Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE, Chair

  • Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE has wide-ranging leadership experience and expertise across sport, business, media, law and government.
  • Heather became The English Football Association’s first female non-executive Director and Board member when she was appointed in 2012. Whilst at The FA, Heather served on the organisation’s Remuneration Committee and chaired The FA Inclusion Advisory Board. She was also previously a member of FIFA’s Anti-Discrimination Taskforce and has worked with UEFA on their women’s leadership initiatives. Heather’s experience in football additionally extends to supporting the The Football Youth Trust, which is responsible for the development of young players across all levels of the English game, including the Premier League.
  • Heather has worked in private equity and public markets, including the restructuring of Millwall Football Club and spearheading their promotion. She then became Chair of Shed Media, a publicly-listed media production and distribution company which was bought by Time Warner. She also served as an Independent Director of the Bank of England and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office – advising on the role of hosting sporting events to generate national prosperity.
  • Beginning her career as a Barrister at Law, Heather moved to become a government advisor, a senior executive in public services and the youngest local authority CEO in the UK. During this time she began an on-screen media career as a social commentator and then moved behind the scenes, serving as a Governor of the BBC followed by an appointment as a senior executive at Channel 4 – commissioning programmes across genres and developing a range of talent development initiatives.
  • Heather is currently Managing Director of Cove Pictures, a TV and film production company, and is a non-executive board member for Arts Alliance, a major film/digital investment fund. She has a portfolio of non-executive roles including at Grosvenor Estates GBI and Soho Theatre. Heather has also recently served as a trustee of the Royal Opera House and sat on the Board of Crossrail.
  • Heather frequently speaks on leading and managing change in demanding corporate/public sector environments as well as on attracting and retaining talent and increasing workplace diversity.
  • In 2000, Heather was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours list and in 2016 received a DBE.