Brian Facer to step down as British Cycling CEO

Brian Facer is to step down as British Cycling CEO with immediate effect, the national governing body for cycling in Britain has announced today.

The decision was made by mutual agreement with the board of directors and the search for a new CEO has now commenced. Cycling delivery director Danielle Every has been appointed as acting CEO in the interim.

British Cycling chair Frank Slevin said: “We remain fully committed to the delivery of our ‘Lead our sport, inspire our communities’ strategy, as we continue our work to support and grow our sport and wider activities, and provide our Great Britain Cycling Team riders with the best possible platform for success.

“Our new CEO will join the organisation at an exciting time as we build towards next year’s inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland, and the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.”

Facer took up the role of CEO of British Cycling in early 2021, joining from rugby union team London Irish as a replacement for Julie Harrington. Prior to joining London Irish, he was commercial director at Northampton Saints.

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On Facer’s appointment, Slevin said at the time: “Brian is a British Cycling member and a passionate cyclist, and he understands the needs of the cycling community who are the core of the organisation. What also impressed us was his knowledge of British Cycling, and his commitment to investing in all of our staff and volunteers, so that they can achieve their own potential and make the federation as a whole even stronger.”

This news follows recent controversies for the organisation, most recently when it signed an eight-year deal with oil and gas brand Shell UK.

The announcement means that Shell is the new official partner of the federation, resulting in support and investment from the energy and petrochemical firm, but it was quickly met with widespread criticism with many raising issues with the environmental impacts caused by Shell’s work in fossil fuels.

In September, British Cycling revised its guidance for cycling events and activities during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, after previously recommending that anybody out riding their bike on the day of the State Funeral does so outside of the timings of the funeral service and associated processions. In April, the organisation suspended its policy on transgender and non-binary athletes, after Emily Bridges was stopped from competing at the National Omnium Championships.