Four Board Members appointed to Sport England

Bound Mel

Appointed from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025. Mel Bound is the founding CEO of This Mum Runs, the world’s largest digital, mobile and personal running community for women. A digital thought leader and globally recognized community builder, Mel leads an ambitious team with a vision to empower all women to enjoy the life-changing benefits of being active. Tackling stubborn training disparities through an innovative community playbook and a pressure-free ethos built on movement, not performance.

A Sport and Exercise Science graduate, much of her career has involved creating experiences that positively impact the way people engage with sport and physical activity – she began a fast track program for a global Health and fitness group before moving into sports marketing to develop design – stadium experiences for international athletics events; most recently as Strategy Director for a global experience agency winning hearts and minds for brands in sports, technology and FMCG before founding This Mum Runs in 2014. Mel is a Fellow of the Facebook Community Leadership Program, recognized as one of the 16 most influential community leaders in the world, listed in the Sunday Times Maserati 100 British Disrupter Brands and recipient of the Women’s Sport Trust “Grassroots Game Changer” award.

Michelle Crackell

Appointed from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025. Michelle served as Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer of The Pensions Advisory Service from October 2013 to December 2018. Prior to that, she was a director at consultancies, providers and insurance companies. She is a trained actuary. Michelle holds non-executive positions at Fidelity International Holdings, Just Group Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pension Trustees Ltd and PensionBee Group Plc. She is passionate about helping people get more out of their money and sees many parallels between people’s motivation to save money and physical activity.

Jason Fergus

Appointed January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025. Jason Fergus has over 20 years of sport and physical activity experience. Jason is currently a Director of Active Essex, one of the largest active partnerships in England. Jason is also leading the delivery of the Essex Local Delivery Pilot, one of 12 LDPs who are part of a pioneering £100m scheme funded by Sport England from 2017-25 to address the level of physical inactivity in deprived areas fight.

Jason is a senior strategic thinker, operator and skilled at building trusted relationships with a variety of agencies. Jason has a strong track record of implementing a holistic system and place-based approach in Essex to increase levels of physical activity at scale. Jason consistently demonstrates exemplary behavior and ethics, ensuring Active Essex operates to the highest standards of governance. Jason is co-founder of the successful charity Active Essex Foundation and serves as Trustee. Jason represented GB Athletics at national and international level as a sprinter.

Helen Raynford

Appointed from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025. Helene has worked in public health at the local, regional and national levels for over 14 years and has a keen interest in the role of physical activity in the health prevention agenda, pathways of care and how sport and health can be more closely related work together with benefits for both. Growing up in a professional school in both Elmhurst and the Royal Ballet School, Helene understands physical activity in a broad sense and has been involved in many local initiatives to increase physical activity in general and in specific communities. Helene has been involved in national and international policy/guidance writing on sport and health agendas, including both a ‘public health’ and ‘expert’ member of the NICE committee and member of the International Advisory Board of the World Academy of Sport.

Helene is a retired Paralympic competitor who became the first World Champion and Gold Medalist in the Paralympic Women’s Singles. She is in her second term as Chair of the Athletes’ Commission of the British Paralympic Association and is an active member of Athlete Voice International within the Paralympic Movement. Helene has had a portfolio career and is an experienced Non-Executive Director having worked with organizations covering international and national sport. She firmly believes in the tremendous benefits of sport and grassroots physical activity to the overall health of individuals and communities.

Compensation and Governance Code

The remuneration for these roles is £218 per day. This appointment was made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointment process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointed employee in the past five years must be accounted for. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a reportable donation, or running for election. Mel Bound, Michelle Cracknell, Jason Fergus and Helene Raynsford have not declared any significant political activity.