ECB Appoints New Chief Commercial Officer

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed BT’s Tony Singh as its new Chief Commercial Officer.

Currently Content and Business Development Director at BT, Singh will take up his role with the ECB’s senior management team at Lord’s in April.

In his new position, Singh will be responsible for overseeing all revenue generation and its key commercial relationships as well as customer-facing activities.

Exisiting Chief Commercial Officer Sanjay Patel will remain with the organisation, focussing solely on his role as Managing Director – New Competition.

Patel had taken on this additional role last year as the ECB developed plans to launch New Competition, an eight-team domestic competition in 2020.

Singh has played a leading role in BT TV and BT Sport’s growth over the past five years and led the team responsible for the broadcaster’s cross-supply content deal with Sky and commercial distribution of BT Sport to other platforms.

During his five-year stint, Singh also oversaw a doubling of its advertising revenues and developed a host of successful new digital initiatives.

Prior to joining BT in 2014, Singh held senior management positions with Nectar, the consumer marketing agency, as well as the BBC’s Commercial Agency.

Commenting on his new role, Singh said: “Cricket has been a lifelong passion of mine. I was immensely proud to play a part in helping the BT Sport team bring a new audience to the game.

“I’m thrilled to be joining ECB at such an exciting time for the game as it seeks to develop a new national strategy, launch a new competition and reach out to an even broader and more diverse audience.”

Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, added: “Tony brings a wealth of experience in dealing in complex commercial environments and has a proven track-record of delivering success across sports and media organisations.

“His experience and industry knowledge in a fast-changing media landscape will be a tremendous asset to our leadership team.

“He will have a critical role to play in our long-term plans to grow the game at every level; helping us develop new commercial partnerships and diversify the game’s revenue streams, enhance our use of data and strengthen our digital offering for the millions of cricket fans nationwide.”

Singh’s appointment follows the recent recruitment trend of rightsholders exploring the media sector to secure senior additions.

Just this week, it was widely reported that Tim Davie, Chief Executive of commercial division BBC Studios, had turned down the opportunity to become the new Head of the Premier League.

The Premier League had been searching for a replacement for another senior media executive Susanna Dinnage, who pulled out of the role of Chief Executive to remain at Discovery just three weeks after being announced as Richard Scudamore’s successor.

Confirmation of Singh’s appointment arrives in a week that saw Gordon Hollins, previously ECB Chief Operating Officer, appointed by the ECB in the newly created role of Managing Director for County Cricket.

The announcement was made to ECB Members at a whole-game meeting in London this week, where it was revealed that Hollins will be tasked with managing the relationship between ECB and the domestic and recreational game.

In further significant sport industry recruitment developments, Ian Reid has been confirmed as the Chief Executive Officer for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

Reid has been serving as an interim CEO since May and was formerly the Chief Financial Officer for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, which took place in his home city.

Commenting on his new role, Reid said: “Over the past eight months it’s been obvious to me that people from across Birmingham and the West Midlands are excited about the fantastic opportunities that hosting the Games provides.

“I’m determined that we will deliver an event that the city, the region and the whole country can be proud of and I’m committed to continuing to work closely with all of our partners to achieve this aim.”

John Crabtree, Chair of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, added: “To have someone leading the Organising Committee, who has first-hand experience of organising an event of this scale, has already been a massive advantage for us.

“For a major international sporting event like this, it’s essential that we have someone of Ian’s calibre leading the team. He played a crucial role in the success of Glasgow and he knows exactly what needs to be done, so I’m delighted to have his continued involvement.”