RNLI has announced that its chief executive Mark Dowie will leave the charity after five years in charge.
The lifeboat charity today announced that Peter Sparkes, currently CEO of the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), will replace Dowie on 26 June this year.
Dowie has been in post since May 2019, leading RNLI through the Covid-19 pandemic, when he took a 50% pay cut, and a during a time of increased public scrutiny of its work in relation to immigration.
Last year, RNLI apologised after national news outlets reported instances of sexism and bullying at the charity.
RNLI chair Janet Legrand said Dowie “has been the right leader at the right time”.
“The past five years have been some of the most turbulent in our 200-year history – dealing with the impact of the pandemic and rising inflation, a significant increase in demand, and heightened public scrutiny, especially in response to small boat crossings in the Channel,” she said.
“He has tackled criticism head-on, reaffirming the RNLI’s vision to save everyone. This has not been without risk, but he has unashamedly stayed true to the RNLI’s purpose throughout, generating amazing support, income, sector-wide recognition, and new heights of brand awareness.
“He has much to be proud of, not least maintaining a 24/7 rescue service throughout and ensuring he has brought the RNLI’s people with him on a journey through turbulent times.”
New CEO a ‘proven and accomplished leader’
Sparkes served in a variety of appointments for the Royal Navy after joining in 1990, including commanding the frigate HMS Cumberland on counter-piracy patrol off Somalia, and the 46 units of the Portsmouth Flotilla.
In 2019, he served in Washington DC as the UK chief of defence staff’s liaison officer to the US joint chiefs of staff in the pentagon.
Sparkes left the Royal Navy in April 2021 to become permanent chief executive of the UKHO in 2021, having joined as acting CEO the year before.
Commenting on his appointment at RNLI, he said: “I am thrilled to have been selected as the new chief executive of the RNLI. It is an enormous privilege and honour to be asked to lead such a precious institution as it embarks on a new watch.
“I have always followed the RNLI with great interest and am looking forward to being part of the crew.”
Legrand said Sparkes was “a proven and accomplished leader and a great communicator with a strong sense of service”.
“He has clearly demonstrated his passion for and understanding of the RNLI and its volunteering ethos and is a volunteer himself for a homeless charity in the south west,” she said.
“Peter has had a highly successful career to date and the RNLI board is confident he has the right skills, experience and gravitas to take the RNLI forward into its third century of saving lives at sea.”
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