David Collier has decided to retire as the Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) at the end of the 2014 season after a hugely successful decade in the role.
ECB Chairman Giles Clarke said: “David has overseen the most successful period of development, playing success and growth for cricket in England and Wales and we are extremely grateful to him. During his decade as Chief Executive David has produced and delivered three strategic plans which have revolutionised cricket in this country.
"The three plans – Building Partnerships, Grounds to Play and Champion Counties have provided the blueprint for the success not only of England teams but also the ECB Board, County and recreational structures.
“At the same time he has built significant links with the Government and its agencies to ensure that there has been significant investment opportunities for the Board’s ground-breaking initiatives in recreational cricket resulting in ECB being hailed as the model governing body in sport.
"He has also built strong relationships with all the major sports in this country and overseas – he himself is heavily involved in hockey through the International Hockey Federation – as well as being an Associate Director of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“When we reflect on the past 10 years we will all recognise the huge debt of gratitude which is owed by cricket in England and Wales to David Collier and the management teams he has built and revitalised during that period.”
David Collier succeeded Tim Lamb in October 2004 and is only the second Chief Executive in ECB’s 17 year history and is one of the longest serving chief executives in modern British sport.
Prior to taking up the role of Chief Executive of ECB David served on the ECB Board as an elected Director since ECB’s inception. His contribution to sport was recently recognised by Loughborough University with the award of an Honorary Degree and he is a previous recipient of the Sydney Friskin award for services to hockey.
Before joining the ECB David Collier was Chief Executive at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club from 1999-2004 during which time he oversaw the modernisation of Trent Bridge which subsequently developed into one of the most impressive Test grounds in the world.
Prior to Nottinghamshire he had already gained considerable cricket management experience with three other counties as Deputy Secretary/Manager at Essex CCC (1980-83) and as Chief Executive of Gloucestershire CCC (1983-1986) and Leicestershire CCC (1996-99).
Outside cricket David Collier had a successful business career having spent 10 years working in the travel and leisure industry, including posts as Group Marketing Manager of the Computer Systems Company Sema Group (1986-88), President AMR Services, Senior Vice President American Airlines/SABRE (1988-1995) and Managing Director of Servisair (1995-96).
He has also served as Vice President of England Hockey, an Independent Director of Great Britain Hockey, Chair of the International Hockey Rules Board and Audit and Governance Committee, a Member of the UK Sport Major Event Panel and the Minister’s nominee to the British Airports Group and Sport England.
He was Tournament Director for hockey at the Commonwealth Games and at the Junior Hockey World Cup as well as being an International Hockey umpire both for England and the USA. He has served on the ICC Chief Executive’s Committee since 2004 and has been a member of several influential working groups covering issues such as technology, anti-corruption and the Future Tours Programme.
David Collier said: “After 10 years at ECB I believe it is the right time to step aside and retire from the position of Chief Executive as I shall turn 60 in the Spring and I do believe the time is right for a new CEO to open the batting.
“I am immensely proud of the achievements and the enormous strides forward which cricket in England and Wales has made during the past decade. We now possess venues which are amongst the best in the world, we lead the world in women’s and disabilities cricket, our recreational game is flourishing and we have delivered commercial success providing more revenue than ever before for our 18 First Class Counties.
"We have achieved both men’s and women’s victories in ICC Global Events, three consecutive home men’s Ashes Wins, three women’s Ashes wins, an Ashes victory in Australia, victory in India and developed a world leading National Performance Centre at Loughborough.
"Our success in bidding for and winning six ICC Global Events is testimony to our ability to deliver world class events and the staging of the 2009, 2010 and 2013 events set new standards for these tournaments.
“I pay tribute to my Management team who have been such a strong and cohesive unit over the past decade which has delivered this success and I thank the two Chairmen during my term in office, David Morgan and Giles Clarke, for the opportunity I have been given to lead cricket in England and Wales for the past decade.
"I wish my successor every success in the future and I shall continue to follow cricket closely albeit from outside the boundary rope.”