Debbie Hewitt MBE is to become the Football Association’s first ever chairwoman in its 157 year history.
The FA Board nominated Hewitt to become the new Chair of The Football Association, with effect from January 2022. She will succeed the interim FA Chair, Peter McCormick OBE, after a unanimous decision from the selection panel.
Debbie has an extensive non-executive career spanning over 15 years in Listed, Private Equity backed and privately-owned companies, across many different sectors. She’s currently the non-executive Chair of Visa Europe, The Restaurant Group plc, BGL Group and White Stuff.
After six years at The Restaurant Group plc, she will step down from this business when she joins the FA in January. She’s previously held non-executive Chair roles at Moss Bros plc, Evander Group, HR Owen plc and the HPI Group. Debbie was awarded an MBE in 2011 for services to business and the public sector.
Discover more like this:
Inspirational Woman: Fleur Robinson | Commercial Director, Burton Albion Football Club
Fleur Robinson is Commercial Director of Burton Albion Football Club, a Council Member for the Football Association, an Ambassador for BTEC and a founding Trustee of Burton Albion Community Trust (BACT).
Fleur has capitalised on the meteoric rise of Burton Albion to build a successful commercial arm for the English Football League One club. In 2018 the Club welcomed 124,000 spectators, 8,000 people enjoyed match day hospitality and 30,000 guests attended a conference or event.
Read Fleur’s full interview here
Inspirational Woman: Anoesjcka Gianotti | Founder, Footballers4Change
I’ve lived in a few different countries from Milan to LA and was always in the fashion design and ecommerce field. I started my first venture in 2008 specialising in bespoke shirts and I was fortunate enough to have the support of the iconic Mr Armani himself and private bank Coutts and Co. I then moved to LA launching a handbag brand. Here I realised just how tough it is for designers launching their work and turned my focus to championing emerging designers by co-founding a marketplace to give them a platform to market themselves. My current role is as the Founder and CEO of Footballers4Change, a platform for iconic footballers and their families to gift their pre-loved clothing items for a charitable cause of their choice. Items could be anything from their worn and signed playing kit, their season’s training kit, their wives fashion items and children’s outgrown clothing items.
Read Anoesjcka’s full interview here
Speaking about her appointment, Hewitt said, “I’m delighted to be nominated for the role of Non-Executive Chair of The Football Association.”
“As the events in recent months have shown, this is a significant moment in time for English football, with a clear purpose for all stakeholders to secure the long-term health of the game at all levels.”
“I’ve been passionate about football from a very young age and I’m excited by the opportunity to play my part in shaping the future of something that means so much to so many.”
“I’m looking forward to working alongside our CEO Mark Bullingham and the team across Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, and relish the opportunity to Chair an organisation that has the potential to be a very positive force for good throughout the game and across society.”
WeAreTheCity covers the latest female centric news stories from around the world, focusing on women in business, careers and current affairs. You can find all the latest gender news here.
Don’t forget, you can also follow us via our social media channels for the latest up-to-date gender news. Click to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
