Getting Wales Moving

Geoff Thompson
Executive Chair MBE, FRSA, DL
The Youth Charter

Geoff Thompson was appointed to the GB Sports Council - now Sport England in 1990 following an outstanding career in competitive Karate. He was five times World Karate Champion from 1982 to 1986 and holder of over 50 national and international titles. As one of Britain’s most successful and celebrated sportsmen of the 80’s Geoff made a transition from tracksuit to lounge suit where he established himself as a sports politician and administrator. Geoff is one of the leading youth activists and experts in sports development and politics with over 25 years experience in the bidding and hosting and legacy of major games and the positive impact of sport and the arts in the social and human development of young people and communities. He is Founder and Executive Chair of the Youth Charter (www.youthcharter.co.uk), a UK registered charity and United Nations accredited Non Governmental Organisation established in 1993.

Gary Denton
Managing Director
Icon Vocational Training Limited

Gary Denton is Managing Director of ICON Training, an award winning, Grade 1 Ofsted, sport and leisure industry apprenticeship provider. Gary has more than 16 years experience in the sector and started out as an apprentice Gym Instructor. He previously operated his own personal training business, worked as an Exercise Therapist in accident rehabilitation and has tutored, assessed and managed operations at a number of organisations, sharing his passion for education and the difference it can make to an individual and the workforce as a whole. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and consultant for an industry trailblazer.

Ken Skates
Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure
Welsh Government

Ken Skates was born in 1976 in Wrexham, educated at Mold Alun School and went on to study Social and Political Science at Cambridge University. In his free time, Ken enjoys running, swimming, hiking and golf as well as having an interest in gardening, art and architecture. Ken was previously a journalist and assistant to Mark Tami MP. In 2008, he was elected a community councillor. Ken's policy interests include manufacturing, mental health, sport and leisure, eliminating poverty and political economy. His political interests include skills training, tourism, environmental protection, mental health, sport and fitness and social inclusion. In June 2013 Ken Skates was appointed Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology. In September 2014, Ken was appointed Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism. In May 2016 he was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure.

Iestyn Davies
CEO
ColegauCymru/College Wales

Iestyn Davies is the Chief Executive of ColegauCymru, a charity and limited company that raises the profile of further education among decision-makers in order to improve educational opportunities in Wales. It is a member-led body, representing all 14 further education colleges and institutions in Wales. Iestyn is a graduate in Philosophy and Welsh from Swansea University and holds an MA in Political Communications from Cardiff University. During his career, Iestyn has worked in both the business and voluntary sectors as well as in education. He has been a Lay Inspector with the Estyn, a Governor at Cardiff Metropolitan University as well as at his local Welsh-medium primary school. Iestyn was a member of the shadow board of Qualifications Wales. With two school age children, he has a keen personal and professional interest in the provision of high quality learning and skills in Wales.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, DL
ukactive Chair
Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords

Baroness Grey-Thompson has had an extremely successful career as a Paralympic athlete, winning 11 gold medals, as well as six London marathons. In 2005 Tanni was made a Dame for her services to sport and in 2010 became a Life Peer sitting as a cross-bencher in the House Lords. She is the president of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and the patron of numerous charities including Sports Leaders UK, the Duk ...

Tom Overton
Head of Community Sport
Sport Wales

Tom is Head of Community Sport at Sport Wales and leads the organisation's relationship with key partners delivering the Vision for Sport in Wales. He also has lead responsibility for Governance and Leadership. Tom is an experienced sport and community development professional having spent over 20 years working across the public sector in both England and Wales. He is also a Board Director at Welsh Triathlon and a Board member at 'Show Racism the Red Card Wales'. As an avid learner Tom has more recently gained an MBA with Distinction from the University of South Wales. In addition he studied and was successful with a Certificate in Corporate Governance with Distinction with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Finally Tom's daily passion is to keep learning and to keep applying that learning in the real world.

Mr Andy Reed OBE
Director at Saje Impact and The Sports Think Tank
Sports Think Tank

Matt Newman
CEO
Welsh Athletics

Matt is a business transformation professional with extensive experience in the private and public sectors. A first career within the insurance and financial services software sector, before moving into the business of sport. As CEO of Welsh Athletics, Matt leads a team delivering programmes across the sporting spectrum, from social running to world-class athletics. In 2012, Matt established Run 4 Wales as part of a sustainable model for athletics in Wales. Run 4 Wales is a sports events organisation providing event management expertise for the sector in Wales. Its ambition is to build a portfolio of high quality events, including its flagship event, the Cardiff Half Marathon, now the 2nd largest half marathon in the UK. In 2016 Run 4 Wales successfully delivered the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. Matt is also an accomplished sportsman having played several sports at senior level and was awarded international rugby honours with Welsh Universities and Welsh Students. Educated at Barry Boys Comprehensive School, Millfield School and Swansea University. The photograph shows Matt trying to catch his 5 year-old son Charlie in the Cardiff Bay Run.

Malcolm Ward
Principal Health Promotion Specialist
Public Health Network Cymru

Malcolm joined the health promotion service in Merthyr Tydfil in 1995 as a generic Health Promotion Specialist gaining a postgraduate diploma in health promotion at University of the West of England in Bristol and subsequently a Masters degree in Public Health at the University of Wales College of Medicine. As a specialist in the promotion of physical activity he has advised on both policy development and programme delivery locally, nationally and internationally. He presently manages the public health networks in Public Health Wales and contributes to the International Health Co-ordination Centre. He is a board member and treasurer for EuroHealthNet He has contributed to a number of NICE guidance groups including those on obesity, behavior change and exercise referral, jointly leads a HEPA Europe working group looking at physical activity in health care settings and is presently a temporary expert advisor to the WHO Europe working group developing a regional physical activity strategy. He was the first person on the UK voluntary register of defined public health specialists, successfully completed the Physical Activity and Public Health Practitioners course in Utah in 2004 run by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of South Carolina and has written for various publications on subjects including GP referral to exercise, men’s health, the role of sports science in health, nutrition and workplace health.

Sara Moseley
Director
Mind Cymru

Sara Moseley is Director at Mind Cymru. She leads the development and delivery of Mind’s work in Wales and is part of Mind’s Executive Team. Initially training as a journalist at the BBC, Sara has over 25 years of experience of leadership and communications across a number of high profile public and third sector organizations including the Welsh Government, where she was Director of Communications, Centrepoint, a charity for homeless and vulnerable young people, and the NHS. Sara is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Cardiff University and an Advisory Board Member to the National Trust.

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