Gary Adey has been named the new chair of the Triathlon Trust, bringing with him experience as a Group Director at Vodafone and as the Chair of the Teenage Cancer Trust Corporate Board.

Adey will lead the Trustees of the Triathlon Trust in working alongside British Triathlon, Triathlon England, Triathlon Scotland and Welsh Triathlon to help bring swim, bike, run to the next generation of children and young people looking to get active.

Describing himself as a “passionate and enthusiastic later developer” in terms of triathlon, the role of chair provides Adey with the opportunity to combine three of his personal passions – supporting charitable causes, diversity & inclusion and triathlon.

A member of  Tri20 Triathlon Club, he completed his first sprint triathlon in 2018 having been an endurance runner and cyclist beforehand. After falling in love with the sport, he overcame his fears of the standard distance swim and completed his first standard distance triathlon in 2019 at the Birmingham Triathlon.

On top of 25 years in the telecommunications industry, during which time he has worked across various business functions including sales, operations, finance and marketing, Adey serves on the board of the Vodafone Business Ventures, which is a social enterprise established to support the Vodafone Foundation.

He is also currently the Chair of the Teenage Cancer Trust Corporate Board, working with the other board members to help raise money to fund specialist patient care and support services to ensure no young person in the UK has to battle cancer alone.

Recognising the service of outgoing chair, Joe Garner, British Triathlon has established a new Joe Garner Award which will be awarded annually in recognition of an individual or organisation who has done most to promote diversity and inclusion within triathlon.

In addition, Garner will become a British Triathlon Patron, only the second time this honour has been bestowed on an individual.

Having started his role at the end of March, Adey has begun meeting with the other trustees and British Triathlon and Home Nation staff and board members to work on putting the organisation’s strategy into practice.

On his appointment, Adey said: ‘’I’m thrilled to be joining the British Triathlon family and feel extremely privileged to have this opportunity to contribute to this fabulous sport.

“As we embark upon the next exciting phase of its journey, I passionately believe that the Triathlon Trust has a unique and special role to play in sustainably enriching lives through swim, bike, run.”

Andy Salmon, British Triathlon CEO, said: “I’d firstly like to thank Joe Garner for his unprecedented commitment and dedication in leading the Triathlon Trust for so many years, helping thousands of children to enjoy swim, bike, run across Britain.

“Gary brings with him a passion for triathlon, as well as many years in executive roles within business and experience on the boards of charitable organisations, and I’m really excited to welcome him into the role and am looking forward to working with him to increase access to our great sport.”