Executive Appointments at British & Irish Lions

The British & Irish Lions has appointed Tom Halsey as Commercial Director and Alan Phillips as Operations Director.

Reporting to Managing Director Ben Calveley, the new appointments come as the Lions step-up their preparations ahead of their hotly-anticipated Tour to South Africa in 2021 to face the newly-crowned World Champions.

Halsey has spent the last seven years at the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as their Head of Business Development where he led the organisation’s partnership acquisition process negotiating commercial agreements with the likes of British Airways, O2, Canterbury and Guinness.

In that time, he was also responsible for the RFU’s retail and licensing, as well as devising a media rights strategy. Prior to working at the RFU, Halsey held senior commercial roles at UK Sport, Wembley Stadium and the Football Association.

"I am very pleased to welcome Alan and Tom to the Lions’ Executive team as we begin to accelerate our preparations for the Tour to South Africa in 2021," said Calveley. "They bring with them a huge wealth of knowledge and experience, and we look forward to having them apply their extensive industry expertise to the Lions."

Phillips joins from the Welsh Rugby Union, where he has worked as Wales Team Manager since 2002. He is a former Wales international hooker who won 18 caps for his country and was part of the Lions' touring party to South Africa in 1980.

He joins forces again with Lions Head Coach Warren Gatland, whom he worked with at Wales from 2008 until the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup – a relationship that saw him part of a management team that won three Six Nations Grand Slam titles.

See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Rugby, Lions, South Africa.