THE RFL’s Nominations Committee have appointed a new interim Board, to allow the sport to remain compliant with Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance until the next meeting of the Rugby League Council in July.
This follows the resignations in recent weeks of Simon Johnson as Chair, Sandy Lindsay MBE as the senior Non-Executive Director, and of Dr Cherrie Daley and Julia Newton as Non-Executive Directors – the latter two taking effect today (March 21), having been announced last Friday (March 14).
The focus has been on achieving the best possible interim board for the RFL to govern the sport over the coming months. This has involved working closely with Sport England to ensure steps taken are acceptable in the interim and therefore avoiding any immediate risks to funding streams through non-compliance.
The Board will consist of three Executive members and five Non-Executive members, in addition to three observers.
It aims to meet for the first time on April 1 and in the coming days it will elect its Interim Chair.
The Executive members of the Board are, in alphabetical order:
Rob Graham, the RFL’s Director of Finance, Facilities and Central Services;
Tony Sutton, the RFL’s Chief Executive;
Nigel Wood OBE, Chair of the Implementation Committee that has been formed at the request of members to conduct a Strategic Review of the sport.
The Non-Executive members of the Board are, in alphabetical order:
James Child, former Match Official who is a member of the RFL’s Inclusion Board;
Joanna Coates, former NGB CEO and Commercial Director, Board member of the FA Women’s National League;
Martin Coyd OBE, Chair of Wheelchair Rugby League and a member of the RFL’s Community Board;
Ian Roberts, Major Account Director for Bartletts and a member of the RFL’s Audit and Risk Committee and Brain Health Committee;
Emma Rosewarne MBE, formerly the RFL’s first Head of Welfare and a member of the Implementation Committee.
The Board Observers are, in alphabetical order:
Jo Drapier, Head of Partner Relationships at Sport England;
Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE, former England international, Leeds Rhinos director and RFL Inclusion Board member;
Ed Mallaburn, Senior Vice President at IMG.
The Nominations Committee also confirms the appointment of Joanna Coates and Tony Sutton as RFL Board nominated directors on the board of RL Commercial Ltd.
Tony Sutton, the RFL Chief Executive, said: “I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to both Julia and Cherrie for not only their period of time as Non-Executive Directors of the RFL but particularly for their support, guidance and advice in the last week, having agreed to stay on to ensure the sport remains in the strongest possible position.”
