Who is involved
Sports Fund not only has a dedicated and involved Board of Trustees behind it who believe in the mission that Sports Fund has instigated, but many generous donors who support the initiative and enable a successful grant process.
The Sports Fund Board of Trustees
Mark Davis – Betfair
Mark Davies was part of Betfair’ founder management team, and is one of the company's Managing Directors. He began his career as a bond trader for JPMorgan, before leaving to pursue a career in the media, where he worked for BBC Radio and Television and the Daily Telegraph. He has played a key role in most of Betfair’s major milestones since its launch in June 2000, developing the much-talked-about Memorandums of Understanding with sporting bodies around the world, and leading the company’s work with the UK Government in the run-up to the Gambling Act 2005. He also led Betfair’s lengthy discussions with the UK Treasury, as well as the negotiations for an Australian licence: he worked with the Federal and state governments Down Under prior to the company successfully gaining the right to an Australian base in February 2006. He is Betfair’s most regular spokesman at conferences, on television and on radio.
Alan Lovell — Infinis Limited
Alan Lovell has been Chief Executive of Infinis since July 2006. Infinis, which is owned by Terra Firma, produces about 10% of the UK’s renewable energy. Prior to that, Alan was Chief Executive of Costain, Dunlop Slazenger and, most recently Jarvis, where he achieved a challenging rescue and turnaround. He is also on the Council of Lloyd’s and Chairman of a major appeal for the Mary Rose.
Alan played in nine Varsity matches, winning eight. He is a former real tennis amateur champion and international and county lawn tennis player. He is now a keen, but very ordinary golfer.
Andrew Wigmore – Health Squared Communications
Andrew Wigmore is Managing Director of Health Squared Communications and a co-founder of Pearl Medical. Andrew has over 20 years of experience in communications, journalism, politics and business, having worked for a number of government ministers and major broadcasters. He was a founder of Health Media, which floated on AIM and maintains a number of board level positions in healthcare companies. He is also the policy director of the Claims Standards Council – the government-backed trade association for the personal injury sector. He is a trustee of the Sir Steve Redgrave Charitable Trust and the Dyscovery Centre, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
The Donors
Sports Fund has secured a lot of corporate sponsorship from companies that span a wide range of disciplines, yet all felt there was an important necessity to support the Sports Fund initiative and have shown this through their generosity. Examples include:
