Alan Wilkins
President
Alan Wilkins is one of the most recognisable voices in sports broadcasting across the world.
A broadcasting career that has spanned three decades following a career as a Professional Cricketer with Glamorgan CCC and Gloucestershire CCC in England Alan took 243 first class wickets and helped Glamorgan to their first one-day cup final, the Gillette Cup in 1977.
Alan’s broadcasting began in South Africa where his association with the microphone took over due to a shoulder injury that ended his cricketing career.
The early days in Johannesburg provided the platform for his return to Britain, where he became the most recognized face and voice on BBC Wales Television, hosting and commentating on the BBC’s coverage of the Five Nations Rugby Championship (later the Six Nations), Wales’s Football World Cup and European Championship Qualifying campaigns, Glamorgan County Cricket and domestic Cricket and Rugby for BBC Network (London)
Alan has worked for BBC, ITV, Eurosport, SABC and SuperSport (South Africa), ESPN Star Sports, Fox Sports and most recently, Star Sports India.
Originally from Cardiff, Wales, Alan has a B:Ed (2:1 Hons) Degree in Sports Science (Psychology) and History from Loughborough University and was the inaugural Golf Captain of The Celtic Manor (Wales) Resort, venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup.
Alan succeeded Gerard Elias as the Club’s President in March 2024.
Mark Rhydderch-Roberts
Chair and Nominated Member
Crickhowell born Mark Rhydderch-Roberts brings a wealth of experience to the role of Treasurer following a 28 year career in Investment Banking during which time he held senior positions with a number of Global Investment Banks. Mark currently holds non-executive director roles at the International Conference Centre Wales (ICCW), Excalibur Steel Ltd and is a Board Member of the Welsh Industrial Development Agency. He also served as a member of the Advisory Panel which led to the creation of the Development Bank of Wales. He played first class rugby for a number of leading Clubs including Bath, Pontypridd (where he serves as an executive director), Newport and Ebbw Vale.
Ann-Marie Smale MBE
Deputy Chair and Nominated Member
Ann-Marie has been managing director of Powell Dobson Architects for the past 7 years and a Board director for 19 years. Cricket has been a big part of her life. She is a Level 2 qualified coach and has two children involved in the elite cricket setups. Ann-Marie provides expertise in property development and estate management which is critical to maintaining Sophia Gardens as a major international cricket venue as well as a key understanding of the development of young cricketers.
Carol Bell
Treasurer
Carol Bell, a fluent Welsh speaker, was the first woman to be appointed to the Board of the Football Association of Wales in 2019 and currently chairs its Finance Audit and Risk Committee. She also chaired the working group that produced its Sustainable Association for the Future report, whose recommendations are now being implemented.
An experienced industrialist and financier, she sits on the board of international listed companies, that have been investing in the energy transition and mining sectors.
Bell is also one of the founder directors of Chapter Zero, the network for non-executive directors to foster better discussion of climate risk and decarbonisation strategies on company boards.
She has recently retired from the boards of the Development Bank of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru and the Wales Millennium Centre and holds Honorary Fellowships at Swansea University and the University of Wales Trinity St David. She was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2022 and is a Vice President of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (the London- based Welsh Learned Society).
The club welcomed Carol onto the Board in 2024.