At 2015 AGM held on Tuesday 21st July 2015, the membership voted to support the boards recommendation to appoint a two new Independent Directors, in addition to a Company Secretary.
The appointments follow a rigorous open and competitive recruitment process for Independent Directors. A recruitment panel consisting of Dan Edwardes – Elected Director, Independent Director & Chair – Stephen Mitchell, Independent Director – Joy Johnston & Chief Executive – Eugene Minogue short-listed a selection of high quality candidates who applied for the roles. This was then followed by a competitive interview process of the candidates, which the recruitment panel then made a recommendation of appointment to the board, which was approved at the July Board Meeting and formally presented to the membership at the 2015 AGM for approval.
We are pleased to announce and welcome:
Independent Director
Catherine started her career as a corporate lawyer, training and qualifying at ‘Magic Circle’ firm Linklaters. After many years advising companies across the board on company and commercial law issues, she then moved across into training and education roles, culminating in the position of Tutor and Teaching Fellow at the York University Law School (where she is still a member of the Law School Clinic’s Advisory Board). As Catherine’s interest in people, and their potential, began to become more of a focus, she took on various other training and presenting roles, whilst keeping her hand in as a tennis coach. At the start of 2015 she founded her own business, Sport and Beyond. A behavioural profiling, training and performance company, whose aim is to help people get better at what they do, the business focuses on sport, relaunch, leadership and high performing teams. Catherine’s interest in the sporting world is diverse – as a participant (she played both tennis and hockey to a high level, and still plays county tennis), as a sporting parent, as a coach, and as a volunteer – and she brings huge passion and enthusiasm for sport, and all it can achieve in the widest sense.
Independent Director
Mark is a sports business executive and entrepreneur with a particular interest in sports that have a role to play in the modern, urban landscape whilst contributing to personal development and opportunity for individuals and the regeneration and social cohesion of communities. He has experience of the governing body environment having been the CEO of England Boxing since 2011 and was a non Executive director of GB Handball in the build up to London 2012. He has also previously held roles within commercial leisure operations, was the lead consultant for leisure and cultural infrastructure within the Legacy Master Plan Framework for the Olympic Park and has connections with urban and extreme sports that stretch back to 2001 when he was involved in the development and opening of the Xscape extreme sports and retail destination in Milton Keynes. Mark has a particular interest in strategy development, change management and transformational programmes and continues to explore the ways that social finance and investment can play a role in the future of sport, physical activity, place making and urban wellbeing.
Company Secretary
Bridget is an ex-international hockey player and a qualified lawyer in New Zealand, England and Wales. She is General Counsel and Company Secretary for a number of companies within an investment portfolio in a private investment office, as well as an independent governor on a primary LGB. In addition to her governance roles, Bridget’s day job includes advising on a broad range of corporate and commercial matters. Bridget’s background in sport derives from both a competitive, elite level, as well as a recreational level, including running, cycling, skiing and tennis.
Steve Mitchell, Independent Chair said:
“2015 has already been an incredibly exciting year in the history of Parkour UK and I am personally delighted that we have found two new Independent Directors and a Company Secretary of this calibre to help drive the organisation forward. With the ongoing leadership and commitment from our Chief Executive Officer, Eugene Minogue I am confident the community of parkour practitioners and professionals will be inspired to continue to challenge perceptions, engage more participants and deliver even more positive outcomes in the future. At Parkour UK we are committed to develop a National Governing Body of the future, working collaboratively with partners across public health, community safety, sports development, urban design, education and the great outdoors, with the community at heart of every decision we make and a strong Board to govern the discipline appropriately”.
As part of the election of the new Elected Directors & recruitment of the Independent Directors, in addition to the transitional arrangements as part of our Governance changes, Joy Johnston has with regret, due to her commitments in the Middle East she formally resigned from the board of Parkour UK as of the 2015 AGM/Congress.
The Board on behalf of the NGB & our community/members wished to formally express and record their thanks, gratitude and appreciation to Joy for her contribution prior to formally joining the board and throughout her term. This has enabled us as NGB to progress, develop and break new ground in the sports sector in the UK. The Board expressed that they would welcome an application from Joy to re-join the board if/when a suitable opportunity arose in the future.
