Ellie Briana is the Swiss Army Knife of project management.

 

A woman of many skills and passions, Ellie first began putting her communication skills to work in international schools as a bilingual teacher and sustainability consultant. She followed her adventurous spirit and love of travel to Mexico City, where she taught in an elementary school, created environmental sustainability initiatives with the Mexican government, worked in elite nightlife and event production, and began building her first polo school with professional players from Mexico. There, she became the first female participant on the Mexico Polo Tour, hosted Mexico's first female polo exhibition, and drove the development of the sport and polo lifestyle for four years through her Polo School Mexico platform. During this time, she developed a deep understanding of Latin American business culture, sports marketing strategies, event management, and luxury concierge services.

 

When a unique offer arose to found a new international school in Hong Kong, Ellie was excited at the opportunity to change the landscape of academic offerings in Asia. Although she was wary about moving to an island nation with no polo, she packed up her polo boots just in case, and moved across the world again. Within a year, Ellie had sought out other local and expat equestrian enthusiasts and formed the Hong Kong Beginners Polo Group. After building a network around Asia's top polo destinations, Ellie collaborated with Thailand's King Power Polo coaches and China's Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club to host clinics, train four Hong Kong Polo teams, and organize the first tournaments for Hong Kong residents since the 1980's. She is proud to be part of the Hong Kong Polo Development group, which is working to bring polo back to Hong Kong and building access to the sport throughout Southeast Asia's most exclusive polo clubs. Since the inaugural 2019 Hong Kong Polo Cup, the event has been played 3 more times across the region, and Ellie is proud of the sustained developmemt that she helps drive in Asia. She continues to work with regional media, luxury news sources, and equestrian platforms to grow the profile of polo in Asia as a sport option and luxury lifestyle experience. In the past 4 years, membership to equestrian programs has grown 68%, and over 20,000 horses were imported to China in 2017. 

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Since 2017, Ellie has been connecting global polo clients with bespoke polo holiday programs in Argentina. Ellie grew partnerships with La Cañada, Magual, and La Loma Polo to suit riders of different levels, and manages the client experience in tandem with the polo managers of each host club. She sources most of her horses from breeders and trainers in Pilar, and helps build sales pipelines to Wellington, Aiken, Virginia, and New York. Upon moving back to Greenwich, Connecticut, Ellie imported the Argentine Vakiano polo and lifestyle brand to the USA, and managed the formal brand launch alongside the Greenwich Polo high goal season.  Ellie is currently the director of communications for Mashomack Polo Club and West Palm Polo School. She is also partnered with Tri-County Feeds as the primary sales contact for polo gear, including Ona, La Maroma, Zappala, and Oakley brands.

 

Ellie is often between continents overseeing details for polo sponsorship, polo event production, bespoke polo holiday tours, and her own continued practice in the sport of polo. Currently, she is working on growing polo development opportunities in New York to help build a player pipeline for Kirby Hill, Mashomack, Meadowbrook, NYC Polo, and other regional programs. She is passionate about new projects that support a diverse group of players, and currently collaborates with Manhattan Riding Club and local schools to bring new participants in to the sport. She also works in curriculum development and coaches at the Greenwich Country Day School. 

 

In the great sport of polo, the vast majority of polo players are amateur, and Ellie is passionate about helping new players access high-quality polo experiences while catering to the needs of this majority of the polo-playing population. She holds a masters degree in Education, a certicficate in Coroporate Sustainability from NYU Stern School of Business, and is licensed in K-12 Technology Integration, a combined background which she leverages in all her endeavors!

Let's build something!

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