• NEW TIA BOARD APPOINTS MEL BERRY AS CHAIRMAN

    veryberryMel Berry, Founder of Very Berry and #thetrilifereporter, has been appointed Chairman of the Triathlon Industry Association (TIA) board.tia-logo-stacked

    Berry will swap roles with Nick Rusling (CEO of Human Race), who becomes Deputy Chair of the ten-person board, after two years at the helm.

    Commenting on her appointment, Berry said: “As someone who cares passionately about the sport of triathlon, and wishes to see its commercial future flourish, I am very proud to represent the industry as Chair of TIA.

    “Mine and the new board’s vision for the association over the next twelve months is to strengthen key partnerships with industry leaders and the governing body British Triathlon, as well as growth into new areas. This will involve consultation with and continued growth of the membership and a focus on monetising the success of the Rio games for TIA members.”

    “We have seen year-on-year growth of 15% over the last year, and our core purpose is to see this continue.”

    As well as fresh faces, the new TIA board will see the introduction of a new approach to the association’s quarterly meetings, which provide the key platform for its 100 members to collaborate to develop, grow and protect the sport.

    Meetings will now welcome external speakers in order for TIA members to learn best practice both from other sports and industries. Thursday’s meeting at the Cycle Show, at the NEC in Birmingham, will host speakers from British Triathlon, the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and a presentation by Boots’ Head of CSR.

    The TIA comprises event organisers, equipment manufacturers, tour operators, retailers, distributors and media.

    Featuring many of the sport’s most influential stakeholders, the new TIA Board boasts considerable strength and depth. The new board is as follows:

    Mel Berry                            Very Berry (Chairman)

    Nick Rusling                       Human Race (Deputy Chairman)

    Brendan Fox                       Sports Tours International

    Jane Hansom                     Sponge Marketing

    Dean Jackson                     Huub

    Fliss Jackson                       Triathlonguard

    Gary Roethenbaugh          MultiSport Research

    Paul Shanley                      Tri247

    Damon Street                    Zoot

    David Townsend              Kelsey Media / Triathlon Plus

    For further information, visit: www.triathlonindustryassociation.org