Steve Kemish and Priya Samuel have been appointed to the Board of Table Tennis England.

They take up the voluntary positions on four-year terms and bring skills that will complement and strengthen the current Board.

Table Tennis England held an open application and interview process which welcomed all eligible candidates. Specific areas of expertise sought included but were not limited to:

• Commercial, marketing and/or fundraising
• Performance Sport
• Legal
• Sports Development including experience or an interest in inclusivity

Priya Samuel has a strong background in the sport industry, having started her career as a Development Officer at England Netball and gone on to work at British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS), UK Sport, British Paralympic Association and Energise Me, where she was Satellite Club Development Manager.

Her current role is as Health and Wellbeing Board Partnerships Manager at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils.

With a degree in Sports Development, Priya has since 2012 been a mentor for Sported, providing advice to sports organisations which increase participation of young people from a disadvantaged background. She is also a qualified netball coach, coach assessor and umpire, as well as a keen player.

Priya said: “Table tennis is a fantastic sport and I’m delighted to be appointed onto the Board of Table Tennis England.

“I am looking forward to shaping the sport’s vision, increasing participation, developing coaches and officials and supporting performance structures over the next few years.”

Steve Kemish is a multi-award-winning marketer and public speaker who has worked in digital marketing since 1997 and has worked with global brands including the England & Wales Cricket Board, Motorola, ITV, Lego, Skype and British Airways.

He is currently Managing Partner at marketing agency Junction and lead tutor at the Institute of Data & Marketing, as well as a guest lecturer at various business schools.

Steve said: “I’m delighted to be appointed to the board. This role will allow me to combine my passion of sports – having played, supported and coached in many sports since childhood, with my career of marketing and advertising.

“I have spent two decades advising and educating a range of different organisations, including other sporting bodies, and look forward to working with the wider team and community, building on the excellent progress Table Tennis England has made in all aspects of the sport to-date.

“I play table tennis socially, we have a much-loved table in our garage at home, and look forward to learning and contributing to a sport that is so inclusive and has so many positive benefits for players, young or old.”

The appointments bring the number of directors of Table Tennis England to 12.

Table Tennis England Chairman Sandra Deaton said: “I am delighted to welcome two new members to our Board.
“Both Priya and Steve have the necessary experience and skills we need to complete our wide skills matrix. It is vital that we have a solid range of skills on the Board to enable delivery of all aspects of the sport through our strategic aims and continual support for our operational team. I look forward to working with them over the coming months.”