Cerebral Palsy Sport appoints new Chair
National charity, Cerebral Palsy Sport (CP Sport) has appointed Lynne Wardle as its new Chair of the Board. Lynne is Chief Executive of a specialist strategy consultancy working predominately in public services to improve health and wellbeing. She has previously held senior executive and advisory positions in a range of FTSE 100 companies.
More recently she led a national programme for Big Lottery, supporting a dozen charities to increase their impact and become more sustainable. Through this work Lynne became passionate about inclusion and equality and she is keen to make sure that Cerebral Palsy Sport’s members shape the direction of the charity, so that it provides what matters to them.
Lynne is a keen rather than an accomplished sportsperson. Her current love is for skiing although previous sports have included hockey, volleyball, netball, horse riding and athletics, winning her only gold medal in the high jump!
Speaking about her appointment, Lynne said:
"I joined the board of CP Sport in 2018 and was delighted to be appointed as Chair in October this year. Our team of staff and trustees at CP Sport are continually inspired by all the people who come along to our events to try new sports or to push themselves to every higher standards of performance at our competitions. Our aim is to ensure that people with cerebral palsy have the opportunities and the motivation to take part in sport regularly and to enjoy all the health, social and wellbeing benefits that brings.
"Being a trustee is challenging and rewarding in equal measure. I lead a board of exceptionally skilled and motivated individuals who share a belief in the potential of sport to change lives for the better. Our role is to set the future direction for the charity, based on insights from our members, funders and partners. As trustees, we apply our skills to offer constructive challenge and support to our staff team so that together we can make our vision a reality.
"I have worked with a large number of charities, advising their boards and management teams on ways to increase their impact and ensure their long terms sustainability. The opportunity to join CP Sport as a trustee brought a number of my interests together – equality, sport and wellbeing – in a role where I could apply my skills and experience to make a difference.
"I was delighted to be elected as Chair. I’m looking forward to working with trustees and the staff team to support CP Sport to go from strength to strength."
Lynne will take over from former Chair Aideen Blackborough. Peter Savage has most recently been interim Chair for the charity whilst Aideen took maternity leave. Peter Savage will continue on the board of Trustees and Aideen Blackborough will become a Patron for the charity.
