Bowls England is delighted to announce the appointment of Jon Cockcroft as its new Chief Executive.
Jon is joining the organisation from England Hockey, where he has held the role of Commercial Director for nine years, leading the highly successful Vitality Women’s Hockey World Cup in 2018.
As part of the leadership team, Jon has been integral to hockey’s recent good progress delivering commercial growth, increased visibility for the sport and greater engagement with its supporters.
Bowls England Chair, David Tucker, said: “Jon was the successful candidate from an extremely strong group of applicants for the role. We partnered with specialist executive search firm, Hartmann Mason, and the Board was delighted with the quality of the field.
“Jon brings a wealth of knowledge from the sports sector, alongside the passion and desire to take us through our next stage of development. We look forward to working with him.”
Before joining England Hockey in 2010, Jon was the Sales and Marketing Director at sports marketing agency Goodform, working with a broad range of NGBs, clubs and other sporting organisations. He began his career as Marketing Manager at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, after graduating from Oxford University.
Jon added: “I feel delighted and honoured to be given the opportunity to lead Bowls England. Driven by a belief in sport’s unique ability to enrich lives, I am looking forward to working with the team and the wider bowls community to help the sport realise its potential.
“I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing Chief Executive, Tony Allcock OBE, whose contribution to the sport of bowls is incomparable. With a home Commonwealth Games on the horizon, it’s an exciting time to build on his legacy and inspire more people to embrace the sport.”
Jon will be introduced at the Bowls England AGM on Saturday 22nd February before commencing his role in June.