British Swimming Announces Drew Barrand Will Take Over As CEO From May 2023

Drew Barrand: Photo Courtesy: British Swimming

British Swimming Announces Drew Barrand Will Take Over As CEO From May 2023

British Swimming has announced Drew Barrand – currently the commercial & sales director at global sports foundation Laureus – as its new chief executive officer (CEO).

Barrand will join the governing body from May 2023, when he will take over from interim CEO Ash Cox, who has been in the position since May last year.

Jack Buckner was the previous permanent chief executive before leaving to take over as CEO at UK Athletics.

A release from British Swimming says that Barrand has more than two decades of management experience in sport, having worked with governing bodies, brands, broadcasters and agencies as well as with key stakeholders such as Olympic Games Organising Committees, the Rugby World Cup and the English Football League (EFL), as well as sport-specific sponsors ASICS and EA Sports.

He said:

“I am very proud to be appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer at British Swimming. Taking on a leadership position in British aquatic sports is a truly exciting opportunity. Thanks to the dedication and passion of the Board and the entire team at British Swimming, there is a solid platform in place with performances in the pool across all disciplines showing success and great promise as we look forward to the next cycle of major events.

“I hope to use my two decades of experience working on all sides of the sport industry to build on this base and grow a commercially prosperous and well-governed organisation that lives up to its mantra of ‘winning well in water’, and in doing so, take British aquatic elite performance to new heights.

“I am honoured by the Board’s show of faith in my abilities and look forward to hitting the ground running and working collaboratively to the mutual benefit of the entire British Swimming team and stakeholder base across the UK and internationally.”

British Swimming Chair Karen Webb Moss said:

“I am really delighted to welcome Drew as our new CEO. His strong background will be of enormous benefit to our organisation, as we continue to strive for success in the water and to strengthen our business out of it.

“Drew has sound business acumen and solid experience in developing organisations, events and brands. It is this proven commercially-focused experience, his innovative and dynamic approach, together with his passion to work with us at British Swimming that shaped our final decision.

“On behalf of the nominations committee, the Board and UK Sport CEO Sally Munday, we are excited and looking forward to welcoming and working with Drew.

“I would like to also acknowledge and thank Ash, who stepped up and took on the role of Interim CEO. Ash has led with strength and kept the team focused, and we are extremely grateful.”

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use