RYA Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is comprised of a mix of non-executive and executive directors and it meets regularly to conduct its business
The role of the Board is to supervise the management of the Association’s business and to discharge the responsibilities of the directors under the Companies Act and also in compliance with the Code for Sports Governance, which sets out the levels of transparency, accountability and financial integrity that are required from those bodies that receive Government and National Lottery Funding. RYA Policy Forming Committees report directly to the Board.
The Board will ordinarily comprise four Nominated Directors appointed by the Members and three Independent Directors appointed by the Board who are appointed on the basis of personal competencies, through an open recruitment process. The Chief Executive and Finance Director sit on the Board ex officio. Members of the Board ordinarily serve a four year term.
The Board’s main duties are
- Develop long term Strategic Plans
- Approve the Annual Operating Plan
- Approve operating budgets
- Set subscription rates
- Supervise risk management and safety matters for the Association.
Its workings are reported to the members of the Association through the Directors’ Report in the annual report and accounts document and at the Annual General Meeting.
Current membership of the Board
Sir Michael Arthur
Sir Michael is an academic doctor and Professor of Medicine with a distinguished career in university leadership as Vice-Chancellor of Leeds and President and Provost of University College London. He was knighted for Services to Higher Education in 2022. Sir Michael is an experienced yachtsman and a longstanding member (>30 years) of the RYA.
Corinne Cunningham
Board Member to AGM 2025 An outdoor sports enthusiast, Corinne is committed to making sailing more inclusive and diverse. A qualified Chartered Accountant she also has a wealth of experience in delivering digital transformation for publishing, training and events businesses.
Dr Misha Engineer
Misha is a medical doctor and pharmaceutical entrepreneur with an MBA and awards from the London Business School. She sits on the Young Executive Committee of the IOD and on the Prince’s Trust. She joins the RYA to share her experience in social impact & business leadership.
Polly Handford
A solicitor and keen sailor, Polly has been practicing law for 24+ years specialising in the field of sport regulation and governance, latterly with the Football Association; working to ensure that sport is inclusive, safe and its regulations are robust and fair. Polly is the Board’s lead on Welfare & Safety.
Tony Hockley
Tony is an economist experienced in policymaking and in delivering change. Active in many aspects of boating both as a volunteer instructor and as a participant, Tony has always been a keen advocate for inclusivity and sustainability in boating, both for the benefits to individual wellbeing and as the basis for our future success
Fiona Kidd
Fiona has a long-standing passion for the sport, logging over 44,000nm at sea. With a corporate finance background, she has spent the past decade specialising in advising boards on a broad range of finance and risk matters and offers her skills on developing collaboration with RYA Stakeholders. Fiona Chairs the RYA’s Audit & Risk Committee.
Duncan Rutherford
In addition to his role running BT’s online technology retail team, Duncan works as a marine surveyor. This gives him first-hand experience to share with the RYA of the passions and challenges faced by boat-owners in both Inland Waterways and coastal waters in the north of the country.
Sonali Siriwardena
Sonali is a partner at an international law firm leading on sustainability. She also chairs one of the largest social lenders in the UK and serves on the board of an ocean conservation charity. Sonali’s passion for the ocean stems from her island heritage in Sri Lanka and she is a keen kitesurfer and foiler.
Pip Woods
Pip has been MD of an RYA Training Centre for over two decades and her engagement with the RYA includes being an RYA Dinghy Scheme Trainer and Coach and previously chairing the Participation and Membership Committee. Pip has also served as a non-executive Director at British Marine.
Sara Sutcliffe MBE
Sara joined the RYA in January 2022 and is an experienced senior sports administrator with a legal background. She has over 20 years’ executive experience in the sports sector firstly at the British Olympic Association and then as CEO at Table Tennis England. Sara leads an active life enjoying pursuits such as sailing and skiing with her family
Dave Strain
Dave provides managerial direction for the central administration and support functions. He also acts as a Board Director and Company Secretary. Since joining the RYA, he learned to dinghy sail and windsurf, and gained his Powerboat Level 2 qualification. Away from work, he is likely to be found walking or cycling.
