The Yorkshire County Cricket Club today announces that Harry Chathli has been nominated to join its Board as a Non-Executive Director with a view to becoming the Club’s new permanent Chair.
The proposal is subject to ratification from Members at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on a date to be confirmed.
Harry is a lifelong cricket fan having started playing cricket over 50 years ago, and is a former club cricketer at various clubs in South East London. He has a passion for the future of the County game having observed significant development in the pathway programmes at Surrey County Cricket Club over the past decade as his son and daughter played through the various county age groups. His daughter, Kira, is a professional cricketer for Surrey County Cricket Club, the South East Stars and was part of The Hundred-winning Oval Invincibles team alongside Yorkshire legend Lauren Winfield-Hill in the 2022 final.
Harry is a highly regarded business leader, and an experienced international capital markets expert with a 25-year track record of advising global companies, organisations and government agencies. Harry also has significant board experience and is Chairman and Non-Executive Director of several public and private companies. He has also founded two successful communications agencies: Corfin Public Relations in 2004 (acquired by Luther Pendragon in 2011), and the Gracechurch Group from 2019, where he serves as Owner, Director. He also previously worked at communications agency, Brunswick, as well as in the International Division of the Adam Smith Institute as an international policy advisor.
Pictured, Harry Chathli.
The YCCC Board worked with a leading international executive search firm, Perrett Laver, to conduct a fair, thorough and robust recruitment process to identify an appropriate candidate, with the process open to both internal and external applicants.
Working alongside the experienced Board including current interim Chair Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson, and CEO Stephen Vaughan, the new Chair’s focus will be to continue the Club’s transformational culture change, oversee significant governance reforms, develop new commercial and partnership opportunities and ensure a robust financial footing for the Club.
Once appointed, Harry will succeed Lord Kamlesh Patel who stepped down at the Club’s Annual General Meeting in March 2023. Baroness Grey-Thompson has served as interim Chair to ensure a seamless transition while the appointment process was ongoing.
The Club continues to be involved in positive conversations around the long-term financial future of the Club and hopes to make an announcement relating to this in due course.
Harry Chathli said:
“I am delighted and truly privileged to have the Board’s support as their nominee to become the Chair of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. This is one of the most iconic clubs in the cricketing world and, as with all English cricket fans, Headingley has always held a special place in my heart. I have seen the positive steps taken over the past year by YCCC and I believe Yorkshire has turned the corner – I’ve heard this from the business people I have spoken to over the past few months and from well-known international cricketers. It’s because of this that I jumped at the chance to get fully involved with this prestigious Club.
“The Club has been through a difficult period. I would like to bring the focus back to cricket and excellence on the pitch, as the Club continues to learn from the many issues it has faced. I believe cricket excellence is built on two things: inclusivity and financial stability. YCCC needs to represent the Yorkshire of today and tap into all the extraordinary talent at its disposal and we need to have the proper funding to do this. We have a lot of work to do, but I have been impressed by the determination and resilience the Club has shown and am ready to work with the Board and management to do everything I can to get the Club back to where it should be.”
Tanni Grey-Thompson, interim Chair of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, said:
“Through a combination of commercial acumen and a genuine love for cricket, Harry is the ideal person to continue to drive the Club’s recovery. It has been an honour to serve in the role of interim Chair as we have sought a replacement – I am looking forward to working with Harry on the transition and supporting him in my role as a Non-Executive Director over the coming years.”
Stephen Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, said:
“Harry was the outstanding candidate in a very strong field and his passion for the game and vision for an inclusive future stood out to the whole Board. His corporate and commercial experience will be vitally important as we look to secure the future health of the Club, at the same time as reaffirming our commitment to deliver positive changes in line with the values and standards we have established as a Board. We are determined to deliver long-term success and to build on the work we have done collectively to address the many challenges we have faced together to make Yorkshire County Cricket Club a thriving and welcoming place for all. We look forward to Harry having the opportunity to meet with Members ahead of the EGM and can’t wait to welcome him to the Yorkshire family.”
On Tanni Grey-Thompson
“We continue to be incredibly grateful to Tanni for stepping in as interim Chair since March, and for the huge amount of hard work she has put in on behalf of the Club. The Board wishes to put on record its thanks to her at what has been an immensely busy time.”
ENDS
