Paul Vaughan Appointed England Rugby 2015 CEO

Paul Vaughan is to become the new CEO of England Rugby 2015, effective January 4th 2011. Vaughan moves across from the RFU where he has been Business Operations Director for 10 years, during which time he grew the commercial revenues from £43m to £119m and played a major role in creating the commercial partnerships with Compass Group, Marriott Hotels and Virgin Health that underpin the new South Stand development. He also had board responsibility for the ticketing strategy that has seen Twickenham Stadium regularly sold out. Prior to the RFU he held executive roles at Whitbread plc and Octagon.

The role of CEO of England Rugby 2015 required a very specific range of skills given the need to deliver an outstanding tournament and maximise ticket income. Vaughan will take up the role from January 2011 but will continue to fulfil his current role at the RFU to ensure an appropriate period of transition through to the middle of the year. The RFU is looking at how they will replace him and will announce its intentions for that early in 2011.

With a little under five years to go until England hosts RWC 2015, the foundations for delivery of rugby’s showcase event are under way with the RFU and Rugby World Cup Limited collaborating to develop the strategy and master plans that will guide the delivery of RWC 2015 in England.

The Strategic Plan will ensure all legacies are realised and where possible exceeded, both in the UK and throughout Europe. It will also provide the focus for planning moving forward, while the master plan will deliver the framework for the delivery of the specific strategic goals.

Commenting on his appointment, Paul Vaughan said: “It is a tremendous honour to be offered the opportunity to manage the delivery of RWC 2015 in England and one I accept with great relish. The RFU are the custodians of the tournament before handing it on to Japan in 2019 and I want to deliver a fantastic event for the game and a long term positive legacy for the RFU.”

England Rugby 2015 is the wholly owned subsidiary of the RFU tasked with delivering RWC 2015 which will begin in September 2015 and lasts 7 weeks, with 48 of games played in over 10 iconic stadia including Twickenham and Wembley.