From the lacrosse pitches of St Swithun’s to the boardrooms of elite sport, Juliet Slot has built a remarkable career. Now chief commercial officer at Arsenal Football Club, she reflects on the lessons that began at school: independence of mind, self-belief and the quiet confidence that nothing should stand in your way except yourself. Her story is one of breaking barriers, embracing challenge and leading with passion and determination.

Can you tell us a bit about your time at St Swithun’s?
I arrived at St Swithun’s as a weekly boarder in Le Roy but after a term asked to go full boarding as I was having so much fun. My strongest memories of St Swithun’s are of discovering my love and passion for playing lacrosse which led to Junior England U18 and England U21 selection, and of the lifelong friendships I made there. Four of my friends who were in Hyde Abbey with me, and one in Earlsdown remain my closest mates.

We weren’t the best behaved and probably caused our housemistress a lot of angst, but the bonds we formed are still as strong today, some 45 years later! Weekends were spent playing matches, walking into town in the hope of meeting some Winchester boys, and filling our time talking endlessly. I did work hard and got good O levels but to be honest I was a bit of a rebel.

How do you think your education at St Swithun’s has shaped you?
My passion for history began at St Swithun’s, along with my complete lack of talent for chemistry, which I didn’t even take at O level! I went on to study history at Bristol and still love it today; I’ve always been fascinated by how events repeat themselves and how little we seem to learn as humans. Studying history instilled in me a curiosity and the ability to take in vast amounts of information, distil it, and shape it into a clear narrative and opinion, a skill I still use every day at work.

Many of my teachers encouraged me to believe in myself and be the best that I could be. The education I received at St Swithun’s gave me the foundation for everything that followed: my A levels and university achievements. I have such fond memories of the school and when I dig deep into my memory bank, I can see how much of who I am today was shaped there: independence of mind, the self-belief, and the sense that as women, we could achieve anything. We all believed that nothing stood in our way, except ourselves, which is something I remind myself of even today.

What inspired you to pursue a career in sports marketing, communications and strategy, and how did your journey begin?
In my third year at university, a friend persuaded me to stand in an election for the Student Sabbatical position leading the athletic union. My campaign motto, “Don’t Forget, Vote Juliet” clearly stuck, and I won by a landslide. After graduating, I found myself sitting in an office on £6,000 per year: managing student sport with a secretary old enough to be my granny! It was my first executive experience: managing budgets, simple P&Ls and fundraising. I even landed my first sponsorship deal with Deloitte for the Student Half Marathon, pitching them access to top graduates.

The buzz of that “yes” has stayed with me ever since. When funding cuts threatened, I led a student “strike” and ended up negotiating with the vice-chancellor at 21. I loved it all and that year confirmed I wanted to work in the business of sport in any way I could. There were no grad schemes back then, so I took a job as a secretary at a sports marketing agency. 

I was the worst secretary, and I thank my first boss for tolerating this ambitious nonsecretary secretary. After helping the team win a new pitch, I was promoted to account executive and sent off to run pasta parties for marathons across Europe, negotiating catering contracts, delivering activations, and managing the branding for Barilla Pasta. At one of those races, I met the marketing director of adidas international, who asked if I’d apply for a new role. At 24, I moved to Germany as marketing communications manager for running, wondering how on earth to do the job, but I was determined to figure it out. I did, learned masses, and neverlooked back!

Could you tell us about some of the ups and downs along your career path?
I have experienced some terrible sexism in my life: not being one of the boys, being treated differently because I was a woman. It used to knock me a great deal and make me angry. Even growing up, the boys in my family were offered roles in the family company and I was not. I think many people forget what lots of women of my generation had to push through to reach leadership roles. Happily, it’s very different now, and Arsenal has an incredible culture to work in. But for many years, being the only woman in the room was normal, being passionate was considered emotional, but for a man it was seen as being strong.

Once I was even asked in an interview how I’d manage the job as a mother of three. I nearly asked him the same knowing he had three children, but it would not have done any good, so I just took it (fuming inside). A coach later helped me channel that frustration, using empathy and persuasion to get things done. I’m still known for being direct, sometimes too much so, but that’s a work in progress.

One of my toughest experiences came after my third maternity leave at Fulham, when a new CEO questioned whether I could still do the job. Despite glowing appraisals, we parted ways. It hurt, but six months later he was gone, and I was at London 2012, having the time of my life. That taught me that setbacks can open doors to something better.

