Welsh Rugby Union appoint two new directors to board
- Published
Catherine Read and Henry Engelhardt
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has appointed two new independent non-executive directors to the board.
Former Admiral Group chief executive Henry Engelhardt and current Royal London Asset Management chief operating officer Catherine Read have been installed.
Read and Engelhardt replace the WRU's first independent non-executive directors Tim Griffin and Aileen Richards.
The pair served six year terms.
Richards was the first female board member in the Union's history at the time of her appointment in 2015.
Read joins two other existing female board members, WRU vice-chair Liza Burgess and Professional Rugby Board chair Amanda Blanc, alongside Engelhardt, chairman Robert Butcher and interim chief executive Steve Phillips.
There are a further six elected directors in Dave Young, Phil Thomas, Gordon Eynon, Hywel Roberts, Chris Morgan and former Wales captain Ieuan Evans.
Engelhardt, originally from Chicago, was a joint founder of Cardiff-based Admiral, a £3.5bn turnover insurance business employing 11,000 staff and supporting five million customers, and was its CEO from 1991 until 2016, when he stepped away.
"I love sport, I love Wales - it is my adopted home, and I believe I can bring additional commercial, strategic and business thinking to the board," said Engelhardt.
Read, a chartered accountant originally from Haverfordwest, works for one of the UK's leading fund management companies, managing around £148bn of assets and will combine this role with her appointment to the WRU board.
"Just like most of the population of Wales I have a huge amount of love for the game and my country and also a personal affinity with the sport based on my formative years in Wales," said Read.