SUCCESSION PLANNING AT BRITISH FENCING

In a move to assist British Fencing to make further essential step changes to the governance of the sport, CEO Piers Martin will be stepping aside from his position later in the year.

The succession planning will see Martin work with the Chair (David Teasdale) and Board to bring in an interim CEO to lead much needed transitional changes and continue the programmes already underway. 

These changes will help British Fencing to secure the sustainability of performance and development funding for the future and encourage longer term relationships with sponsors such as Beazley.

Peter King, the former CEO of British Cycling known for the astronomic strides taken with that sport, will work with Piers Martin for a period of time before he steps down. King will then take over as interim CEO and work with the Chair and Board towards the appointment of a permanent successor, in place if possible for the new funding cycle of 2013-2017. Martin will continue to support and advise in a consultancy role for an agreed period. 

Martin has been at British Fencing for 4 and a half years and led the sport through some challenging restructuring of systems and management. An increase in funding from partners such as UK Sport, Sport England, Department of Health, the Youth Sport Trust as well as sponsorship from Beazley, the city insurance giant, has allowed the sport to develop and grow.

Piers Martin said:

“My job was always to be here for 4-5 years to focus on making essential but uncomfortable changes and to identify the right infrastructure for the sport long term rather than set up short term fixes. We have achieved this and attracted increased funding and sponsorship, setting up the sport for success in the future in a very short space of time. There is nobody better than Peter King to help us through the next transition phase.”

Chair David Teasdale added this tribute:

“Piers has made a key contribution to British Fencing, in a very testing period of substantial change.  He has provided professional leadership and skills, with energy, flair and imagination, all essential to our development towards the world class standards he and the Board have sought.  We shall miss him.  He and I are both glad that Peter King will now help us in the period through to a new Board and CEO”.

England Fencing President Ray Stafford said:

“I would like to pay tribute to the enormous amount of hard work that Piers Martin has put into the sport, particularly in terms of meeting our Sport England development targets, and note the close partnership that he has helped forge between England Fencing and British Fencing. We wish him every success in his future career, and look forward to working with a new team at British Fencing towards closer and deeper co-operation between the two organisations.”