IWG UK Steering Committee

The 14 members of the IWG UK Steering Committee oversee the creation and implementation of the IWG Strategic Plan for 2022-2026.

Jeanette Bain-Burnett is the Executive Director for Policy and Integrity at Sport England. She is also the current chair of ACTA Theatre in Bristol, and co-founder of the charity Dream Camp which she established with her daughter to explore leadership with 8–11-year-old girls of African and Caribbean Heritage. Jeanette’s previous roles include Director of Participation at the Trussell Trust, Assistant Director, Communities and Social Policy at the Greater London Authority and Director of the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora.

Vikram Banerjee is the Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at the England and Wales Cricket Board. A former professional cricketer himself, Vikram is a graduate of Cambridge University and Harvard Business School. Vikram was recognised in the ‘Leaders Under 40 Class of 2021’ by the prestigious Leaders In Sport.

Clare Barrell is the Director of Investment and Member Services at World Rugby. Clare previously worked for UK Sport for over eleven years, most recently in the role of Head of External Affairs and International Relations. She has extensive international experience in sport and has developed and delivered development programmes in over 40 countries. 

Rupinder Bains has been practising law as a qualified Solicitor for over 24 years and is the Managing Director of Pinder Reaux & Associates. In 2017, Rupinder made history by becoming the first Asian appointment to the Board of the Football Association (FA), having been jointly appointed by the Premier League and the English Football League. Rupinder has also been a member of the Women’s Football Board and is currently a board member for The Lily Foundation, Integral Sports Management and the Sport and Recreation Alliance.

Mel Bound is the Founder and CEO of This Mum Runs, the world’s largest digital, mobile and in-person running community for women. Mel is also the creator of the Run30 ™ App – “the best running App in the UK” – and a Fellow of the Facebook Community Leadership Programme. She has been recognised as one of the Top 16 Most Impactful Community Leaders in the world, listed in the Maserati 100 Top 100 British Disrupter Entrepreneurs and is a previous winner of the Women’s Sport Trust “Grassroots Gamechanger” Award.

Ali Donnelly is the CEO of More Than Equal, an initiative co-founded by F1 legend David Coulthard to find and develop F1’s first female world champion. Prior to her appointment in March 2023, Ali held the position of Executive Director at Sport England, where she led the digital, communications and marketing team, and she has held senior communication roles with the British Prime Minister, HM Treasury and the BBC. Ali also runs the award-winning website Scrum Queens and her book ‘Scrum Queens: The Story of Women’s Rugby’ is shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards 2023.  

Katie Fawkner-Corbett is a Non-Executive Director at the Sport and Recreation Alliance. Katie has spent her career in social policy – with economist and policy roles across welfare and labour market policy, and healthcare regulation. She is Head of Strategy at the General Medical Council.

Naomi Angell-Hicks is Director of Engagement and External Affairs at UK Sport, with a background in international development and sustainability. Prior to joining UK Sport, Naomi has held a number of leadership roles in the charity and private sector alike, spanning strategy, partnerships and communications.

Tanya Joseph is the Managing Director for Corporate Affairs at global PR consulting company Hill and Knowlton. Tanya started her career in journalism before working in the civil service including serving as the Press Secretary to Tony Blair during his time as Prime Minister. Since then, she has worked in senior roles for a range of organisations and is acknowledged as the architect of the hugely impactful ‘This Girl Can’ campaign during her time at Sport England. Tanya sits on a number of boards, including Creative UK, the Thomson Foundation, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Sport.

Joel Lavery is the Strategic Lead on Major Sporting Events for the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC). A specialist in strategy, policy and partnerships, Joel previously worked for British Cycling where he held the role of Head of Partnerships and Major Events. In his current role with WMGC, Joel’s aim is to raise the profile of Birmingham and West Midlands and to make them synonymous globally as a host of major sporting events. Following the success of the Commonwealth Games 2022, Joel and his team will be working closely with IWG on delivering the 2026 conference.

Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY is the Chair of the IWG UK Secretariat and Co-Chair of the IWG Global Executive. She is also the Vice Chair of the British Olympic Association and President of European Rowing. She is an advocate for safe and inclusive sport for all and formerly Chair of British Rowing, the British Horseracing Authority and Vice Chair of the British Paralympic Association, where she helped steer all organisations through considerable change in structure and governance. Annamarie is a member of the ExCo of the European Olympic Committees where she chairs the Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Commission as well as being a member of the IOC and ANOC GEDI commissions. 

Annamarie has a particular interest in safeguarding and well-being; she chaired the Cycling Independent Review Panel into the culture and climate of British Cycling’s high-performance programmes and supported the DCMS ‘Duty of Care Report’, 2017. She is an Associate Consultant to Safe Sport International and serves on the Governance and Safeguarding working groups for World Rowing and the Legal and Ethics Panel of the IPC. Annamarie is a former World Champion in Rowing and represented GB in Women’s eights at Atlanta Olympic Games 1996.

Lisa O’Keefe is the Secretary General for the IWG, having been a prominent member of the successful UK Bid Steering Group to host the IWG in the UK. A former international sportswoman, Lisa is a passionate advocate for women’s sport with over 15 years Senior Leadership experience in the sport and physical activity sector. 

She previously worked at Sport England where she held several roles including Executive Director of Sport and latterly Executive Director of Insight.  Achievements include redesigning Sport England’s approach to investing in National Governing Bodies of Sport, and the creation of the award-winning Insight Directorate at Sport England putting data, insight & learning at the heart of the business, and a catalyst for innovative work such as the globally recognised This Girl Can campaign.

Lisa Wainright MBE is the CEO of the Sport and Recreation Alliance and Chair of the IWG UK Steering Committee, having played a pivotal part in securing funding and winning the bid to host the IWG. She has previously held executive roles across a number of sports, including CEO at Volleyball England, CEO of GB Basketball, Head of Sport at Sport England Technical Director for FIVB . In 2021, Lisa was awarded an MBE for her services to sport.

Jessica Williams is Head of Service and Partner Development at Sport Wales. She has held positions in policy, public affairs and research within sport, environmental and public health sectors in both Wales and New Zealand. Jess has represented Wales at international touch rugby, is a qualified physiotherapist and has held mentor and volunteer roles for adaptive sport, Women’s Equality, and several LGBTQ+ organisations, including acting as a Non-Executive Director and Vice Chair for New Zealand’s biggest LGBTQ+ Youth Charity, Rainbow Youth. She is currently a Trustee at Diverse Cymru, and is part of the Pride Sports Steering Committee, working to bring the LGBTQ+ EuroGames to the UK in 2027.