British Triathlon has appointed Dr Mary Hardwick as its new Chair, a role that will see her lead the organisation to Tokyo 2020 and beyond. She will replace Ian Howard, who is coming to the end of his tenure as President next summer.
Following an open recruitment and assessment process, Mary has been appointed to the role of Chair starting in July 2019. She will be responsible for strategic leadership and building a strong relationship with the Chief Executive and the wider executive team to achieve agreed objectives.
With the position of President being replaced by this role, Mary will also play a significant part in developing and maintaining external relationships, as well as ensuring efficiency and effectiveness of the Board.
She brings a wealth of experience from the IT industry having worked in a senior role at Nokia. She has the experience of having been a serving British Triathlon board member since 2013 and has impressive sporting credentials including international representation in cricket, hockey and Age-Group triathlon.
Mary said: “I am absolutely delighted to become the Chair of British Triathlon Federation at such an exciting time in the evolution of our sport, and to have the honour of leading our organisation to Tokyo 2020 and beyond. Following on from the great work of our current President, Ian Howard, we have an exciting journey ahead to realise our collective ambition to make Britain the world’s leading triathlon nation in every aspect of our sport.”
The timing of her appointment will allow a smooth transition from the outgoing president, Ian Howard, who commented: “It’s been an enormous privilege to lead British Triathlon through such a successful period. I’ve enjoyed working with Mary over the last five years and I will give her my full support to ensure she can hit the ground running when my term comes to an end in July.”
British Triathlon Chief Executive, Andy Salmon, added: “Mary was successful from a group of outstanding candidates that participated in a vigorous selection process. As we embark on the next phase of our evolution as a sport and an organisation, I very much look forward to working with Mary in her new role and to the leadership she will bring.”
Simon Morton, COO at UK Sport, said: “I am delighted to welcome Mary into the role of Chair of British Triathlon; she was an excellent candidate and will bring a raft of experience to the role. I look forward to working with her as we continue to support British Triathlon to enable their athletes to achieve their ambitions at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and deliver world leading major events to showcase their sport.”
