(co-founder)
Tom
Crombie
Crombie
Tom Crombie is a technology entrepreneur who built a global edtech business from the ground up. As founder of My Online Schooling, he grew a digital school from start-up to an international platform serving students across more than 90 countries, with teams in Edinburgh, London, Dubai, and Perth. In 2022, he sold the business to global schools group Inspired Education.
That experience, building a product, scaling a team across multiple markets, and navigating a full exit, shapes everything he does next.
At Elevate, Tom co-founded AIM: the Athlete Insight Movement. The connection to his edtech background is deliberate. He has spent his career building platforms that help people see what they are capable of and act on it. He brings the same practical lens to AIM: what it actually takes to build something valuable, and what needs to be in place to make it last.
That experience, building a product, scaling a team across multiple markets, and navigating a full exit, shapes everything he does next.
At Elevate, Tom co-founded AIM: the Athlete Insight Movement. The connection to his edtech background is deliberate. He has spent his career building platforms that help people see what they are capable of and act on it. He brings the same practical lens to AIM: what it actually takes to build something valuable, and what needs to be in place to make it last.
(co-founder)
Neil
McCann
McCann
Neil McCann is a former professional footballer, Scotland international, and one of the most recognisable figures in Scottish sport. Over a career spanning more than 400 senior appearances for Rangers, Hearts, and Dundee, he won multiple Scottish Premier League titles and domestic cups before moving into management, media, and sporting leadership.
Post-playing, Neil has operated at the sharp end of elite football in a number of roles; first-team manager, sporting advisor, and broadcaster with Sky Sports and BBC Scotland. He is currently the manager of Kilmarnock FC in the Scottish Premiership.
What Neil brings to Elevate is what sport teaches you that no boardroom can: how to perform under pressure, develop talent, lead high-stakes environments, and make decisions when the stakes are real. He co-founded AIM because he lived the transition athletes face — and believes it deserves far better support than it typically gets.
Post-playing, Neil has operated at the sharp end of elite football in a number of roles; first-team manager, sporting advisor, and broadcaster with Sky Sports and BBC Scotland. He is currently the manager of Kilmarnock FC in the Scottish Premiership.
What Neil brings to Elevate is what sport teaches you that no boardroom can: how to perform under pressure, develop talent, lead high-stakes environments, and make decisions when the stakes are real. He co-founded AIM because he lived the transition athletes face — and believes it deserves far better support than it typically gets.
(co-founder)
Douglas
Hoernle
Hoernle
Douglas Hoernle is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor with a track record of building technology companies across education, fintech, and retail. His ventures have operated across Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, including Karri Payments, a payments platform used by over 2,000 schools and one million parents.
Douglas has been recognised by both Forbes and Fast Company as one of the continent's leading entrepreneurs and received the Growth, Innovation and Leadership award from Frost and Sullivan. He is a Foundry Fellow of MIT Sloan School of Management, holds an honours degree in Finance from the University of Cape Town, and has spoken at conferences and universities across Africa, Israel, Singapore, Dubai, and the United States.
He started his first business at sixteen. What has followed is a career defined by moving fast, building partnerships with listed corporates and international banks at an executive level, and finding technology-led solutions to problems that matter. At Elevate, Douglas brings that builder's mindset, and a global network to match.
Douglas has been recognised by both Forbes and Fast Company as one of the continent's leading entrepreneurs and received the Growth, Innovation and Leadership award from Frost and Sullivan. He is a Foundry Fellow of MIT Sloan School of Management, holds an honours degree in Finance from the University of Cape Town, and has spoken at conferences and universities across Africa, Israel, Singapore, Dubai, and the United States.
He started his first business at sixteen. What has followed is a career defined by moving fast, building partnerships with listed corporates and international banks at an executive level, and finding technology-led solutions to problems that matter. At Elevate, Douglas brings that builder's mindset, and a global network to match.
(co-founder)
Rodger
Nisbet
Nisbet
Rodger Nisbet has spent his career at the intersection of finance, business building, and creative strategy. Trained originally in design and architecture, he moved into equity analysis before leading a global investment firm, and has since built an international business portfolio spanning multiple sectors, operating as founder, investor, and strategic advisor.
He brings to Elevate a rare combination: financial expertise, commercial creativity, and a network built across decades of operating at a senior level in international markets.
Within AIM, Rodger is particularly focused on one of the most underserved challenges athletes face: financial literacy and planning. The financial world is often overcomplicated, opaque, and poorly served for people transitioning out of professional sport. Rodger's goal is to change that, equipping athletes with the knowledge, tools, and relationships to make sound decisions and build lasting financial security.
He brings to Elevate a rare combination: financial expertise, commercial creativity, and a network built across decades of operating at a senior level in international markets.
Within AIM, Rodger is particularly focused on one of the most underserved challenges athletes face: financial literacy and planning. The financial world is often overcomplicated, opaque, and poorly served for people transitioning out of professional sport. Rodger's goal is to change that, equipping athletes with the knowledge, tools, and relationships to make sound decisions and build lasting financial security.
