Feldspar, the sports technology company redefining sports from the ground up, today announced the appointment of two sport industry veterans, Mark England, OBE and Spencer Barden as Senior Strategic Advisors, to support Feldspar’s next phase of growth. 

England and Barden will help accelerate go-to-market plans for Feldspar’s next-generation, sensor-enabled high-performance sports flooring. Designed to enhance performance, reduce injury risk, and unlock real-time data at scale, the technology transforms the surface beneath athletes into a powerful source of insight for training, competition, and recovery.

Together, the advisors bring decades of combined experience across elite sport, global venues, technology, and commercial strategy, supporting Feldspar’s ambition to scale, strategic partnerships, and sports ecosystem integration.

Mark England, who brings more than three decades of experience in elite and Olympic sport will lead senior business development across international sports federations and elite sports sector. His focus will be on proof-of-concept opportunities and high-performance facilities globally.  

Spencer Barden, a seasoned executive in elite sport including nearly a decade at British Athletics and currently also Head of Elite Athletes at London Marathon Events,  will oversee relationships across the athlete, coaching, and sports organisation ecosystem, supporting adoption and integration within elite performance environments.

Alvina Chen, Founder and CEO of Feldspar said “I couldn’t be happier to welcome Mark and Spencer to Feldspar. They bring deep experience across elite sport, global venues, technology, and commercial strategy, and their insights will be instrumental as we scale internationally and build strategic partnerships and business opportunities, starting in athletics. I am confident they will help accelerate our ambition to become the world’s leading sports flooring provider for stadiums, live event organisers, and high-performance training centres, and to redefine how athletes train and compete in an increasingly data-driven world”

Their appointments build on Feldspar’s strong product development progress in 2025, including the completion of its first functional prototype and a major technical milestone: rigorous third-party testing by SportsLabs, which confirmed that Feldspar’s latest prototype track surfaces demonstrate compliance with World Athletics standards. This achievement represents an important step toward full World Athletics certification for a globally recognised athletic running track system.

‍About Mark England OBE

Mark England OBE is a senior leader in elite and Olympic sport with more than 35-year career in UK sport administration. As Chef de Mission, he has led Team GB at the Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and Team England at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Mark spent over two decades at the British Olympic Association, attending seven Summer and five Winter Olympic Games in leadership roles. He was awarded an OBE for Services to Olympic Sport in the 2016 New Year Honours.

‍About Spencer Barden

Spencer Barden is a senior leader in elite sport, with extensive international experience working across athletes, coaches, and high-performance organisations. He held senior roles at British Athletics for over a decade, contributing to major global events including the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games and multiple World Athletics Championships. He later led major events at the London Diamond League. Spencer currently serves as Head of Elite Athletes at London Marathon Events and holds consulting roles with leading federations in the Middle East, alongside board positions with the Diamond League and European Athletics Meetings. A former elite athlete, he competed internationally for 15 years, including six World Cross Country Championships and two European Cross Country Championships.

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