Jack Birkenshaw MBE had a tremendous career for Leicestershire CCC, both as a player and coach. He was at Grace Road for two of the most successful periods in the club’s history in the 1970s and 1990s and has been our Club President since being appointed at the 2019 AGM.

An off-spinning all-rounder who offered great value with bat, ball and in the field, Birkenshaw spent the vast majority of his playing career at Grace Road and also played for Yorkshire CCC and Worcestershire CCC.

His first-class career record with the Foxes was exceptional; 11,040 runs with four centuries as a left-handed batsman, and 908 wickets through his deceptive slow bowling.

Birkenshaw had a best return of eight for 94 and claimed his wickets at 26.49 apiece. He was also good in the field, claiming 265 catches.

The Yorkshireman was also an asset for Leicestershire CCC in List A cricket, scoring 1,790 runs with a best of 101* and also claiming five for 20 as part of 77 wickets.

In his overall first-class career, Birkenshaw scored more than 12,500 runs and claimed over 1,000 wickets, which is a rare feat.

Birkenshaw made five test match appearances for England, and was on the first-class umpiring panel for a period before returning to Leicestershire CCC as a coach.

He oversaw one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, helping to steer the team to the County Championship title wins of 1996 and 1998 with astute leadership.

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Sean has 25 years of commercial experience at an executive level within professional sporting clubs. He has in-depth knowledge, expertise and experience of creating strategies to develop commercial teams and activities within those clubs and the ability to build sustainable revenue streams and to motivate staff to deliver success on a day-to-day basis.

His style is to provide engaging and enthusiastic leadership and direction to expand portfolios of partners and influence and raise the expectations of the Club. Sean has experience of helping, building, harnessing and creating sustainable relationships across diverse groups of supporters and stakeholders.

Since August 2006, Sean has been employed as the Commercial Director and a member of the Board at Huddersfield Town Football Club.

Sean is also a trustee of the Huddersfield Town Foundation, where he has been instrumental in transforming the charity from ‘concept to creation’ to a Foundation now employing 60 staff. The Foundation has raised £2m and served more than one million free breakfasts to children through various social and community activities. He was previously Marketing Director at Oldham Athletic Football Club for six-and-a-half-years.

Sean was awarded Yorkshire Businessman of the Year in 2018; Huddersfield Examiner Business Person of the Year also in 2018; and the Institute of Public Relations Sword of Excellence.

While Sean is based in Yorkshire, he was born and educated in Leicester and is a regular visitor to the city. Leicestershire CCC is in Sean’s blood and he is committed to helping the Club to grow and develop.

John was appointed as the Chair of Leicestershire County Cricket Club in 2023. He is a proud and lifelong supporter of Leicestershire County Cricket Club and all Leicester sporting teams, first becoming a Junior Member of LCCC in 1972. Born in Leicester and having always lived in the county of Leicestershire, John played cricket, football, golf and squash for local teams and was involved in committee roles. John also served a previous tenure on LCCC’s Board until 2021, overseeing the Commercial Pillar. Since January 2025, John has taken on his latest role as Group CEO of the Thorpe Interior Group, which he oversees using his vast experience, industry knowledge and passion to guide, grow and develop the company. 

Geoffrey has held senior corporate roles, including Group Operations Director at Sytner Group and CEO of CitNOW Group. He specialises in team development, corporate culture, and driving revenue growth—achieving £17m EBITDA. His leadership is built on collaboration and strategic process improvement.

Leanne started her career as an accountant; In 2007 she left the corporate world and set up her own business Evolve-IT Consulting Limited a Bespoke Software Development Company, which she built from scratch to a £2m+ business, through to exit in July 2020.

In 2018 Leanne, in need of her next challenge, set up e-bate Limited the supplier of a Rebate Management Software platform. She took an idea with limited resources and finances to get the business to commercial launch and investment-ready.

Secured the first round of funding, £950K, from a combination of High Net Worth Individuals and a Venture Capitalist in June 2019; Closed a further round in July 2020 for £950K taking the company through to a Series A raise.

Has developed two award-winning businesses, awarded an MBE for Services to Women in Business and Technology in 2018; Leanne is strong and determined with a passion to drive business success. 

