The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has
reappointed Michelle Cracknell and Jason Fergus as Board Members
to Sport England for terms of three years.
Michelle Cracknell
Reappointed from 1st January 2026 to 31st December 2028.
Michelle was Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of The
Pensions Advisory Service from October 2013 to December 2018.
Prior to that, she held director roles in advice firms, providers
and insurance companies. She is a qualified 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 make more of their money
and sees lots of parallels between motivating people to budget
and take part in physical activity.
Jason Fergus
Reappointed from 1st January 2026 to 31st December 2028.
Jason has over 20 years' experience in the sport and physical
activity sector. Jason is Chair of the Sport England Investment
Committee overseeing the governance and oversight in how funding
decisions align with Sport England strategic priorities. Jason is
also Director of Active Essex, one of the largest Active
Partnerships in England, overseeing a large team that delivers
the system partner responsibilities, and six Place Partnerships.
Jason led the delivery of the Essex Local Delivery Pilot (LDP)
between 2018 and 2025, which was one of 12 LDPs that formed part
of a ground-breaking £100m programme funded by Sport England to
develop innovative new sustainable ways to tackle long-term
levels of physical inactivity in deprived areas. Active Essex
delivers the Government Holiday and Activity Food (HAF) programme
engaging over 30,000 disadvantaged children and families every
year in over 200 clubs during school holidays.
Jason is a high-level strategic thinker and operator and is
competent at building trusted relationships with a wide range of
stakeholders. He has a strong track record in Essex of adopting a
whole system and place-based approach to drive up physical
activity levels at scale. He consistently demonstrates exemplary
behaviour and ethics, and ensures Active Essex operates to the
highest standards of governance. Jason also co-founded the
successful charity ‘Active Essex Foundation' and is a serving
trustee.
Jason is a governor at Brentwood School, and he represented Great
Britain at national and international level as a sprinter.
Remuneration and Governance Code
Board Members of Sport England are remunerated at a rate of £218
per day, up to a maximum of £9,000 per annum. This appointment
has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office's Governance
Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is
regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the
Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an
appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is
defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a
recordable donation, or candidature for election. Michelle
Cracknell and Jason Fergus have not declared any significant
political activity.
