Director of Partnerships appointed

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British Rowing is pleased to announce the appointment of Kenny Baillie as Director of Partnerships (Commercial and Non-Commercial), effective from October 2015. Kenny joins British Rowing following a successful tenure as Chief Executive Officer of London Scottish FC, a professional rugby club and will now be responsible in providing strategic leadership and overall accountability for partnerships to help deliver revenue growth and increased awareness of the brand.

Kenny has built his career in a variety of roles and industries, mostly in SMEs where he has been responsible for many aspects of the business including leadership, sponsorship sales and account management, marketing, media and communications, and event management. Kenny was Chief Executive Officer of Glasgow Warriors, one of the two professional rugby clubs owned by the Scottish Rugby Union and following a move to London, he joined retail giant Westfield Shoppingtowns Ltd. to lead and manage their strategic brand partnerships with American Express®, British Gas and Samsung.

His tenure at London Scottish has seen him increase sponsorship and match day turnover at the club, whilst high performance remained at the centre of his focus. This was reflected by London Scottish finishing third in the Greene King IPA Championship last season and qualifying for the end of season play-offs to the Premiership for the first time in their history.

Kenny shared with us: “This is a fantastic opportunity for rowing to increase participation and commercial income, both of which are vital to the long-term growth of the sport at all levels. The Rio 2016 Olympic & Paralympic Games will provide a platform to further enhance the already excellent reputation brand and reach of British Rowing and our national team across the United Kingdom and beyond. It is with this in mind that I am extremely excited and proud to be joining British Rowing.”

Commenting on the appointment, Andy Parkinson, CEO British Rowing, said:

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Kenny to British Rowing. Kenny’s achievements in commercial partnerships and experience with high performance teams within the sports sector will make him a valuable asset to our workforce and to the senior team we are building at British Rowing.”

He added: “This is an exciting time for British Rowing to drive participation and create genuine, long-term partnerships with brands who want to add value to our great sport.”

“I would also like to pay tribute to the work that outgoing Ben Wyatt, Director of Marking and Communications has done since last year on bringing our communications activities into one team and establishing an excellent basis from which we can now work from. He has made a significant impact on the organisation.”