwork of perspectives that, when pieced together, reveal patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
This stage is all about “becoming a sponge.” Soaking up as much information as possible from internal conversations and surveys with fans until the real picture of where the brand stands starts to take shape.
2. Distil and Simplify
Once that picture is clear, the next move is to cut through the clutter until you reach a few critical points. She says, “There is no shortage of opportunity and growth potential, but because there is so much opportunity, we need to be very clear on where we’re going to invest our time, our energy and our budget to unlock the most growth.”
For Ellie, that means identifying “three big things” that will move the needle. This means creating a shared understanding of who the target audience is, what the company’s positioning is, where the growth will come from, and perhaps most importantly, what the brand wants people to feel, think and do as a result of interacting with them.
In Ellie’s world, these aren’t abstract statements buried in a deck. They become everyday filters for creativity, partnerships and performance. That clarity becomes the foundation of every decision, from a campaign’s tone to where the marketing budget lands.
3. Set the Vision
Strategy means nothing without ownership. Ellie’s job, as she sees it, is to set a compelling vision and energise the people who will bring it to life.
“There’s only so much I can do as one person,” she says, “but if I can motivate more people in our organisation to see where we’re going and what we can achieve together, we’re going to get a whole heap done.”
By defining priorities and aligning teams around a shared destination, she creates what she calls “followership” – a collective drive where people aren’t just executing tasks, but owning their piece of the puzzle, seeing how their contributions connect to the bigger picture, and actively shaping the journey.
For Ellie, brand transformation isn’t just about glossy campaigns. It’s a human process all about listening until you understand, simplifying until everyone is aligned, and inspiring people until the vision belongs to them.
Scaling Up from the Outside In
Formula E’s challenge is unlike anything else Ellie has faced. At just 11 years old, the championship is still writing its story. No ingrained legacy, no century-old playbook, and no safety net of heritage systems and vast infrastructure. Instead, everything is in motion.
In that environment, growth has to be intentional. “The place we should always start,” Ellie says, “is to do a complete 180, and instead of being inside out, be 100% outside in.”
That means beginning not with the brand but with the fans. On a macro level, she looks at the cultural and commercial landscape: What are the headwinds? The tailwinds? What role can Formula E play in a fan’s life? Then, she zooms in on the specifics – the attitudes, behaviours and rituals that shape engagement in different markets.
From there, it’s about precision. Which countries offer the highest potential? In each one, where’s the headroom? Is it in deepening loyalty among aligned audiences, or is it in reaching new communities entirely?
These insights dictate everything from positioning to market activations. The result is a unified brand that can speak with a consistent voice globally but still feels hyper-local where it matters.
In many ways, it’s the same leadership philosophy she’s applied throughout her career: listen first, cut through the noise, create clarity, and connect it all back to the human experience. But in a scaleup like Formula E, that philosophy is amplified: decisions are sharper, timelines shorter, resources leaner, and the fans’ voice louder than ever.
Ellie’s vision goes beyond filling grandstands. It’s about building a community that grows with every race, every story, and every shared moment of excitement. For her, it always comes back to the people: the fans who show up, the teams who make it happen, the stories that spark connection. Do that right, and everything else falls into place.
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