Rosie Williams appointed CEO of British Eventing
British Eventing has announced the appointment of Rosie Williams OBE as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Rosie Williams, who grew up in NSW, Australia where she competed in several equestrian disciplines including eventing, show jumping, dressage, and polocrosse will assume her role with British Eventing in mid-September 2023
Rosie’s first national governing body role was as National Sports Manager for the Australian Equestrian Federation but most of her career has focussed on the sport of Rugby. Rosie spent 10 years as CEO of the Rugby Football Union for Women in England, being awarded an OBE for her contribution to the development of the sport.
Rosie has also been involved in running major events in the role of Tournament Director of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2010 as well as running her own consultancy business for several years.
In early 2022 Rosie took up the role of CEO of Softball Australia, implementing a major change management programme transforming the organisation’s financial management, strategic direction, and operational process.
As the CEO of British Eventing, Rosie will be responsible for overseeing all strategic and operational aspects of the organisation, with a focus on the development of eventing, promoting inclusivity within the sport and enhancing the overall experience for participants and spectators.
"I am thrilled and honoured to join British Eventing as CEO” says Rosie of the appointment “Eventing holds a special place in my heart and I am excited to contribute to the growth and success of this incredible sport. I am committed to working closely with the talented team at British Eventing, as well as the broader eventing community to ensure that our athletes, horses and all stakeholders have the best possible experience."
"We are delighted that Rosie is joining BE as she brings successful CEO and national governing body (NGB) experience to BE. Eventing, along with all Equestrian sports faces challenges and we need a highly experienced CEO as we continue our three year re-structuring plan” says Mark Sartori, Chairman of British Eventing
“It is vital that we unite all our stakeholders and Rosie has huge experience across a number of businesses, sports and different stakeholders. Running a NGB is not an easy role and the Board agreed that we needed someone who had a proven track record both as a CEO and working within a NGB and thus we are delighted that Rosie will be starting in September.
On behalf of all at BE we ask all our stakeholders to continue to support the sport we love and help Rosie and the team over the exciting years ahead. I am personally very positive for the future as we continue to make the changes that will allow BE to not only be sustainable but thrive and become a world leader again.”
