Dame Janet will succeed Andrew Moss who formally steps down at this year’s Annual General Meeting in July, after leading the Alliance for over six years.
A firm advocate of physical activity, Dame Janet has held the role of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool since 2015, having previously spent eight years in an identical post at Oxford Brookes University.
In Liverpool she chairs the Knowledge Quarter and Sciontec Boards and the Education Improvement Board, and nationally she is the International Lead for Universities UK and is an elected member of its Board.
With a strong background and experience in political influencing, Dame Janet also has roles on the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Advisory Board of the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit, and the Council of the All-Party Parliamentary Group.
Dame Janet said: “I am delighted and honoured to be appointed the next Chair of the Sport and Recreation Alliance and look forward to working with the Board, the Alliance team and the members to ensure that the importance of sport, recreation and physical activity for the benefit of both individual and societal health are recognised and acknowledged by all.
“As a keen walker and dedicated, lifelong swimmer I am eager to engage with and promote the interests of all the members of the Alliance and to celebrate the incredible work taking place in sport and recreation organisations throughout the country.”
Out-going Chair Andrew Moss said: “It has been a privilege to serve as Chair of the Sport and Recreation Alliance for the last six years and I would like to thank our members, the Alliance Board and the staffing team for the excellent support they have provided during my term.
“With Dame Janet’s proven record of excellent leadership and collaboration with government, and across wider sectors, the Alliance will greatly benefit from Dame Janet’s expertise as it delivers the Support. Recover. Achieve. strategy over the next three years. On behalf of the Board, I welcome Janet to the Alliance team and look forward to her taking the Chair following the AGM.”
Nominations for the Alliance’s annual Spirit of Sport and Recreation Award are open ahead of the organisation’s 90th anniversary celebration event, which has been confirmed for St James’s Palace in November.
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The Sport and Recreation Alliance is delighted to announce that the organisation will be hosting a special event at St James’s Palace on 12 November 2025 to mark its 90th anniversary.
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