A Round-Up Of New Industry Appointments

Rugby ball on field Tom Ilube has been named as the new chair of England’s Rugby Football Union, while Polly Williams will take over as independent non-executive director at the governing body.

Ilube will replace Andy Cosslett as RFU chair, while Williams will assume the independent non-executive director role from Helen Weir. Both Ilube and Williams will formally begin their new roles on August 1.

Ilube has had 30-years in the UK technology sector and has held roles at PwC, Goldman Sachs and the London Stock Exchange. Williams is a qualified chartered accountant and spent five years as a partner at KPMG.



Horse Racing Felicity Barnard has been appointed to the role of commercial director at Ascot Racecourse.

Barnard will report to chief executive Guy Henderson and will oversee commercial strategy for in-venue sales and marketing, partnerships, sponsorship, licencing, memberships and new income streams.

Barnard joins Ascot after serving four years as chief executive of the Tie Break Tens short-form tennis series. She has also worked at Premier League football clubs Arsenal and West Ham United.

Bob Prattey, chief executive of The ACC Liverpool Group, is stepping down from the role after 16 years with the organisation.

Prattey was named chief executive in 2005 and launched the arena and event convention centre in 2008. He will step down from his position at the end of March, with Faye Dyer to take up the role of interim managing director.

The ACC Liverpool Group campus is home to ACC Liverpool, Exhibition Centre Liverpool and the M&S Bank Arena.

The Championships Wimbledon The All England Lawn Tennis Club, organiser of Wimbledon, has appointed Alexandra Willis as communications and marketing director.

Willis will take up the role on August 1. She currently serves as head of communications, content and digital at the AELTC.

In her new role, Willis will be responsible for communications, marketing and the brand vision for the tournament.

Formula 1 team McLaren Racing has appointed Claire Cronin as executive director of marketing and Lindsey Eckhouse as director of licensing, ecommerce and esports.

Cronin and Eckhouse will join the team in April and report to Mark Waller, chief commercial officer of McLaren Racing. Waller will complete his term as chief commercial officer at the end of 2021, at which point Cronin will assume the role.

Lisa Mart has been named general manager of the under-construction, 3,500-seat arena in the Welsh city of Swansea.

Mart will take up the role after nine years with the Ambassador Theatre Group. The Swansea Arena is scheduled to open later this year.

Stadium display technology provider Clearglow Sport has appointed Daniel Gray as a director.

Gray joins the company as it seeks to “transform” the stadium display technology market. He most recently worked for ADI, where he was responsible for delivering the company’s sports marketing strategy.