Hannah Bowe, a former Irish international hockey player, has been appointed chief of staff of Six Nations Rugby. Ms Bowe, a sister of former Ulster and Ireland rugby international Tommy Bowe, will take up the newly created position in December.
She is joining from Sky Sports’ commercial team, where she was responsible for rights acquisitions across its sports portfolio, including football, Formula 1, rugby and tennis. Before that, she led the intelligence division at the Esportif talent agency. An engineering and economics graduate from Oxford University, Ms Bowe is also a non-executive director with the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
Six Nations Rugby is the organisation responsible for several annual international competitions, including the men’s and women’s senior Six Nations, the Under-20 competition and the autumn nations series. It operates on behalf of the rugby unions of Ireland, England, France, Scotland, Wales and Italy.
In a statement Tom Harrison, chief executive officer of Six Nations Rugby, said: “Hannah will be a great addition to our team; she brings strong and relevant experience across a variety of leading organisations, perfectly setting her up to play a central role in delivering our strategy.”
In her statement Ms Bowe said: “The opportunity to join Six Nations Rugby at such a significant point in time for the business and the sport is one I simply couldn’t say no to. The Six Nations championships are iconic, and cornerstone appointments in players and fans’ sporting calendars all over the world each year. Coupled with the strength of the Six Nations Rugby brand and the board’s vision, there is huge growth potential.”
