The R&A appoints Mark Darbon as Chief Executive
Mark Darbon has been appointed Chief Executive of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Mr Darbon will succeed Martin Slumbers in the role leading the governing body and the organisation which runs The
Open and AIG Wom in developing golf around the world in November. He will also become which has a global membership of more than 2,400.A former senior member of the team leading the London Organising Committee for the is leaving his role as CEO of Northampton Saints, the Premiership Rugby club, to take up the St Andrews-based position.Mr Darbon (45) led Northampton Saints to their first Premiership title since 2014 last month and implemented a commercial strategy which enabled the rugby union club to bounce back from the pandemic to achieve record revenues in consecutive seasons.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be taking up these positions with The R&A and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and to be moving into golf, a sport I have always loved,” he said. “The R&A is a globally renowned organisation and does so much to ensure that golf prospers from grassroots through to the professional game. I am looking forward to working with a hugely talented team of staff, the Club membership and such an impressive array of partner organisations to achieve even more success in the years to come.”Niall Farquharson, Chairman of The R&A said, “We were greatly impressed with Mark’s knowledge and experience of the global sport industry and his ability to develop successful teams and deliver fantastic events. We believe he will be an excellent leader for The R&A and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and will play a key role in helping us to achieve our goal of ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for golf.”