British Triathlon have announced their replacement for outgoing CEO Andy Salmon, who will move to Swim England in February 2024, as Ruth Daniels.

Daniels, who recently worked in a leadership position for clothing company Superdry, has also been involved in a number of sports sponsorship deals and additionally worked with Women in Sport.

Starting on 29 January 2024, Daniels will oversee British Triathlon’s build into the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, which take place in the French capital this summer.

Success and longevity primary aims for Daniels

Outlining her plans for British Triathlon, Daniels says the year ahead will be a challenging but exciting period, with building on the work done by Salmon a key step to ensure the future of the organisation.

“Building sustainable organisations in sport are key for their future success and longevity and I am grateful to the British Triathlon Board, UK Sport and Sport England for giving me the opportunity to lead British Triathlon in its next stage of growth and evolution.

“With the Paris Olympics and Paralympics on the horizon we have an exciting and challenging year ahead and I look forward to leading British Triathlon through this period and beyond. 

“British Triathlon has shown itself to be an incredibly progressive and effective organisation and as a participant in triathlon, at a very amateur level, I have experienced the fun and personal reward that taking part in these events can bring.  

“Under Andy’s leadership British Triathlon has built incredibly strong foundations, developing a world leading and successful elite pathway, increasing participation at all levels, establishing several commercial partnerships and creating a clear focused strategy.

“I am also looking forward to working with those in the Home Nations, the international circuit as well as the multiple stakeholders across the organisation.”

Commercial skills and leadership qualities key to appointment

Acknowledging that managing the organisations finances and continuing to engage memberships will be an integral part of the governing body’s future success, Daniels said that her commercial experience will be invaluable to further extend the reach of the sport.

“I am looking forward to collaborating with partners and clubs to see how we can further extend the reach of the sport. More than ever, supporting, inspiring and facilitating an active nation is key and I very much hope to be able to bring the knowledge and skills I have developed from the commercial world to further build on the excellent foundations in place.” 

As well as her transferable skills from the commercial world, the Chair of British Triathlon, Bill James, said that Daniels’ appointment was made in part because she fits their image of a leader who can continue to develop a high functioning team at British Triathlon.

“We set out to find in our new Chief Executive Officer a leader who would embrace and further develop a high-performing and effective team, ensuring our internal culture aligns seamlessly with our values and mission.

“In Ruth we believe we have found someone who can do that, whilst handling the challenging complexity of leading our National Governing Body across the full agenda we face on the road to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris ’24 and Los Angeles ’28.”