Six Nations Rugby today announced that Ronan Dunne has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman effective 1 Jan 2022.
The Six Nations Board is the newly formed body overseeing the commercial and marketing operations for the Men’s, Women’s and Under-20 Six Nations championships as well as the Autumn Nations Series.
The appointment follows the completion of CVC’s strategic investment into Six Nations Rugby and is the result of a rigorous recruitment process led jointly by the unions and CVC.
With more than two decades of executive experience in the media, digital and data world, Dunne will provide strategic direction to Six Nations Rugby’s senior executive team, led by Chief Executive Officer Ben Morel.
The Six Nations Rugby partnership will invest to grow and develop the game; to further enhance the sporting spectacle of all the tournaments, the teams and the brands; and to build the data, technology, and broader commercial capabilities to support ambitious plans to grow and reach new audiences.
Dunne most recently served as CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, where he remains a strategic advisor to the Verizon CEO. He leads the teams responsible for providing wireline voice, data and video services and wireless connected experiences to more than 100 million consumers in the United States every day, in addition to building the first 5G technology network.
Previously, Dunne was CEO at Telefónica UK, leading O2 UK, the largest wireless operator in the United Kingdom.
“As both Chairman, and as a fan, I’m excited to be partnering with the management team, the Six Unions and Federations, and CVC at what is a pivotal moment for men and women’s international rugby,” commented Dunne, “We’ll be building on incredible foundations, with a global outlook and a fan-first approach.”
Ben Morel, CEO, Six Nations Rugby added “I’m incredibly proud of what we have collectively achieved in the last few years, especially in recent challenging times. Six Nations Rugby and its constituent Unions and Federations have never been more united in the view that rugby has a significant opportunity to unlock and I look forward to working with Ronan in this next exciting chapter.”
John Jeffrey, Chairman of the Scottish Rugby Union, will continue to lead the Six Nations Council as President, with Bernard Laporte, President of the Federation Francaise de Rugby, as its Vice President.
The Council, constituted by the Six Unions and Federations, will continue to be responsible for overseeing all sporting and regulatory matters related to the matches within the jurisdiction of Six Nations Rugby.
