Michelle Cracknell
Reappointed from 1st January 2026 to 31st December 2028.
Michelle was Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of The Pensions Advisory Service from October 2013 to December 2018.
Prior to that, she held director roles in advice firms, providers and insurance companies. She is a qualified actuary. Michelle holds non-executive positions at Fidelity International Holdings, Just Group Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pension Trustees Ltd and PensionBee Group Plc.
She is passionate about helping people make more of their money and sees lots of parallels between motivating people to budget and take part in physical activity.
Jason Fergus
Reappointed from 1st January 2026 to 31st December 2028.
Jason has over 20 years’ experience in the sport and physical activity sector. Jason is Chair of the Sport England Investment Committee overseeing the governance and oversight in how funding decisions align with Sport England strategic priorities. Jason is also Director of Active Essex, one of the largest Active Partnerships in England, overseeing a large team that delivers the system partner responsibilities, and six Place Partnerships. Jason led the delivery of the Essex Local Delivery Pilot (LDP) between 2018 and 2025, which was one of 12 LDPs that formed part of a ground-breaking £100m programme funded by Sport England to develop innovative new sustainable ways to tackle long-term levels of physical inactivity in deprived areas. Active Essex delivers the Government Holiday and Activity Food (HAF) programme engaging over 30,000 disadvantaged children and families every year in over 200 clubs during school holidays.
Jason is a high-level strategic thinker and operator and is competent at building trusted relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. He has a strong track record in Essex of adopting a whole system and place-based approach to drive up physical activity levels at scale. He consistently demonstrates exemplary behaviour and ethics, and ensures Active Essex operates to the highest standards of governance. Jason also co-founded the successful charity ‘Active Essex Foundation’ and is a serving trustee.
Jason is a governor at Brentwood School, and he represented Great Britain at national and international level as a sprinter.
Remuneration and Governance Code
Board Members of Sport England are remunerated at a rate of £218 per day, up to a maximum of £9,000 per annum. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Michelle Cracknell and Jason Fergus have not declared any significant political activity.