Sander van Stiphout is the Director of Innovation and Consultancy of the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and an industry veteran.

His responsibility is to achieve tangible goals for the stadium operator and for its main stakeholders – the Dutch football team AFC Ajax, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the City of Amsterdam by driving innovation among partners such as corporates, research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and start-ups, while using the stadium as a fieldlab. Sander is the Co-Founder of the Football Innovation Platform, a cooperation with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), The Football Association (FA), KNVB, AFC Ajax, and the City Football Group, also known for its Reimagine Football challenges.

van Stiphout has worked on stadium projects worldwide, such as the Russia and Brazil World Cups, and was the Special Stadium Operations Consultant to the Qatar Supreme Committee in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™.