About Sarah Ilic
Elite performance, lived and studied.
A sports psychologist who has competed at the sharp end of sport and led at the top of international business, now helping others do both.
The Founder
Where elite sport meets executive performance.
Sarah Ilic founded Beyond Performance to close the gap between two worlds she knows intimately: the arena and the boardroom. As a former sprint and IBSF skeleton athlete, she has felt first-hand what it takes to perform when everything is on the line. As a leader with 14+ years of international experience in healthcare and executive management, she has guided teams and organisations through pressure, change and high-stakes decisions.
That rare combination of elite athlete, senior leader and trained performance psychologist shapes everything at BYP. The work is practical, evidence-based and grounded in real experience of performing under pressure, not theory alone.
Football has fascinated her since she played as a young girl in Dortmund. Keeping a whole team at a high level, through training and across ninety minutes, mirrors the day-to-day of corporate business more closely than most people realise, and that parallel runs through everything she does.
14+
Years international leadership
2
Elite sport disciplines competed
MSc
Sport Psychology, Real Madrid GS
Education & Credentials
Trained at the highest level of world sport.
MSc Sport Psychology
Real Madrid Graduate School · Universidad Europea
Stanford Center for Health Education
Psychology for High Performance
FC Barcelona Innovation Hub
Elite performance & sports science education
AI Entrepreneurship
Innovation, technology & future performance
Psychology
Foundations in human behaviour & the mind
The Journey
From the start line to the boardroom.
Elite Sport
Sprint & IBSF Skeleton Athlete
Competed in explosive, high-pressure disciplines, building first-hand insight into focus, nerve and mental resilience at the limit.
14+ Years
International Leadership
Senior roles across healthcare and executive management, leading international teams through complexity, change and high-stakes decisions.
Education
Real Madrid, Barça & Stanford
Formal training in sport psychology and high performance at Real Madrid Graduate School, FC Barcelona Innovation Hub and Stanford Center for Health Education.
Today
Founder, Beyond Performance
Bridging elite sport and executive performance with practical, science-based strategies for athletes, leaders and teams.
Elite Sport & Education
Immersed in the environments where performance is made.
Real Madrid Graduate School
Universidad Europea
FC Barcelona
Training ground
Universidad Europea
School of Sports Science
Red Bull
New York
Brooklyn Nets
Barclays Center · New York
Liverpool FC
Anfield
Philosophy & Mission
“Performance under pressure isn't a gift reserved for the few. It's a system anyone committed enough can learn to build.”
BYP exists to make world-class performance psychology accessible to those who demand the best of themselves. The mission is simple: give athletes, executives and teams the mental tools to perform consistently under pressure, and to sustain that performance without sacrificing wellbeing.
The BYP Approach
Evidence, experience and discretion.
Evidence-based
Every method is grounded in sport psychology, neuroscience and performance science: measured, not improvised.
Lived experience
First-hand understanding of elite competition and senior leadership informs work that is practical and real.
Whole-person
Focus, confidence and resilience are built alongside wellbeing, values and identity, for performance that lasts.
Discreet & exclusive
Confidential, one-to-one work delivered with the discretion elite performers and leaders expect.
Let's work together.
Book a confidential discovery call to explore how BYP can help you perform at your best in sport, in leadership and in life.