British Eventing are delighted to confirm two key appointments to drive forward the sport alongside the existing leadership team working under the direction of CEO Rosie Williams OBE.
Both appointments bring a wealth of sporting experience with them which will greatly support the work already being undertaken as British Eventing moves rapidly forward into becoming the modern and progressive national governing body that it is striving to be.
Head of Commercial Strategy – Jenny Clark
Jenny will join British Eventing in June on a consultancy basis, bringing more than two decades of experience within the sporting landscape. Her most recent position has been Commercial Director at Badminton England where she held the responsibility for developing a new revenue growth strategy with a wide-ranging remit across commercial, digital, marketing and communications.
Starting her career at global sports company, IMG, she went on to manage the sponsorship and marketing operations for Major League Baseball across Europe. Following this she enjoyed ten years at the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as Head of Commercial Partnerships where she both developed and delivered a successful sport-wide partnerships strategy managing some of the most high-profile and long-term partnerships in sport.
On leaving the RFU she project managed the inaugural Formula One Esports Series and spent four years at the Henley Royal Regatta where she led their recently launched partnerships programme.
Jenny is also a Trustee of the tennis charity Give it Your Max and was on the Board of Trustees for Interactive, the strategic lead organisation for sport and physical activity for disabled people in London.
On her appointment Jenny, who has a huge passion for sport and providing everyone with the opportunity to participate and enjoy the benefits that sport can bring said “I am excited about the opportunity to join the team at British Eventing and play a part in shaping a successful and sustainable strategy to grow and enhance the sport for the future”.
Head of Education & Training – Marie Ryan
Marie will commence with British Eventing mid April and has been intrinsically linked with the sport for more than thirty years.
Holding a Professional Practice in Sports Coaching masters degree she also has a deep-seated understanding of the sports ecosystem from developing as an amateur rider through to becoming a professional rider competing at 5* level, volunteering, running a successful yard/business alongside becoming a professional BE Certified coach and coach educator.
Deeply passionate about the need for all-rider participation groups within the BE membership being able to have access to world-class, high performing coaching and support Marie said “I look forward to developing a more comprehensive and professional education platform that delivers a fully integrated training environment that offers riders, coaches, officials and volunteers the education they need that is dependent on where they are in their journey. In doing so this will encourage both retention and growth in our membership and deliver a sustainable and safe environment for all.”
In respect of the appointments Rosie Williams said “I am really pleased to welcome both Jenny and Marie to British Eventing. They will complement the team already in place and assist me take the strides, as quickly as possible, that I know we need to. We need to add value to our membership, deliver a safe and sustainable sport and also be creative around our commercial assets and investments so that we can raise the funds we need to reinvest back into growing the sport.
