Commonwealth Games England will appoint Delia Bushell, Mark Hanson and Dame Caroline Spelman as non-executive directors to join the board in June, following the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, where Team England are sending their largest and most diverse team to compete at any overseas Games.
The three new non-executive directors will join a board which is chaired by Ian Metcalfe and has ex-Commonwealth and Olympic champion, Denise Lewis as its president. They will join the board at a very exciting time as Commonwealth Games England prepares to be the host association for the next Games in Birmingham in 2022. The new appointments put Commonwealth Games England at the forefront of compliance with the Sport England Governance Code, and reflect the organisation’s commitment to gender parity.
Delia Bushell is a media executive with over 20 years’ experience in media, sport, telecoms and strategy consulting. For the past three years she was Managing Director of BT Sport & BT TV, leading BT’s Sport channels, its PayTV platform and the acquisition of premium sports, entertainment & movie rights.
Prior to this, Delia spent 14 years at Sky in a variety of different role, including as Chief Commercial Officer of Sky Italia, Director of Broadband & Telephony for Sky UK, as Managing Director for Sky Ireland, and as Commercial Director for Sky Networks. Before joining Sky, she spent four years as a strategy consultant and at Pearson plc, and she holds an MA in Modern History and an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University. She has three daughters and is passionate about encouraging female participation in sport.
Delia said:
“I am delighted to be joining the CGE Board and to have the opportunity to support the future success of the Commonwealth Games and of Team England’s performance, in the build-up to an exciting host games in Birmingham in 2022.”
Mark Hanson comes from a background in strategy consulting, diplomacy and the military with high level experience in non-executive roles in the sports world. He is the former Deputy Chairman at UK Sport and was a member on the London 2017 World Athletic Championships board.
In addition, he brings two years of non-executive experience on the Modern Pentathlon Association of Great Britain board to Commonwealth Games England.
Mark said:
“It couldn’t be a more important time for both the Commonwealth Games movement and Commonwealth Games England and I am looking forward to joining the team in the lead up to a very exciting home Games with Birmingham 2022.”
Mark has a deep interest in a wide range of sports and has completed ultra-marathons, including the six-day marathon des Sables across the Sahara and an open-water swimming relay across the English Channel, Alcatraz to San Francisco and the Isle of Wight.
Dame Caroline Spelman comes to Commonwealth Games England with an impressive history as a politician and public servant. She spent her early career with the National Farmers Union and was first elected as the Member of Parliament for the Meriden Constituency in 1997. She has served the West Midlands constituency for over 20 years.
Dame Caroline has held varied and prominent Ministerial positions, including serving as Secretary of State for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Dame Caroline said:
“I am delighted to be joining Commonwealth Games England at such an exciting time as we will be hosting the next Games in 2022. As a West Midlands MP, I want bring all my experience and local knowledge to help Team England excel in front of the home crowd and to ensure all our visitors gain a great impression of our region. Living in the West Midlands myself, I know we are all so thrilled that the Games is coming to Birmingham and I am very excited to be a part of it.”
Dame Caroline is passionate about sports. She is a former junior athlete in the discus throw and county hockey player and continues to play hockey with the Lords and Common’s team. Her eldest son is a professional rugby player for Bedford and her youngest son has been living in Australia. Her husband, Mark, is a former non-executive director of Sports England and currently sits on the board of Harlequins Rugby Football Club.
Commonwealth Games England chairman, Ian Metcalfe, said:
“I’m very pleased to announce the three new non-executive directors who will be joining the board at Commonwealth Games England. Their calibre of experience in sports really adds to the existing talent on our board.
They bring an incredible wealth and depth of knowledge in politics, media and public affairs that will make great additions to our team as we prepare to host the next Games in Birmingham in 2022.”
The new non-executives will take up their roles in place of Hamish McInnes, David Ross and Martin Thomas who have devoted numerous years to supporting Team England through past Commonwealth Games and will remain on the board until after the Gold Coast 2018 Games.
Team England will send a team of around 600 athletes and staff in what will be England’s largest ever team to represent the nation in an overseas sporting event. The team will compete in 18 sports, including 38 para medal events.