Tennis Wales has appointed two exceptionally strong independent board members as part of their good governance strategy.
[aoa id=”1″]Mike Jones has a leading role in Strategic Partnerships and Global Marketing for BP, including leading on BP’s current sponsorship of Formula 1 Motor Racing. Based in Cardiff, Mike has been around the tennis scene for a number of years supporting his daughter who is a talented tennis player and an international footballer. Jones said he is delighted to take on the role and said “I have a passion for sport and I would like to use the experience and contacts that I have built up during my career to support the objectives of inspiring and supporting more opportunities for tennis in Wales”.[/aoa]
Likewise, Neil O’Doherty also comes with an extremely impressive CV. O’Doherty is currently the HR Director for Europe for C & J Clarks and is responsible for Head Office functions and trading channels across Europe with 13,000 team members. With his primary purpose being to build a high performance culture in tune with the values and business objectives of the company, he is looking forward to bringing that type of positive influence into the Tennis Wales organisation. As an active tennis player at Penallt Tennis Club, O’Doherty says that tennis is an important part of his family’s lifestyle. He said:
“Tennis Wales have painted an exciting vision of the future, and for me, the chance to work to help support the growth of a sport I love is an opportunity I cannot miss”.
The appointment of these two new board positions is part of an on-going evolution of the governance structure of Tennis Wales and the Tennis Wales board. In 2017 Tennis Wales made several significant changes to its constitution to allow for a different looking board structure. This led to the appointment earlier this year of Barry Cawte as the first Independent Chair of Tennis Wales, and also allowed for the number of independent board members to be increased from 3 to 5. Cawte is excited by the appointment of such outstanding individuals to the Tennis Wales board and said:
“It’s fantastic to have Mike and Neil coming onto the board with such world class business backgrounds and such a passion to use their expertise to help benefit Tennis Wales. We want Tennis Wales to be at the forefront of British tennis and British sport, and having people of this calibre coming onto our board will really help to make that happen”.
Peter Drew, Chief Executive of Tennis Wales, was equally enthusiastic about the appointments saying
“Having a strong and professional board is absolutely crucial to being successful with our ambitious plans for Welsh tennis. We want to transform tennis in Wales and make it a sport that is accessible to everyone and played right across all communities in Wales. Success in the sporting arena starts with success in the board room, and having Mike and Neil coming onto the board is such a positive development for Tennis Wales”.
