Draft:Jonathan Duckworth

Jonathan Duckworth is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development with a Masters’ Degree in Human Resources Management. A relative of Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1748 - 1817) and England wicket-keeper George Duckworth (1901 – 1966), his great-grandfather Josiah Duckworth founded the firm J.Duckworth and Sons whose brewyard was at the Rose Grove Works in Leicester and who were shareholders and sponsors of both Leicester City Football Club and Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

Born at 41 Newmarket Street in Leicester on 8 September 1963 and the son of carpenter Thomas Duckworth (1931 - 2010), Jonathan Duckworth was educated at Loughborough Grammar School. On graduating from Nottingham University he worked at the Houses of Parliament before, in 1997, becoming Head of Human Resources at Twickenham Stadium for the Rugby Football Union and England Rugby teams.

In 2001 he was headhunted by Harley-Davidson to become their first European HR Director, and in 2005 became Group HR Director for the Jockey Club’s 15 racecourse venues. He was then Group HR Director for an international Ferrari-backed motor racing series based at Silverstone before becoming People and Development Director for Swim England and the Institute of Swimming.

The Chief Executive and HR Director of the Oxfordshire Football Association since 2018, he was also a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Leicestershire County Cricket Club until retiring in 2024.