David Ross has been appointed as the new independent Chair of the British Olympic Foundation (BOF), the charitable arm of the British Olympic Association (BOA).
Ross, aged 56, was appointed by the trustees of the Foundation following a competitive independent recruitment process. He will replace the outgoing Chair, Dr Neil Townshend.
Having served on the BOA Board as a non-executive Director for 10 years between 2011-2021, Ross is currently a serving Board member at the British Paralympic Association.
Ross is a long-term supporter of the British Olympic Movement and is well known for his philanthropic endeavours in sport and the arts, including through the David Ross Foundation and David Ross Education Trust.
Speaking of his appointment, Ross said: “I am passionate about creating opportunities for all, working for much of my life to increase access to education, sports and the arts. So I am honoured to be appointed Chair of the British Olympic Foundation to help support this vital mission, using sport to engage and empower young people across the UK.”
Speaking on behalf of the BOF Board, the Senior Independent Director, Vicky Griffiths said: “We are thrilled to have someone of David’s passion, experience and expertise joining the Board as Chair. This is a critical appointment for BOF and we look forward to working under David’s leadership to grow and develop the Foundation, its reach and social impact.”
Sir Hugh Robertson, Chair of the BOA, said: “Few individuals can demonstrate such a long-standing commitment to the Olympic Movement as David does, and it is both an important and exciting appointment for the British Olympic Foundation. We look forward to working with him to capitalise on the opportunity to use Team GB as a force for good in the UK.”
A further appointment has been made to the Foundation with Kate Ferry joining as Chair of the Audit Committee. Ferry is the Chief Financial Officer of McLaren Group and is also a non-executive Director and Audit Chair for Greggs, working closely with the Greggs Foundation.
The British Olympic Foundation is responsible for the development and promotion of the Olympic Movement, its ideals and values and encouraging participation and awareness of Olympic sport within the UK.
The Foundation aims to create learning opportunities for young people through sport as well as education to encourage personal development, fair play and personal excellence. With a variety of initiatives including the award-winning Get Set education programme, the British Olympic Foundation aims to engage young people through the Olympic dream from primary through to university level students.