formerly chief executive of the all england club, ian ritchie turned his back on wimbledon to help rebuild the reputation of english rugby after the 2011 world cup having trained as a barrister, he turned his attention to sport after overseeing the launch of channel five in 1997 — famously hiring the spice girls for the unveiling he has also worked as a director for both the football league and wembley stadium ltd rfu chief executive ian ritchie (left) chats to england head coach stuart lancaster at twickenham  ritchie was brought on board by the rfu following england's disastrous 2011 world cup campaign  during his six years in tennis, ritchie managed the installation of the centre court roof and two new show courts he took credit for modernising the famous grass tournament, before being lured across south west london to twickenham his most notable achievement with the rfu was to act as behind the scenes broker for the new television deal for european club rugby, saving the domestic game from isolation ritchie is hoping to use this year’s world cup to galvanise english rugby — boosting the grassroots game and emphasising the sport’s ‘core values’ — while maximising tv audiences and ticket sales his values shine through the work of lancaster, whom he promoted from caretaker to permanent coach during his early days in the role, subsequently offering him a long term deal until 2020 ritchie (left) managed the installation of the centre court roof and two new show courts at wimbledon 
ian ritchie six years the all england club ritchie centre court london twickenham the european cup year world cup english
ian ritchie spent six years as chief executive of the all england club  a trained barrister,  ritchie managed the installation of the centre court roof and two new show courts  ritchie was then lured across south west london to twickenham  he played a key role in brokering the new tv deal for the european cup  ritchie is hoping to use this year’s world cup to galvanise english rugby 