News 16 February 2016

Independent Board to take control of London athletics championships

Organisers of the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London have appointed an independent board to take responsibility for operating the event.

Last week, London 2017 managing director Sally Bolton stepped down just days after deputy chair Heather Hancock and audit committee chair Martin Stewart resigned from the board, with the Reuters news agency citing differences with the organisation’s chairman, Ed Warner, as the main reason.

Warner, who is also the head of UK Athletics, will now work with a co-chairman appointed by the Greater London Authority, with London 2017 no longer retaining a chief executive on the board.

“London 2017 Ltd has agreed a number of governance changes following a thorough review to ensure a clear separation of the day-to-day delivery led by UK Athletics to a more independent board with strategic direction and oversight of the championships,” London 2017 said.

UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos will take on the position of championships director.

The restructuring was welcomed by UK Sport, with the organisation’s chief operating officer, Simon Morton, saying: “This new structure will ensure that we can more clearly separate the oversight function of London 2017 Ltd from the delivery function of UK Athletics. Better balanced boards make better decisions.”

Warner added: “We are pleased that our discussions outlining the requirements for event delivery have been completed. The next 18 months will be exciting times for UK Athletics in organising two World Championships on behalf of London 2017 under the leadership of Niels de Vos. The appointment of a co-chair will assist greatly in ensuring that we can focus effectively on the task in hand.”

• This article was originally published on Keir Radnedge’s internet site on 15 February 2016. To access the original, please click here.

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