Meet the Board

Jack Birkenshaw MBE had a tremendous career for Leicestershire CCC, both as a player and coach. He was at Grace Road for two of the most successful periods in the club’s history in the 1970s and 1990s and has been our Club President since being appointed at the 2019 AGM.

An off-spinning all-rounder who offered great value with bat, ball and in the field, Birkenshaw spent the vast majority of his playing career at Grace Road and also played for Yorkshire CCC and Worcestershire CCC.

His first-class career record with the Foxes was exceptional; 11,040 runs with four centuries as a left-handed batsman, and 908 wickets through his deceptive slow bowling.

Birkenshaw had a best return of eight for 94 and claimed his wickets at 26.49 apiece. He was also good in the field, claiming 265 catches.

The Yorkshireman was also an asset for Leicestershire CCC in List A cricket, scoring 1,790 runs with a best of 101* and also claiming five for 20 as part of 77 wickets.

In his overall first-class career, Birkenshaw scored more than 12,500 runs and claimed over 1,000 wickets, which is a rare feat.

Birkenshaw made five test match appearances for England, and was on the first-class umpiring panel for a period before returning to Leicestershire CCC as a coach.

He oversaw one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, helping to steer the team to the County Championship title wins of 1996 and 1998 with astute leadership.

Emma White has over 15 years of leadership experience within the sports and events industry, holding senior management and executive positions across racecourses, rugby, and consultancy. She has built a strong reputation for driving commercial growth, delivering major events, and creating innovative marketing and sponsorship strategies.

Emma has extensive expertise in event planning, operations management, sponsorship generation, and marketing campaigns, with a proven ability to build sustainable partnerships and increase engagement across diverse audiences. She is known for her dynamic, hands-on leadership style, motivating teams to deliver success across high-profile fixtures, festivals, and sporting events.

Her career includes senior roles as General Manager at Go Racing in Yorkshire, Sedgefield Racecourse, and Limerick Racecourse, where she oversaw full operational responsibility for major racing fixtures, non-racing events, and commercial performance. She also served as Managing Director at Doncaster Rugby Club before establishing her own consultancy, E&L White Consultancy, advising on sport and event strategy, funding, and sponsorship.

Among her many achievements, Emma has successfully launched marketing campaigns that reached hundreds of thousands of people, negotiated high-profile media partnerships, and delivered record attendance at flagship events. Her ability to combine strategic vision with operational delivery has earned her recognition across the UK and Ireland sports sector.

Born and based in the UK, Emma brings energy, creativity, and commercial expertise to her role as Chief Executive Officer of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, where she is committed to building the Club’s profile, driving revenue growth, and strengthening connections with members, supporters, and the wider community.

John was appointed as the Chair of Leicestershire County Cricket Club in 2023. He is a proud and lifelong supporter of Leicestershire County Cricket Club and all Leicester sporting teams, first becoming a Junior Member of LCCC in 1972. Born in Leicester and having always lived in the county of Leicestershire, John played cricket, football, golf and squash for local teams and was involved in committee roles. John also served a previous tenure on LCCC’s Board until 2021, overseeing the Commercial Pillar.

Since January 2025, John has taken on his latest role as Group CEO of the Thorpe Interior Group, which he oversees using his vast experience, industry knowledge and passion to guide, grow and develop the company. 

Geoffrey has held senior corporate roles, including Group Operations Director at Sytner Group and CEO of CitNOW Group. He specialises in team development, corporate culture, and driving revenue growth—achieving £17m EBITDA. His leadership is built on collaboration and strategic process improvement.

Leanne started her career as an accountant; In 2007 she left the corporate world and set up her own business Evolve-IT Consulting Limited, a Bespoke Software Development Company, which she built from scratch to a £2m+ business, through to exit in July 2020.

In 2018 Leanne, in need of her next challenge, set up e-bate Limited, the supplier of a Rebate Management Software platform. She took an idea with limited resources and finances to get the business to commercial launch and investment-ready.

Secured the first round of funding, £950K, from a combination of High Net Worth Individuals and a Venture Capitalist in June 2019; closed a further round in July 2020 for £950K taking the company through to a Series A raise.

Has developed two award-winning businesses, awarded an MBE for Services to Women in Business and Technology in 2018; Leanne is strong and determined with a passion to drive business success. 

Nicola is Managing Director of CWA, a leading Leicester-based marketing agency with global clients like Volvo Group and Renault Trucks. Since 2013, she’s driven international brand strategies and events. With CWA nearing its 60th year, Nicola is focused on B Corp certification and expanding community initiatives.

Omar is a Partner at Bain & Company with deep expertise in private equity, due diligence, and strategic planning. He has led over 100 high-value transactions and held roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Meridian West. He holds an MPhil from Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD and is active in philanthropy and grassroots cricket.

Julian Evans is a chartered surveyor and Proprietary Partner of Knight Frank LLP, the world’s largest privately owned surveying practice with over 600 global offices, where he heads their market leading Healthcare Department which annually advises on c.£12BN of assets. 

He enjoys all sport and is also an Adventurer and dedicated Fund Raiser. He has reached the North and South Poles on foot, completed the Marathon des Sables and has summited some of the world’s most iconic mountains including Mount Everest, Denali, Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Julian is the 378th Briton to summit Everest and the 45th Briton (and 420th person in the world) to complete the 7 Summits (summit the highest mountain on each continent). He is a brand ambassador for Pagoda Watches, trustee to The Matt Hampson Foundation and also Great Ormond Street Hospital, raising to date c.£2M for charity.

Viveen Taylor is the Director of Equality Diversity and Inclusion at Sport England, where she is also currently leads their Policy and Integrity Director.  She joined the organisation in August 2019 as Strategic Lead for Socio-economic groups, supporting colleagues to understand the barriers to their engagement and participation in sport and physical activity. She leads a team at Sport England with responsibility for ensuring that the wider sport and physical activity sector is accountable and responsible for inclusion and diversity.

Viveen has worked in the charitable sector for over 30 years, leading national and local government initiatives with a focus on diversity, inclusion and engagement mainly with communities who are often underserved, unheard and under-represented. She totally understands the importance of engaging communities and giving them a voice, empowering and enabling those most excluded, to co-design solutions to issues which impact their lives.  

Viveen believes strongly that those that have the means to do so, should provide platforms and pathways for others to feel valued and included, helping communities to become the architects of their own futures. She will be advising the Leicestershire County Cricket Club Board and our EDI Action Group as part of our total commitment to being wholly-inclusive and at the leading edge of best practice as a Club for everyone across the County.

A retired industry-based chartered accountant, Mark led several high-performing businesses and was instrumental in the Watches of Switzerland PLC listing. He’s a proud member of LCCC and a passionate lifelong cricketer.

Tom has been a Leicestershire resident for almost 25 years. Tom is the Chief Executive of E-ACT, one of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts. A career in education, predominantly spent in Leicester and Leicestershire, demonstrates Tom’s passion for community, sport and improving the life chances of young people.

An experienced executive and non-executive director, Tom is committed to working with the foundation, the ECB and the cricket club board to ensure that cricket is a game for all.