The Board

Chair 
Professor Zoe Knowles FBASES 

Professor of Engagement and Learning
Liverpool John Moores University 

Zoe is a Professor of Engagement and Learning at Liverpool John Moores University. Her research interests include the psycho-social determinants of physical activity, creative research methods with children and young people and practitioner development through reflective practice. Beyond her academic work, Zoe is a HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist, a National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement Professional and Fellow of BASES. Zoe has served 4 years as the CPD lead for the Psychology Division and has been involved in strategic initiatives for the association including the BASES Sport and Exercise Psychology Accreditation Route and Safeguarding/Welfare.

BASES Chief Executive Officer
Ian Wilson

Ian Wilson joins us with extensive involvement and experience in sport, as an elite athlete, national Team Manager, and various management roles within the UK Sports Institute, the English Institute of Sport; Sports Coach UK, British Swimming and UK Coaching.

Ian’s recent role was Head of Operations at UK Coaching, a sport and physical activity charity, where he ran the Operations Department to develop, lead and manage the Group’s ongoing operations and procedures. He was responsible for the efficient operation of the business and worked closely with senior colleagues to develop, deliver and monitor a wide range of operational and strategic programmes, projects and initiatives.

As an elite athlete, Ian was on the National Swimming Team between 1985 and 1999, competing at World Championships, Olympic Games, European Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Student Games. Ian finished 5 ^th at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and won World and European medals over 1500m Freestyle.

Division Chair - Physical Activity for Health
Prof Kiara Lewis FBASES

Professor of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Birmingham City University

Kiara is a passionate advocate of the benefits of sport and exercise and strives to increase participation and opportunities to be active across the lifespan. Following a Degree in Sport and Recreation and a Masters in Sport and Exercise Science, Kiara worked for East Lancashire Health Authority to promote health and fitness through a variety of interventions. She has worked in Higher Education since 1997 leading on sport, exercise and fitness education.

In 2015 she gained a PhD in ‘Engaging Children and Young People in Physical activity’ and continues to research how we can increase sport and exercise participation and the mental and physical health impacts of being active.
Kiara specialises in teaching about children’s participation in sport and exercise, behavior change, and qualitative research methods. Kiara is currently involved in a feasibility trial to increase physical activity participation in a medium secure unit and has recently co-edited a book on the physical, physiological and psychological benefits of exercise.

Deputy Chair 

Division Chair - Physiology and Nutrition
Dr Lindsay Bottoms FBASES

Reader in Exercise and Health Physiology
University of Hertfordshire 

Lindsay is currently the Head of Centre for Research in Psychology and Sports Science. She has studied and worked at many universities across the UK and completed her PhD at Coventry University in 2008 which was in thermoregulation during upper body exercise. Her main research interest is implementing exercise interventions for various health conditions and understanding the mechanisms of action. She also conducts research looking at sports performance in particular fencing. Lindsay is a Fellow of BASES, a Chartered Scientist and a BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist. She has been the Deputy Chair for the Physical Activity for Health Division for 3 years and is involved in several committees of BASES.

Away from the academic World, Lindsay was an International epee fencer and retired after gaining a bronze medal at the Fencing Commonwealths in 2016. She is still heavily involved in British Fencing and is the epee selector for Internationals. She has just come back out of retirement to start competing as a veteran fencer. 

In April 2023, the Board appointed Lindsay as Deputy Chair.

Division Chair - Biomechanics and Motor Behaviour
Dr Andrew Mitchell

Head of School for Sports Science & Physical Activity
University of Bedfordshire

Andrew began studying sport way back in the early 1990s at the University of Chichester and soon came to realise his specific area of interest was the biomechanics of sports injuries. Upon graduation he studied Athletic Training and Sports Medicine at Campbell University in North Carolina (USA), and then completed an MSc in Sports Medicine and Kinesiology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville (USA). He returned to the University of Chichester to read for a PhD in Biomechanics, focussing on the biomechanics of the lateral ankle sprain. His first role in academia was at the University of Hertfordshire, where he remained for 12 years, rising to Principal Lecturer, before taking up the role as Head of School of Sport Science and Physical Activity at the University of Bedfordshire in the summer of 2013. He is a Reader in Lower Limb Biomechanics and has served as Deputy Chair of the Division of Biomechanics & Motor Behaviour from January 2019 to November 2020.

