New members appointed to LTA Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group
• 3 minute read
The LTA is delighted to announce the appointment of two new members to its Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group (IDAG): Jemma Pearson and Natasha Mills.
These appointments add expertise in community engagement, leadership, inclusion, talent development and organisational culture, strengthening the Group’s ability to support the LTA’s work to make tennis more open and accessible.
The Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group plays an important role in supporting the delivery of the LTA's inclusion ambitions, bringing together experienced leaders from a range of sectors to provide insight, expertise and lived experience.
Rachel Baillache, Chair of the Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group, said: "We are delighted to welcome Jemma and Natasha. They each bring a wealth of experience and a shared passion for creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds to participate and thrive.
“Their expertise will be invaluable as we continue our work to ensure tennis is a sport where everyone feels welcome, represented and able to belong."
In addition to Jemma and Natasha, we are delighted to announce that Arum Akom has been invited to attend IDAG as a Shadow Member.
Arum brings valuable insight through his experience as a Level 3 Tennis Coach working in an underrepresented area of London, and his perspective will further enrich the group's discussions and work.
Vicky Williams, LTA People Director and Executive Lead on Inclusion, said: "Arum's passion for widening access to tennis and creating opportunities for young people is inspiring.
“We are pleased to be able to offer him this development opportunity through the Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group, giving him exposure to governance and leadership while ensuring the voices and experiences of local communities continue to inform our work."
Meet the new members:
Jemma Pearson
Jemma brings more than two decades of experience in talent, recruitment and inclusion, with a proven track record of driving organisational change and building inclusive workplace cultures.
As Senior Talent & Inclusion Manager at Grant Thornton UK, Jemma leads firmwide talent and inclusion strategies, helping to shape a high-performance culture founded on inclusion and belonging. She works with senior leaders across the organisation to develop initiatives that improve talent outcomes and create opportunities for people from all backgrounds.
Previously, as Strategic Resourcing Senior Manager and Inclusive Recruitment Lead, Jemma developed and delivered a market-leading inclusive recruitment strategy.
Throughout her career, she has championed flexible working, disability inclusion and social mobility initiatives, while helping organisations embed inclusion into everyday decision-making and culture.
Natasha Mills
Natasha Mills is a highly experienced leader in equity, diversity and inclusion, governance and organisational culture, with a career spanning elite sport, healthcare and the charity sector.
Currently Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at British Gymnastics, Natasha leads strategic initiatives designed to embed inclusion across all levels of the organisation and its membership base. She works closely with executive leaders and boards to develop inclusive cultures, strengthen governance and support long-term organisational performance.
Natasha also brings extensive experience from the high-performance sporting system, including work with the UK Sports Institute. In addition, she is an executive coach and mentor, supporting leaders and organisations to drive meaningful cultural change.
Her governance experience includes serving as a trustee and advisory group member across a range of charitable and sporting organisations.
Arum Akom
As well as a coach Arum is also Founder and Director of Black Tennis Mentors UK CIC, a community interest company dedicated to creating inclusive opportunities in tennis through mentoring, coach education and player development. He has played a key role in widening access to tennis through a range of grassroots initiatives and community programmes.
As Head Coach at Butterfly Tennis Club in Camberwell in London, he has led children's bursary programmes that have provided free tennis opportunities to hundreds of young people, helping create pathways into competitive tennis and county-level development programmes.
He has also contributed to the Black Tennis Collective, working alongside the LTA and community organisations to increase Black visibility and participation in British tennis.
His efforts have been recognised through a number of awards, including LTA Tennis Foundation - Community Tennis Award, the Surrey President's Award and the Tennis Blacklist Game Changer in the Community Award.
Jemma, Natasha and Arum will join Rachel and four other members in the group.
They include: Funke Awoderu (Diversity & Inclusion Director at Live Nation and former LTA Independent Councillor) Selva Ramasamy KC (Leading barrister and an advocate for inclusion at the Bar), and Chris Ratcliffe, CEO at UK Deaf Sport and Vicky Williams, People Director at the LTA.
Meet the other members:
Rachel Baillache, LTA Inclusion Lead
Rachel joined in September 2018 as an independent non-executive director. She is Chair of the Audit Committee, a member of the Board Nominations Committee and the Board Inclusion & Diversity Champion providing oversight on the implementation of the LTA’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy.
Rachel was a partner at KPMG where she served as a member of the firm’s global management team for eight years as the global Head of People, Performance and Culture with a remit which included Inclusion and Diversity. She was also the executive responsible for global internal and external communications.
Rachel is an independent non-executive director of UK Sport and is also an avid tennis supporter.
Funke Awoderu
Funke is an experienced Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) leader whose career spans tennis, football and entertainment. She held senior diversity roles at the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and The Football Association (FA), before moving into a global Diversity & Inclusion leadership position at Live Nation Entertainment.
She is known for championing greater accessibility and inclusion within the sport. During her time at the LTA, she helped develop initiatives aimed at widening participation, particularly among underrepresented communities, and promoting a more inclusive culture across British tennis.
Her work reflects the view that tennis grows stronger when barriers to participation are removed and opportunities are available to people from all backgrounds.
Selva Ramasamy KC
Selva is a leading barrister specialising in criminal, regulatory and disciplinary law, with over 30 years of experience handling complex and high-profile cases. He is Joint Head of Chambers and Head of the Regulatory Practice Group at QEB Hollis Whiteman and is widely recognised for his expertise in professional conduct, healthcare regulation and financial investigations.
In addition to his legal practice, Selva plays an active role in tennis governance, serving as Legal Director of Para Standing Tennis and holding positions with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), where he supports inclusion, diversity and fair competition within the sport. Selva is also a lifelong tennis player and spectator.
Chris Ratcliffe
Chris is an experienced charity leader and CEO with a strong track record in disability inclusion, deaf advocacy and sport. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of UK Deaf Sport and Chair of the Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD).
Previously, he led Boccia England as CEO for eight years and held senior leadership roles with organisations including Activity Alliance, NDCS, RNID and the British Deaf Association. Known for his strategic leadership and partnership-building skills, Chris is a passionate advocate for creating inclusive opportunities for deaf and disabled people across the UK.
Vicky Williams
Vicky is the People Director for the LTA, a position she has held since 2013. She leads the People function at the LTA, reporting to the CEO and is the Executive Inclusion Lead on the Executive team, leading on the delivery of the Inclusion Strategy for Tennis in Britian.
