Roger Draper is the former chief executive of Sport England [1] from 2003 to 2006, and the Lawn Tennis Association [2] from 2006 to 2013.
He was also Chief Executive of professional Rugby League club, Warrington Wolves [3] from 2015 to 2017 and Executive Director of Super League.
Since 2018 he has been Global Business Advisor to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) advising Governments, Federations and Sports clubs around the World.
In his time at Sport England, Draper had overall accountability for business turnover of £340m, and was involved in London’s 2012 Olympic bid, and the Wembley National Stadium construction project.[ citation needed ]
As Accounting Officer for Sport England, he had responsibility for reporting to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and represented the organisation at a wide range of Select Committees, including the Public Accounts Committee hearing on the Wembley National Stadium Project, in 2003.[ citation needed ]
He also led a major review and reorganisation of the £450m spent on sport in the UK.[ citation needed ]
This included the completion of the £120m English Institute of Sport network of high performance facilities including new centres at Bath and Loughborough Universities, and a review of corporate governance across a number of sports, including athletics, hockey, rugby league, golf, cricket, boxing, karate and bowls.[ citation needed ]
Draper joined the LTA in 2006, and published the ‘Blueprint, a Strategy for British Tennis’, which set out his plans to transform the national governing body for British tennis. This included a complete restructure of the organisation, a new commercial strategy and programme, the introduction of Talent ID, and a comprehensive review and rebuild of all the LTA's major events.[ citation needed ]
During his time at the LTA, turnover grew by 45% to £65m, and commercial revenues increased by three and a half times, in part the result of a ground-breaking Lead Partner agreement with pensions provider Aegon UK. [4] British Tennis membership grew by 500% and the number of juniors playing competitive tennis sevenfold. [5]
Draper was also responsible for introducing a new mini tennis programme and a nationwide talent ID system for British tennis. [6] During this period, Great Britain won the Junior Davis Cup for the first time, and a number of British juniors won grand slam singles and doubles titles. [7] [8] [9]
In 2013, Andy Murray became the first British man to win the Wimbledon singles title for 77 years. [10]
Despite a growth in the number of children playing tennis, [11] Draper’s tenure was criticised for failing to increase levels of participation among adults.[ citation needed ]
The problems of participation came to a head when in December 2012 Sport England announced that £10.3million of the LTA's £17.4million funding total had been put on hold, with Sport England chief executive Jennie Price telling Press Association Sport: "Tennis has not performed well in terms of participation". [12] Sport England subsequently released the funding to the LTA.[ citation needed ]
After his salary package at the LTA was revealed to be £640,000 in 2012, [13] Draper and the LTA received further criticism, including from Baroness Billingham, the Chair of Parliament's All-Party Tennis Group.
His 7+1⁄2-year tenure as chief executive of the LTA came to an end in March 2013, when he announced that he would stand down in September 2013 [14]
Draper led a programme of stadium improvements, rebranded the club and launched a membership scheme, working closely with the Warrington Wolves Foundation to support its community activities and programmes. [15]
The 2016 season was one of the most successful in the club’s history, winning the League Leaders Shield, reaching the Challenge Cup Final as well as reaching the Super League Grand Final.
In 2017, Draper moved to a role as Chief Commercial Officer at the Rugby Football League and Executive Director of Super League. [16]
The period saw an increase in the player salary cap [17] and record attendances at the Super League Grand Final.
Draper has a BSc (Hons) in P.E, Sports Science and Recreation Management from Loughborough University, where he represented England Students at both Rugby League and Tennis.
He has two sons, Ben, who is a tennis student athlete [18] at University of California, Berkeley and Jack, who was runner-up in the 2018 Wimbledon Championships Boys’ Singles in 2018, and is a professional tennis player.
Adrian Paul Morley is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop and second-row forward from the 1990s through the 2010s. A Great Britain and England international, he played for the Leeds Rhinos, Sydney Roosters, Bradford Bulls, Warrington Wolves and the Salford Red Devils. With a reputation as a tough, uncompromising competitor, Morley was the first British player to win both NRL and Super League championships.
Kevin Brown is a former English professional rugby league footballer who last played as a stand-off for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League. He has played for England at international level.
The United Kingdom's National Tennis Centre at Roehampton in south-west London is the high-performance training facility of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 29 March 2007. The Chief Executive of the centre is Roger Draper.
Tony Smith is a professional rugby league coach and former player
Jon Clarke is an English former professional rugby league player who played as a hooker. He is currently a strength & conditioning coach for the England and British & Irish Lions rugby union teams. He played for the Wigan Warriors, London Broncos, Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings.
James Darryl Peacock MBE, is an English motivational speaker, leadership mentor and former professional rugby league footballer. He played for Leeds Rhinos and the Bradford Bulls in the Super League, and captained both Great Britain and England at international level. After retiring at the end of the 2015 season he became director of rugby at the Hull Kingston Rovers, but resumed his playing career towards the end of the 2016 season. His position of choice was prop, although he played much of his early career as a second-row. He is the most successful player in Super League history, having won a total of 9 Super League championships, 4 Challenge Cup winners medals, 4 World Club Challenge winners medals, twice named the Best Forward in the World, named in the Super League Dream Team on 11 occasions, won the Man of Steel award in 2003 and in 2021 awarded the MBE.
Ben Westwood is an English former rugby league footballer who played as a second-row or loose forward in the Betfred Super League. He played for England and the England Knights at international level.
Ryan Lee Hall is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League, and for England and Great Britain at international level.
Mike Wainwright is a former Scotland international rugby league footballer who played in the second-row. He played for the Salford City Reds and the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, the Leigh Centurions in the RFL Championship and for the Swinton Lions in National League Two.
Michael Cooper is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and loose forward for the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League, and for the England Knights and England at international level.
Stefan Guy Ratchford is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League and the England Knights and England international at international level.
Richard Alan Lewis, is a former British Davis Cup tennis professional from Middlesex.
John Edward Barrett, is a former tennis player, television commentator and author. He was born in Mill Hill, North West London, the son of Alfred Edward Barrett, a leaf tobacco merchant, and Margaret Helen Barrett. He had one sister, Irene Margaret Leppington (1925–2009), a research chemist. His father had the rare distinction of having played both for Leicester Tigers RFC as a wing three-quarter and for Leicester Fosse FC as a wing half.
Daryl Clark is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League and England at international level.
Stevie Ray Ward is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a second-row or loose forward for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.
George Williams is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half and stand-off for Warrington Wolves in the Super League and England at international level.
Katie Boulter is an English tennis player and the current British women's number one.
Luis Johnson is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for Castleford Tigers, on season-long loan from Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League.
Loughborough Sport is the brand identity for the sport-related activities and facilities at Loughborough University. The University has a wide variety of facilities covering a range of sports and is host to a number of sports governing bodies.
Jack Alexander Draper is an English professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 38 in singles by the ATP, which he achieved on 16 January 2023, and he also attained a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 477 on 14 February 2022. Draper has won seven titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Men's World Tennis Tour, and four on the ATP Challenger Tour.
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