RMG names former Radio 1 chief as new chairman

Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has appointed Roger Lewis, the former head of BBC Radio 1, as its new chairman, while SIS has named Richard Brankley as its new head of greyhound operations.

Lewis joined RMG – the umbrella organisation for 37 racecourse shareholders and parent company of Racing UK – in May 2012 and most recently served as senior independent non-executive director.

He will begin his new role in January 2019 and take over from Simon Ellen, who is stepping down from the position after six years as chairman.

Earlier in his career, Lewis held managing director roles at EMI, Decca, Classic FM and ITV Wales, before moving into sport as group CEO of the Welsh Rugby Union and the Millennium Stadium. He also sat on the board of the European Rugby Cup, the British and Irish Lions, and the council of the Six Nations.

Lewis said: “Over the course of my six years on the board it is clear that the professionalism, experience, insight and horseracing passion of the executive team at RMG, supported and challenged by a strong board, has resulted in the delivery of a high-quality racing product.

“The RMG business continues to develop as we welcome the content set from all 26 Irish racecourses in 2019. I look forward to working with the RMG executive team and my fellow RMG board members in contributing to the company’s future success.”

Meanwhile, SIS has thrown its support behind the greyhound racing market by appointing Brankley to oversee its operations in this area.

Brankley joins after a 19-year spell with Ladbrokes, where he was most recently head of stadia with responsibility for on-course operations of both Crayford and Monmore Green greyhound tracks in the UK.

In his new role, Brankley will work with SIS greyhound operations manager Gordon Bissett to manage the overall performance across all of SIS’s tracks.

Speaking about joining SIS, Brankley said: “SIS is renowned as a leading supplier of live racing content to the betting industry, and I’m looking forward to being involved in what is already a successful greyhound operation and to help further enhance it.”

Brankley’s addition to the team comes after the firm in January launched its new SIS Greyhound Service. This has since been expanded with a further 2,808 races, taking the total number of live races to over 30,000.