THE board of the Welsh Rugby Union would benefit from having the option of appointing an independent non-executive chair in a move that would deepen its professional and commercial expertise, believes current independent member Henry Engelhardt.
The co-founder and former chief executive of arguably Wales’ most successful ever business, in FTSE 100 car insurance to loans group Admiral, is hopeful that this weekend’s AGM of the WRU - which will see club representatives voting on a series of governance changes - will support a motion allowing the board to appoint an independent non-executive director (iNED) as chair. He said this would bolster the board’s capacity to support the union’s executive team.
Currently the chair of the board, made up of 12 members, can only be drawn from the majority of its members representing the game at a district and national level. Mr Engelhardt is one of three iNEDs on the board alongside chief operating officer of Royal London Asset Management, Catherine Read, and former chair of Harlequins and business executive Malcolm Wall - who also chairs the Professional Rugby Board (PBR) - the body that represents the union and four professional regions and which takes up most of his WRU related time.