Taking a “sidestep” to London 2012 was one of my best decisions. I was filling my toolbox and expanding my network. Our small team, led by Sir Keith Mills and Lord Coe, raised over £10 million selling little more than belief: the dream of bringing the games to London. Being in  Singapore when our winning bid was announced remains a career highlight and helped pave the way for my later role as a non-executive director on the British Olympic Committee, which I am immensely proud of. Soon after, one of our sponsors invited me to become Haymarket’s first female managing director, which turned out to be the hardest two years of my career. I restructured and rebuilt the business but learned the hard way that sometimes you have to slow down to go faster. Joining Ascot as its first Commercial Director was a huge high for me. I never thought they’d employ someone who knew nothing about racing. The night before I started, I told my husband I couldn’t do it; he reminded me I’d said that before and always found a way. I stayed eight years, helped transform the brand, and fell completely in love with racing. Today, as a non-executive director at Newbury, I am thrilled to stay connected to the sport.

My latest career highlight began with a phone call from Arsenal. I’d left Ascot to care for my parents and was considering consulting when the call, from Vinai [Venkatesham], gave me that buzz I loved about a commercial challenge. Post-Covid, Arsenal was commercially challenged but full of potential, a sleeping giant. The chance to shape a new commercial strategy was something I couldn’t turn down. Three and a half years later, every revenue and profit line has grown, but most exciting for me is how the club embraces putting the supporter at the heart of all we do. We’re just at the start of that journey and I love it.

What is the best and or worst advice you were ever given and what was the impact?
My best advice was from a friend who told me to enjoy my success rather than rushing onto the next thing. At the time I did not listen but now if I have something really great happen, I am always careful to take some time to reflect and feel good. It is really important and we often forget to do that. My worst advice was agreeing to not speak up when I was in an uncomfortable position.

I regret not pursuing my complaint, because I am sure I would not have been the only person with the same experience. I was told I would be the loser in the situation as the person was so senior. The decision not to do something still rankles with me. My advice is always speak up for yourself, find the right person to talk to. If you get advice from someone that doesn’t sit right, talk to someone else.

Can you think of any particularly difficult or useful lessons you have learned along the way that you would like to pass on to the next generation of OGs?
My best advice to anyone starting a career is to build your network, but don’t just look up, look sideways. Your peers will grow alongside you, and that network will become very important. And don’t only reach out when you “need something” – nurture it and offer help where you can. I call it “reciprocal networking”. For women, my advice is that you can have a career and be a fantastic mum, but you can’t be perfect. Accept that some things won’t always go to plan. Having an equal partner makes all the difference. My husband and I both have demanding careers, but we’ve also worked hard to be great parents. We couldn’t do it alone, so we invested in consistent childcare, which was hugely expensive, but it gave our family stability. Our kids are proud of us, and while we may have missed the odd school event or bit of homework, there was always someone there for them, a nanny or amazing grandparents. Having that strong network around us allowed us to thrive both professionally and as parents. I’m grateful for it, and proud that we’ve achieved both. That’s my message to every woman: you really can be what you want to be, in your career and as a mother.

What does a typical workday look like for you as Chief Commercial Officer of Arsenal?
Every day is different as the roller-coaster of each football season is very intense. We have games most weekends, midweek matches, as well as European and international travel. Even so, my week has structure. I manage a team of nearly 300 people, so I rely on my direct reports and spend plenty of time with them, my executive colleagues and other stakeholders. There are always strategy meetings, creative reviews and reports to digest – my history training comes in full force daily! I try to coach my teams to find their own answers but also know when I need to step in and make the call.

My remit at Arsenal is broad, covering the brand, the content across all our channels, and of course the revenue from partnerships, retail, venue, licensing and membership. I work closely with our brilliant finance partners to keep a firm grip on costs, because driving revenue is one thing, but managing what goes out is just as important.

What is your favourite and/or most challenging part of what you do?
I still love landing the big deals. My team handles most of the work on our global partnerships, but I’m often the one who brings in the client or is approached through my network, so I stay closely involved. For major partnerships like Emirates, adidas, Sobha, and Visit Rwanda, I will sit very much in the centre of those deals as they are so important. I also love being part of building, protecting and promoting our brand, staying close to the creative content, and driving our commercial strategy forward.

The biggest challenge is bringing everyone with me. I like to move fast, but sometimes I need to slow down to reach the best outcome. I’m lucky to work with an incredible executive team who share the same vision for the club and aren’t afraid to tell me when I’m pushing too hard or too fast. That dynamic makes for a brilliant working environment, and I’m hugely grateful for it. 

As published in the OGA Chain 2025.