The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Sajid Javid has appointed Nicky Roche and John Dowson to the Board of UK Sport.
Nicky Roche CBE is a Non-Executive Director of British Showjumping and was Chief Executive of TdFHub2014ltd, the company established by Government and UK Sport to co-ordinate the Grand Depart and stages two and three of the 2014 Tour de France, which took place in the UK.
Nicky Roche said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to the UK Sport Board. I hope to bring both my passion and experience of working at the heart of Government on the high performance sport brief around London 2012 and most recently as the CEO in charge of overseeing the government’s investment in the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart, to support the work of UK Sport.”
John Dowson is a chartered management accountant. He became involved in Paralympic sport by joining the Board of the GB Boccia Federation (GBBF) in 2013 to establish their finance committee. He took over as Chair of GBBF in June 2014.
John Dowson said: “‘The next two or three years will be very important for the future of UK Sport, building on the incredible success of London 2012 and the momentum that has grown since. I am very much looking forward to contributing my skills and experience, and my knowledge of Paralympic sport, to help the Board secure continued success.”
Rod Carr, Chair of UK Sport said: "I am pleased to welcome these two high calibre individuals to the UK Sport Board, each bringing a wealth of experience and expertise with them. As the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games fast approaches and we consider the future strategic direction of high performance sport for 2020 and beyond, Nicky and John's input will be invaluable."
Nicky Roche was a Senior Civil Servant, including roles within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Home Office, until her retirement in March 2013. In 2007, she took the role of Director of Operations, Government Olympic Executive. Alongside helping to ensure that the logistical delivery of the Games, as a member of the senior leadership team Nicky also helped manage the budget of £9.3bn, ensuring outcomes were delivered on time and to quality. Nicky was awarded a CBE for services to the staging of the London 2012 Games.
John Dowson joined Coopers & Lybrand in 1985 and became a partner in 1991. His career has seen him hold senior management positions in PwC and IBM with both UK and international responsibilities in the postal, telecoms and transport sectors. In 2001/2 John co-led the development of PwC Consulting’s global strategy, an important part of the transaction process that ended with the sale of that business to IBM for $3.5bn in late 2002. John retired from PwC in 2012.
Nicky Roche has been appointed for a term of three years from 15 December 2014 to 14 December 2017. John Dowson has been appointed for a three year term from 16 March 2015 to 15 March 2018.