British Rowing makes two new Board appointments
The national governing body for rowing in England has also extended Chair Mark Davies’s first term by 12 months
Tina Kokkinos and Peter Milhofer have been appointed independent directors of British Rowing (Limited) from 1 April 2021 on three-year terms.
Tina is an experienced Board Member and Chief Operating Officer / Senior Business Manager with extensive international experience in financial services, commerce and the not-for-profit sectors, including working at JP Morgan, Coca-Cola, HSBC and Comic Relief. As a CIMA-qualified accountant with significant post-qualification experience, she is commercially driven with a reputation as a change agent, business collaborator and strategic advisor. She has a reputation as the risk and governance “goto” expert on the Comic Relief Audit and Risk Committee.
A passionate sports fan who normally skips straight to the back pages of the newspaper, Tina said of her appointment: “I am delighted to be joining British Rowing at such an exciting time. The rearranged Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is a shop window for rowing and I can’t wait to cheer on the GB Rowing Team as they go for gold in Tokyo and I’m equally excited to help grow grassroots participation as things open up post lockdown.
“I believe that sport has the potential to transform lives which I have seen as a Trustee and Board member of Access Sport and Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. With a refreshed strategy and an inspiring plan to take action on diversity and inclusion, I believe British Rowing is an organisation that all rowers can be proud of. I am looking forward to getting started.”
Peter brings a wealth of finance and business experience to the Board. A chartered accountant, Peter has had a long and successful career in finance and audit with Royal Dutch Shell and KPMG, as well as leading the Sustainability Reporting at RDS. He is now focusing on voluntary work as a member of Council at Reading University and as Treasurer of Reading Rowing Club.
Peter said of his appointment to the Board: “It’s a privilege to join the Board of British Rowing. I discovered rowing at University and, in the process, for the first time discovered a love of sport. In recent years I restarted rowing and reignited the passion.
“I know from first hand experience how rowing can positively impact people from all walks of life and, coupled with my career in finance, governance and commerce, I hope to help British Rowing deliver even more for our members and affiliated clubs. There is a huge opportunity to make rowing more inclusive and accessible to all – including those who have not yet found their sport.”
Alongside the appointment of the two independent directors, the Board of British Rowing approved the extension of Mark Davies’s role as Chair by 12 months to complete an initial four-year term. This will run until 31 March 2022 when he will be eligible for a second term.
Commenting on the appointment of Tina and Peter as well as reflecting on the last three years, Mark said: “It is with enormous pleasure and enthusiasm that I welcome Tina and Peter to the Board. Both have significant experience of industry, business and governance and they will help drive forward our strategy and plans for the future.”
Tina and Peter replace John Hinnigan and Jonathan Vickers on the Board after six years of service to British Rowing. Mark Davies was grateful for their contribution to British Rowing, “I would like to say a huge thank you to John and Jonathan for outstanding service to British Rowing over a number of years. Their commitment to British Rowing and the sport of rowing has been superb with both giving vast amounts of time to not only make valuable contributions to Board discussion but also to chair the Finance and Audit & Risk committees respectively.”
Recruitment process
The independent director recruitment process was led by Chair Mark Davies. The posts were advertised and 35 applications were received. Nine final candidates were considered by a specially-created interview panel comprising two elected Directors and the Chair.
The final nine consisted of five men and four women. The age range spanned from a candidate in their 30s to a candidate in their 70s.
Interviews were conducted and, upon completing them, two candidates were recommended to the Board of British Rowing for approval. Both candidates were deemed capable of chairing either one of the Finance Committee or the Audit & Risk Committee. One expressed a preference for the latter and one for the former. The interview panel, therefore, also recommended the appointments of the new candidates to chair these committees.
