UK Sport has today announced a group of 16 talented individuals from across the entire sport sector in the UK who have been chosen for the inaugural Event Leaders Programme, including two from British Triathlon.

Aimed at growing the number of world-leading event directors in the UK, the 16 individuals came through a competitive application process for the inaugural Event Leader Programme, which began in March, and represent the widest breadth of sports from table tennis, triathlon and taekwondo to rugby league, netball and football.

It is the first of its kind to collaboratively pool events and people development expertise from the entire sport sector and industry partners and will develop and empower these individuals to be more effective and purposeful leaders, who can strategically and impactfully drive a world-leading events programme for their sport.

The Event Leaders Programme will also provide an opportunity for them to build upon existing leadership skills, learn new approaches, consider the ethical challenges major events have a responsibility to address and crucially, understand how to apply and embed them in the context of their own events. The 16 participants are:

• Ben Cummings, Director, Commercial & Major Events, British Triathlon
• Jonny Hamp, Head of Events, British Triathlon
• Stephen Brown, Chief Operating Officer, Rugby League World Cup 2021
• Victoria Clutterbuck, Head of Operations & Events, Pentathlon GB
• Rachel Dulai, Event Director of the World Rowing Coastal Championships and Beach Sprint Finals 2022, British Rowing
• Lindsay Impett, Head of Events, International Netball Federation
• Rebecca Leach, Director, ARC Event Consultancy
• Matt Marshall, Event Manager, British Taekwondo
• Susan Murrin, Head of Operations, 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships
• Tracy Power, Social Impact Director, Rugby League World Cup 2021
• Lucy Roberts Hartley, Marketing and Communications Lead, UEFA Women’s EURO 2022
• Neil Rogers, Head of Competition & Events, Table Tennis England
• Jo Smith, Head of Events, BUCS
• Chris Walker, Director, CW Event Projects
• Bev Ward, Senior Host City Manager, UEFA Women's EURO 2022
• Gemma Wiggs, Head of Events & International Affairs, British Canoeing

Beyond the inaugural edition of the Event Leaders Programme, those working in the UK Sport events network will have the opportunity to join UK Sport’s major event knowledge transfer programme and continue to access learning and development opportunities, such as attending observer programmes, webinars and peer learning groups.

Esther Britten, Acting Deputy Director of Major Events at UK Sport, said: “It is really exciting to be able to announce the first cohort of our inaugural Event Leaders Programme. Our ambition is to host some of the world’s biggest sporting events over the next decade and to do this well will need impactful leaders who understand people and culture, the successes and challenges of event delivery and the power of sport to drive societal change. We look forward to supporting this group on their leadership journeys.”