Nicola is Managing Director of CWA, a leading Leicester-based marketing agency with global clients like Volvo Group and Renault Trucks. Since 2013, she’s driven international brand strategies and events. With CWA nearing its 60th year, Nicola is focused on B Corp certification and expanding community initiatives.

Omar is a Partner at Bain & Company with deep expertise in private equity, due diligence, and strategic planning. He has led over 100 high-value transactions and held roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Meridian West. He holds an MPhil from Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD and is active in philanthropy and grassroots cricket.

Ruth has worked for Leicester City Council for over 25 years and has been their Adult Social Care and Safeguarding Director since 2005. Before joining the Council, Ruth worked in NHS and voluntary sector mental health services.  

Ruth manages a team of over 400 staff, who provide social care support to adults and older people in Leicester, across the city’s diverse communities. She is the Council’s lead on health integration, working closely with acute and community health services, as well as having the strategic and operational portfolio for safeguarding adults. Ruth also represents the local statutory social care sector on the Diocese of Leicester’s Safeguarding Oversight Group. 

Creating inclusive cultures, where difference is valued and respected and which build on people’s unique strengths and contributions, is at the heart of Ruth’s approach, as are the significant benefits that sports participation and engagement can bring, to individuals and to communities. She is the co-chair of the Integrated Care System’s Inclusive Culture and Leadership workstream, supporting organisations across the NHS and social care to create safe, healthy places for people to work, thrive and to deliver the best possible outcomes for the people they serve. 

Ruth was a school Chair of Governors for over 7 years and her family are actively involved in local village cricket teams. 

Julian Evans is a chartered surveyor and Proprietary Partner of Knight Frank LLP, the world’s largest privately owned surveying practice with over 600 global offices, where he heads their market leading Healthcare Department which annually advises on c.£12BN of assets. 

He enjoys all sport and is also an Adventurer and dedicated Fund Raiser. He has reached the North and South Poles on foot, completed the Marathon des Sables and has summited some of the world's most iconic mountains including Mount Everest, Denali, Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Julian is the 378th Briton to summit Everest and the 45th Briton (and 420th person in the world) to complete the 7 Summits (summit the highest mountain on each continent). He is a brand ambassador for Pagoda Watches, trustee to The Matt Hampson Foundation and also Great Ormond Street Hospital, raising to date c.£2M for charity.

Viveen Taylor is the Director of Equality Diversity and Inclusion at Sport England, where she is also currently leads their Policy and Integrity Director.  She joined the organisation in August 2019 as Strategic Lead for Socio-economic groups, supporting colleagues to understand the barriers to their engagement and participation in sport and physical activity. She leads a team at Sport England with responsibility for ensuring that the wider sport and physical activity sector is accountable and responsible for inclusion and diversity.

Viveen has worked in the charitable sector for over 30 years , leading national and local government initiatives with a focus on diversity, inclusion and engagement mainly with communities who are often underserved, unheard and under-represented. She totally understands the importance of engaging communities and giving them a voice, empowering and enabling those most excluded, to co-design solutions to issues which impact their lives.  

Viveen believes strongly that those that have the means to do so, should provide platforms and pathways for others to feel valued and included, helping communities to become the architects of their own futures. She will be advising the Leicestershire County Cricket Club Board and our EDI Action Group as part of our total commitment to being wholly-inclusive and at the leading edge of best practice as a Club for everyone across the County.

A retired industry-based chartered accountant, Mark led several high-performing businesses and was instrumental in the Watches of Switzerland PLC listing. He’s a proud member of LCCC and a passionate lifelong cricketer.

Tom has been a Leicestershire resident for almost 25 years. Tom is the Chief Executive of E-ACT, one of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts. A career in education, predominantly spent in Leicester and Leicestershire, demonstrates Tom’s passion for community, sport and improving the life chances of young people.

An experienced executive and non-executive director, Tom is committed to working with the foundation, the ECB and the cricket club board to ensure that cricket is a game for all.

Chandila brings over two decades of experience in governance, finance, and community engagement. A Trustee of the Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket Foundation, he champions inclusivity in cricket. He has led major financial projects and partnered on AI-community initiatives, with a strong focus on youth sport fundraising.