Who's who

The English Institute of Sport (EIS) has its own independant board, chaired by Steve Cram, the members bringing a range of expertise from across both sport and business. They provide strategic direction to the organisation as well as considering and making recommendations put forward by UK Sport.

The National Team provides direction to both the finance, HR, IT and Communications functions but also to the technical disciplines, each discipline headed up by Heads of Service.

The regional delivery and development is led by three Regional Directors who oversee their respective regional teams and the sports they support.
 

EIS Board

Steve Cram MBE, Chairman

Steve Cram is one of the world's most successful middle distance athletes winning six Gold Medals at Commonwealth, European and World Championships and an Olympic Silver Medal. In 1985 he broke World Records at 1500m, 2000m and Mile all within just 19 days.

His work with the EIS strengthens his links with a number of organisations and  governing bodies of sport across the UK.

Nigel Walker, National Director

Nigel joined the EIS in September 2010 having previously been Head of Change and Internal Communications at BBC Wales.

A former international athlete and rugby union player, he represented Great Britain as a high hurdler before switching to rugby, earning 17 international caps for Wales. He has also served as a UK Sport board member.
 

Helen Martin, Director of Business and Finance
Currently on maternity leave

Helen is responsible for finance, HR, legal, corporate governance and risk management at the EIS, as well as being a member of the board of directors. She has also played a key role in developing EIS’s strategy, including implementing a major change in the organisation’s operating and funding model in 2008-9.

She also held the position of Chief Operating Officer between March and September 2010, providing leadership to the organisation in the interim period until new National Director Nigel Walker came into post.

Alan Hodson, Board Member

Alan trained as a Chartered Physiotherapist in the early 1970’s and served as Head of Medicine and Sports Science for The English Football Association for over 20 years.  He has devised and been involved in several high level research projects for Association Football and Sport and has authored or co- authored a number of research papers in this field.

He has served on a significant number of Committees, Boards and Working Groups over his career and runs his own consultancy to Professional Sports and Sports Councils at home and abroad. He is also a visiting Professor at Leeds Metropolitan University.
 

Conor O Shea, Board Member

A former Irish Rugby Union international, Conor served as EIS National Director between 2008 and 2010 before being appointed Director of Rugby at Harlequins.

In addition to representing his country at the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups, O’Shea made 127 appearances for London Irish and was awarded the Zurich Players’ Player of the Year Award in 1999 before an ankle injury prematurely brought an end to his playing career at the age of just 30.

He would later take up the role of Managing Director at London Irish before joining the RFU in 2005. He is also a well respected Rugby analyst for RTÉ television in Ireland.
 

 

Ian Watmore, Board Member

Former Chief Executive of the Football Association and a former Permanent Secretary, Ian is Chief Operating Officer at the head of the Efficiency and Reform Group.

He spent 24 years in the IT and management consulting industry with Accenture where he was UK Managing Director. He holds a degree in mathematics and management studies from Trinity College, Cambridge.

He is married with four sons and is a lifelong Arsenal supporter. He lives in the North West and watches Altrincham in the Conference when he is not watching his sons playing or refereeing in the Cheshire/South Manchester leagues.
 

Karen Pickering, Board Member

Karen was an outstanding member of the British swimming squad from 1986 to 2005 and has a collection of winning medals that include 8 World Championship medals (4 gold), 14 European Championship medals, 38 National Championship titles, and a Commonwealth Games medal haul of 13 including 4 Gold.

For her services to swimming Karen was awarded an MBE in the 1994 New Years Honours List.

Since her retirement from international swimming in 2005, Karen has become regular member of the BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team and has taken on a number of roles. She is now Chair of the British Athletes Commission, Ambassador for Sport for Ipswich, on the executive boards of both the English Institute of Sport and British Olympic Association and on LOCOG’s Athlete Commission. 
 

 

Professor Jonathan Doust, Board Member

Jonathan Doust is a Director and Chair of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, representing almost 3,000 members in the UK. He has worked with Olympic and Commonwealth medalists and published extensive research into the physiology of peak sporting performance.

He is Professor of Exercise Physiology at the University of Brighton and formerly a director of research and development for Ceredigion NHS trust.

He has worked with many public and charitable organisations designing and monitoring exercise schemes to promote health. He holds degrees from Loughborough University and Nottingham Medical School. He is married with four daughters and lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

 

Audit Committee

The EIS audit committee supports the board and is charged with overseeing of financial reporting and disclosure.

Senior Management Team

 

National Director Nigel Walker and Director of Business & Finance Helen Martin are joined on the EIS Senior Management Team by...

Dr Rod Jaques, Director of Medical Services, Sport Physician

Rod joined the EIS in 2003 having previously worked at the British Olympic Medical Centre in London.

Based at the University of Bath, Rod attended the Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics with Team GB and the Kuala Lumpur and Manchester Commonwealth Games with the England Team. 

 

 Dr Ken van Someren, Director of Sport Science

Ken joined the English Institute of Sport in 2005 having previously supported

international athletes and squads whilst based in the academic sector.

A BASES High Performance Sport Accredited Physiologist and a BASES Accredited Research Physiologist.  His research interests include the physiological determinants of sports performance, exercise-induced muscle damage and recovery strategies, in which he has published extensively in international peer-review journals.

Peter Elliott, Regional Director - North

Peter has been involved in elite sport for 28 years through competing, coaching and sports administration.

Peter joined the EIS in Yorkshire in 2004 prior to the Athens Olympics as an Athlete Services Manager. He was later appointed to Regional Manager for Yorkshire in 2007 and more recently as Regional Director for the North in January 2009.

David Tillotson, Regional Director - Central

David has been involved in elite sport for over 20 years and has been with the EIS since it’s inception in 2002, assuming the role of Regional Director for the Central region in January 2009.

An all round sportsman, David played first XV rugby for Saracens and also competed to county level in Athletics and Badminton.

 

Richard Parker, Regional Director - South

Richard joined the EIS having worked for UK Sport for 5 years running the Performance Lifestyle programme and, for a short while, the sport science and medicine programmes.

His experience in elite sport also includes one year as a professional rugby player with Wasps RFC which was cut short by injury, followed by many years as a semi pro player.

 

Hester Brierley, Head of Marketing & Communications

 

Heads of Service

EIS Head of Service are responsible for leading the strategic and operational development of each technical discipline. 

Performance Analysis - Stafford Murray

Biomechanics - Phil Graham Smith

Performance Nutrition - Jeni Pearce

Strength and Conditioning - Raphael Brandon

Performance Psychology - Mark Bawden

Performance Lifestyle - Nick Slade

Physiotherapy and Soft tissue therapy - Chris Price

Physiology - Steve Ingham

Talent Identification - Natalie Dunman

Sport Science and Medicine (Paralympic) - Nik Diaper

Departmental Leads

The English Institute of Sport Departmental Leads manage the operations of the National Team in the areas of HR, IT and Communications.

Human Resources - Graham Bragg

Information Systems - Mark Richards