Andy Parkinson has been appointed as the first Chief Executive of UK Anti-Doping, which will take over as Britain’s national anti-doping organisation from UK Sport later this year. The appointment was announced by Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe and UKAD Chair David Kenworthy.
Gerry Sutcliffe said: “Andy Parkinson’s expertise and knowledge on anti-doping issues is first-class. With Andy and David Kenworthy at the helm we have a leadership team that will ensure that UK Anti-Doping hits the ground running in the battle against drug cheats.”
David Kenworthy said: “I am delighted to have Andy on board and have no doubt he will be an exceptional first Chief Executive for UKAD. At UK Sport he has shown the leadership, expertise and drive we need to take anti-doping in the UK to the next level and firmly establish UK Anti-Doping as a true world leader in the run-up to London 2012 and beyond.”
Parkinson joined UK Sport in August 2006, initially as Head of Operations before becoming Director of Drug-Free Sport in July 2008. Prior to that he was Medical and Scientific Director at the International Paralympic Committee.
“Becoming Chief Executive of UK Anti-Doping will be a huge challenge and one I am very much looking forward to taking on,” said Parkinson. “The establishment of UK Anti-Doping marks a new era in the fight against doping in sport in the UK. It provides an opportunity to build on the progress made by UK Sport over the past few years, and further enhance the UK’s capabilities in anti-doping through the creation of case management and intelligence functions.
“Importantly I want to ensure we forge effective partnerships with the sports and athletes with whom we work, so that clean athletes are proud to be associated with UK Anti-Doping and we continue to develop a culture in which doping is simply not tolerated.”
