Meet the Board:
- Mr Derek Taylor (Chair)
- Dr Anthony Byrne (Managing Director)
- Mrs Kath Leonard (Company Secretary)
- Mr Peter Prince
- Mr David Anderson
- Mr David Gent
- Mr Peter Rowley
Derek Taylor
Derek has been the Chairman of the Board since 1996.
He retired as a Director of the Halifax Building Society in 1996 and served as a Director of a professional football club for 19 years.
He was also the Chairman of the Yorkshire region of the Lord's Taverners, the recognised official charity for cricket, for eight years.
> Read Derek Taylor's full profile...
Tony Byrne
A graduate of Crewe and Alsager College, Tony has a Masters and PhD in Sports Psychology from the University of Illinois. His Masters and PhD focussed on growing and sustaining participation in sport.
Tony joined NCF to develop the Sports Science Support Programme on behalf of the Sports Council, bringing together sports science and coaching - which could be considered to be the forerunner of the English Institute of Sport. During his time at Coachwise, Tony has overseen the development and rapid growth of the company, one of many Coachwise highlights. Tony has seen the organisation grow from a small but loyal team of 3 employees to a thriving company with a nearly 100-strong workforce that recently celebrated its 21st birthday.
Kath Leonard
Kath has spent most of her career at Coachwise and she is one of the original members of staff from when Coachwise began in 1989. Whilst here she’s studied for her degree in Business and Management (part-time) and fitted in a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM). Kath’s Coachwise highlights include seeing the growth and success of the business – from 3 people to nearly 100 employees. She has particularly enjoyed her part in building up the business and establishing a lot of the services that we now know as the solutions Coachwise provides. Kath remembers finding the current premises, which was a bit of a step-up from the warehouses’ “garden shed” beginnings. Once an accomplished squash player, Kath is now mainly involved in sport either by supporting her son’s football club or through playing the occasional round of golf.
Peter Prince
Peter has worked in financial services for over twenty five years operating in areas as disparate as investment banking, marketing, and corporate communications.
He currently holds the role of Head of Communication Services at RBS group.
> Read Peter Prince's full profile...
David Anderson
David's background has largely been within commerce.
He has over twenty-five years' experience of sales and marketing within the computing and consulting sector and so adds great value to our commercial activities.
David Gent
David is the Director of Participation and Strategic Partnerships at the Rugby Football League (RFL) and has held senior posts within the governing bodies of canoeing (his main participation sport) for more than two decades.
As a Carnegie graduate David worked in sport development at Kirklees council and went on to become Regional Director of Sport England for the Yorkshire region. His current role at the RFL - a sport he has always had a great interest in as a Bradford Bulls fan - charges him with increasing participation at all levels of the game, while he's also passionate about coaching.
> Read the interview with David Gent...
Peter Rowley
Peter is a national, regional and local sports leader and educationalist, experienced in working with young people and disadvantaged groups as a trustee of Tees Valley Community Foundation and other charities. He is a committed leader of social enterprise and is strongly driven to promote positive social values in his work. He has extensive, diverse experience in private, public, third and voluntary sector bodies and cross-sector partnership agencies, including chairmanship. He holds a number of ministerial appointments, currently including board membership of Sport England (he chairs the Audit Risk and Governance Committee, is a member of the Finance Committee and is the North East’s Regional Champion for Community Sport) and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (chairing the Audit and Risk Committee). He is also an independent member of UK Sport’s Audit Committee, a trustee of The British Sports Trust, trading as Sports Leaders UK (chairing the Audit and Risk Committee), and a board member of Tees Valley Sport.
In his professional career, Peter has 26 years’ service in mutual financial firms and was Chief Executive of the leading local community-focused building society for 17 years. He is a vocationally qualified and experienced finance, management and marketing professional, a chartered director and marketer, an accomplished, accredited coach and organisational consultant and remains committed to continuous professional development and lifelong learning.
A keen club runner, competing weekly at all distances, he also coaches various age groups and abilities.
