Mark Darbon has been appointed Chief Government of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Historic Golf Membership of St Andrews.
Mr Darbon will succeed Martin Slumbers within the position main the governing physique and the organisation which runs The Open and AIG Girls’s Open and invests in creating golf all over the world in November.
He can even develop into Secretary of the 270 year-old Membership which has a worldwide membership of greater than 2,400.
A former senior member of the staff main the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Video games and Paralympic Video games in 2012, Mr Darbon is leaving his position as CEO of Northampton Saints, the Premiership Rugby membership, to take up the St Andrews-based place.
Mr Darbon (45) led Northampton Saints to their first Premiership title since 2014 final month and carried out a industrial technique which enabled the rugby union membership to bounce again from the pandemic to attain document revenues in consecutive seasons.
THE FUTURE OF THE R&A
“I’m thrilled and honoured to be taking over these positions with The R&A and The Royal and Historic Golf Membership of St Andrews and to be transferring into golf, a sport I’ve all the time cherished,” he mentioned.
“The R&A is a globally famend organisation and does a lot to make sure that golf prospers from grassroots via to the skilled recreation. I’m trying ahead to working with a vastly gifted staff of employees, the Membership membership and such a powerful array of companion organisations to attain much more success within the years to return.”
Niall Farquharson, Chairman of The R&A mentioned, “We had been enormously impressed with Mark’s data and expertise of the worldwide sport trade and his potential to develop profitable groups and ship unbelievable occasions.
We imagine he will likely be a wonderful chief for The R&A and The Royal and Historic Golf Membership of St Andrews and can play a key position in serving to us to attain our aim of making certain a affluent and sustainable future for golf.”
Mr Darbon began his profession as a administration marketing consultant at Marakon Associates, earlier than becoming a member of Diageo plc the place he held various strategic and industrial roles, dwelling and dealing in markets all around the world, together with the USA, Russia, China and Australia.
Having transitioned into sport occasion organisation in 2009, Mr Darbon held a number of senior roles with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Video games and Paralympic Video games and was latterly Head of Olympic Park Operations, overseeing the Olympic Park which housed 9 competitors venues with 20,000 workers and welcomed 250,000 spectators a day all through the 2012 video games.
He went on to function an Skilled Adviser to the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2013 to 2018.
Following London 2012, Mr Darbon was Senior Vice President of Robust Mudder Inc in New York and was concerned in planning, selling and staging mass participation occasions in North America, Latin America, Europe and Australasia.
Earlier than becoming a member of Northampton Saints as CEO in 2017, Mr Darbon served as CEO of Madison Sports activities Group, a sports activities occasions and content material firm which created an award-winning worldwide sequence {of professional} observe biking occasions and, in doing so, introduced a sequence of latest sponsorship preparations and media rights offers to the game.
Mr Darbon is a graduate of Worcester School, Oxford College, the place he learn geography.
In addition to being a eager golfer, taking part in to a Handicap Index of three.1 as a member of Northamptonshire County Golf Membership and Saunton Golf Membership, Mr Darbon is a former Beneath-21 England hockey worldwide and a Full Blue for hockey at Oxford College.
He’s a non-executive director of England Hockey and Girls’s Premiership Rugby.
Mr Darbon is married with two youngsters and plans to maneuver his household to St Andrews when he takes up his new position.
