Michelle Dite, Charlotte Samuelson, John Steele and Dame Sarah
Storey have been appointed, and Rachel Baillache reappointed, to
the UK Sport Board by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media
and Sport for terms of four years.
Michelle Dite, Charlotte Samuelson, John Steele and Dame Sarah
Storey will be appointed from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2030.
Michelle Dite
Michelle Dite is a senior sports executive with more than 25
years of experience delivering some of the world's most complex
and high-profile sporting events. Her career spans Olympic and
Paralympic sport, international federations, government partners
and major rights holders, with a reputation for balancing
operational excellence, commercial objectives and stakeholder
needs.
Since 2020, Michelle has served as Operations Director at the All
England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), leading the operational
planning and delivery of The Championships, Wimbledon. Working
closely with the CEO, Board and Committee of Management, she
plays a key role in shaping Wimbledon's future while preserving
its global prestige and traditions.
Michelle also brings significant governance experience, serving
on the UK Sport Major Events Panel, the UEFA EURO 2028 Oversight
Group, and the Grand Départ 2027 Board.
Previously, Michelle advised major international events including
the Rugby League World Cup, MLB London Series, Invictus Games and
The Boat Race.
Charlotte Samuelson
Charlotte Samuelson is Chief Operating Officer of PREM Rugby. She
joined PREM Rugby from World Rugby, where she served as COO from
2022. Her rugby leadership experience includes board roles with
the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 and Men's Rugby World Cup 2027,
as well as helping deliver the record-breaking Women's Rugby
World Cup in England. She served on the Board of Surrey County
Cricket Club for eight years and is a disciplinary panel member
for the MCC.
A qualified auditor with degrees in English & Philosophy, and
Psychology, Charlotte brings more than two decades of senior
leadership experience across sport, financial services and
professional services, with previous roles at Close Brothers,
Vanquis Bank, Barclays, Grant Thornton, EY and the BBC.
John Steele
John has been a professional athlete, European Cup winning coach,
CEO, NED, and Chair in the private, public and not-for-profit
sectors. He has been CEO of UK Sport, the Rugby Football Union
and the Youth Sport Trust. His experience spans leadership roles
in 14 Olympic and Paralympic Games, both winter and summer. In
his role as Executive Director of Sport at Loughborough
University, he gained insight into turning high
performance success into social impact and learning.
He chaired the Board of the UK Sports Institute (EIS) for eight
years and currently chairs Commonwealth Games England. He is the
founder and co-owner of the leadership consultancy Unforgiving
Minute, with previous experience as a Chartered Surveyor and an
Army officer. He has been a Visiting Professor in Sports
Performance and Leadership at Loughborough University and was
awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2021 for services
to high performance sport.
Dame Sarah Storey
Dame Sarah Storey is the UK's most successful Paralympian having
competed across nine Games and two sports from 1992 to 2024. Her
career in sport has been accompanied by a series of roles in
sport and public life, including running her own professional
cycling team, the head coach role of the North West Disability
Swim Squad and now the Chair of Lancashire Cricket Club.
Since 2013, she has been a leading voice in active transport,
beginning with her policy advocacy for British Cycling. She has
served as an Active Travel Commissioner since 2019, first in
South Yorkshire until 2022, and for the past four and a half
years in Greater Manchester. As well as a role on the Board at
the Department of Transport, Sarah is a regular sports
broadcaster having worked at multiple events for TV outlets from
World Championships to Commonwealth Games, before her first
presenting role on screen at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
Rachel Baillache has been reappointed for a second term of four
years, from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2030.
Rachel Baillache
Rachel is the Senior Independent Director at the Lawn Tennis
Association (LTA) where she chairs the Audit and Risk Committee.
She is also the LTA Board sponsor for Inclusion and Diversity.
Rachel is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Men's
Professional Rugby Board andChair of the charity Access Sport.
Rachel was a partner at KPMG for over twenty years where she
served as an audit partner and for eight years, until her
retirement, she was also a member of KPMG International's Global
Executive.
