"Our board needs breadth and depth, as well as individual
excellence."
Richard Lewis, Chair, Sport England
One of the top priorities for Sport England's Chair,
Richard Lewis, has been fulfilled this week, as the Government
confirmed the appointment of six new people onto our board. Here,
Richard explains why these apointments are so important to both
Sport England and sport as a whole.
"Renewing and strengthening our non-exec team has been a major
focus for me in recent months. I firmly believe that our board
needs breadth and depth, as well as individual excellence, to help
Sport England deliver its goal to get more people playing and
enjoying sport – and helping those with talent fulfil their
sporting potential.
Coming so soon after the Secretary of State’s announcement of
plans to merge Sport England and UK Sport, some might ask why our
board is being reinforced now. My answer is simple.
We have a clear mandate to deliver a mass participation sporting
legacy from a home Olympic and Paralympic Games that is less than
two years away. Such responsibility will go well beyond the Games
and requires expert guidance and governance at the very highest
level. The appointments we have made provide just that. We have
representation from all of the communities we serve and the
partners with whom we work; a board that understands the full
spectrum of sporting needs and, most importantly, that will hold us
to account and ensure that value for money is secured for every
pound we invest in sport.
These are skills and experience required right now, in the same
way that they will be needed by the non-exec arm of the merged
organisation - to make sure we achieve excellence in sport at every
level. I am therefore delighted to announce the following
appointees to the Sport England board:
Nick Bitel is a name familiar to most in the world of sport. As
Chief Executive of the London Marathon since 1995, he has overseen
huge growth in the event, which now sees over 35,000 finishers each
year. Who better to help us maximise growth in mass sports
participation? He's also no stranger to the world of sports
administration having been a board member of UK Sport.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of sport, so it's great to be
welcoming the chief executive of a strong community-based voluntary
organisation on to our board. Hanif Malik's stewardship of the
Hamara Healthy Living Centre has seen it grow from small beginnings
to become Leeds' largest ethnic minority organisation in the
voluntary and community sector. Hanif will be a passionate advocate
for the third sector on our board.
Our partnership with local authorities is key to delivering for
community sport, with councils being the biggest investor in sport
and sports facilities. As a former director of leisure services and
Chief Executive of Cumbria County Council, Peter Stybelski brings a
wealth of expertise on the opportunities and challenges facing both
the sport sector and local authorities.
It's great to be welcoming an Ashes winning captain to our
leadership team. But Clare Connor brings so much more than simply a
knowledge of talent development and the intricacies of spin
bowling. Since retiring, Clare has overseen further glories on the
pitch as the ECB's Head of Women’s Cricket and she was the first
woman to be appointed to the International Cricket Council's
cricket committee.
Peter Rowley's distinguished career in retail finance in banking
and building societies ended last year when he retired after 17
years as Chief Executive of Darlington Building Society. His
financial expertise has been matched by a longstanding passion for,
and involvement with, community sport - and indeed Sport England.
If this wasn't enough, Peter is also an expert on social enterprise
and is currently Head of Business Support at The Social Investment
Business.
Finally, I'm delighted to say Sadie Mason is joining our board.
Sadie is Chief Executive of Active Sussex which, like the other 48
county sports partnerships, does so much to drive increases in
sports participation at the local level. She's in a fantastic
position to advise us on how decisions we make translate into
sporting endeavour on the ground. She is also a former
international basketball player and her previous career in banking
will be a valuable asset.
These new faces join an already strong team on the Sport England board and will add strength as we
move forward into new territory for the organisation. Now our work
really begins."
Richard Lewis
Chair
Sport England