As a youngster Andrew played football and rugby to a reasonable standard before turning to American football, where he played cornerback for the Brighton B52s, Southern Seminoles, Farnham Knights and the Irish National Team. He also played semi-professional American football in the US for the Tennessee Highlanders. Retiring after 20 years of American football, Andrew turned his attention to endurance sport and has completed 7 Ironman triathlons, multiple marathons and half marathons and nearly 100 ParkRuns.

Division Chair - Sport and Performance
Dr Ibrahim Akubat FBASES

Senior Lecturer in Sports Science
Department of Sport & Health
Newman University, Birmingham

Ibrahim joined Newman University, Birmingham in 2012 where he currently leads the Sport &Exercise programme. He completed his PhD at the University of Hull in 2013 where he examined the dose-response relationships between training, fitness & fatigue in soccer players. He has since gone on to supervise PhD’s in different sports on the same topic and regularly runs CPD workshops for high performance teams. He continues to provide performance support to a range of athletes across various sports. Prior to being appointed chair he served for four years as CPD rep for the division developing and establishing key partnerships and organising numerous events.

Dr Amy Whitehead 

Psychology Chair

Reader in Sport Psychology and Coaching
Liverpool John Moores University

Amy is a HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist working with a variety of sports, athletes, and organisations, from high performance to grassroots. Amy is currently a SEPAR supervisor and reviewer. She is the lead of the Coaching and Pedagogy Research Group at Liverpool John Moores University and supervises a number of PhD and Professional Doctorate students in the areas of sport psychology and coaching. Her research focusses on understanding cognition and developing reflection both within sports and wider contexts such as medical settings. 

Outside of work, Amy is a keen runner and triathlete, completing ultra marathons, Ironman events, and representing GB in her age group.

Senior Non-Executive Director
Susan Went

Susan joined BASES as a Non-Executive Director in November 2018. In April 2023, the Board appointed Susan as Senior Non-Executive Director.

Susan is an experienced Non-Executive Director, with a long NHS healthcare career as a physiotherapist, healthcare leader and Executive Director. She has over 20 years of experience at Director and Board levels in the health and care sector; including large NHS trust, the Medical Royal Colleges and national roles in Department of Health (England) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Susan now works as an independent consultant specialising in the fields of safety and quality improvement and she is a Lay Trustee on the Board of the British Geriatrics Society, the professional body of specialist doctors and other professions concerned with the care of older people.

Non-Executive Director
Greg Koral

Greg joined BASES as a Non-Executive Director in February 2020.

Greg joins us with over twenty years experience as a CFO in a variety of international SMEs and more recently as an operating partner in operating Private Equity firm based in the Midlands, having qualified with PwC before joining the mergers and acquisitions team Rolls Royce Plc. He is now a business consultant advising on strategy and M&A for industrial SMEs.

Greg has always had a passion for sport, was the Athletic Union President at Nottingham University, where he studied Physics, represented English Universities Rugby XV and then went on to play for Nottingham a premiership rugby club in the pre-professional era.

Having coached a juniors rugby team for a number of years in tandem with learning Tang Soo Do, a form of karate, he is now focused on the latter helping children at the local club whilst targeting a masters.

Non-Executive Director
James Tugwell

James joined BASES as a Non-Executive Director in February 2020.

James is an Investment Manager at Stage Capital, a private equity firm specialising in secondaries investments. He has Board experience across a range of companies and sectors, most notably within Food and Healthcare. Prior to Stage Capital, James worked at Lazard in the Telecommunications Media & Technology (TMT) and Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) advisory teams, advising a number of companies on their strategies and potential transactions.

In his free time, James is a keen triathlete and is studying for a Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) Level 4 Total Immersion Personal Training Diploma and Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Level 4 in Nutrition.

Non-Executive Director
Dr Helen Rippon

Helen joined BASES as a Non-Executive Director in February 2023.

Helen is CEO of Worldwide Cancer Research, a multi-million pound charity that kickstarts cancer cures of the future by seed-funding pioneering discovery research across the globe.

A scientist by background, Helen has a PhD in molecular biology and started her career as a Research Fellow in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Centre at Imperial College London, where she authored some of the earliest papers on the potential of stem cells to repair lung damage. After nearly a decade in academia she then moved to the third sector, leading the medical research funding programmes of Age UK and Prostate Cancer UK, before joining Worldwide Cancer Research in 2012 as Director of Research.

Outside work, Helen is an enthusiastic hill and trail runner. She has taken on several fundraising challenges for charity - including running two marathons in a week - and in 2023 she will attempt her first 100km ultra marathon.

For any board related enquiries, please email iwilson@bases.org.uk