Collier to leave role as ECB chief executive

David Collier is leaving the ECB after a decade as chief executive.

Collier, 59, was appointed in October 2004 and will remain in place until the end of the season though an interim appointment is expected to be made shortly.

The ECB confirmed the announcement on Sunday although no mention of the plans for Collier's successor were made.*

Richard Gould, the Surrey chief executive, and Brian Havill, the ECB's finance director since 2000, are the likely candidates to succeed the post.

While Collier, a quiet man happiest working behind the scenes, never developed a significant public profile, he has been involved in some highly significant developments in English cricket.

He was part of the management group that brought vast amounts of new money into the game, though the decision to sell live television rights to a subscription broadcaster remains controversial.

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said: "When we reflect on the past 10 years we will all recognise the huge debt of gratitude which is owed by cricket in England and Wales to David Collier and the management teams he has built and revitalised during that period."

Benefiting from the increased funds, England achieved several key ambitions. They won their first Ashes series for almost 20 years in 2005 and their first global limited-overs trophy in 2010. They also rose to No. 1 in the Test rankings. Collier was also involved in the development of the women's game and disability cricket in the UK.

The decision to sign a deal with Allen Stanford will certainly be remembered less favourably, with the Texan later sentenced to a 110-year prison sentence for fraud. Not all the counties will mourn his departure, either. They are unhappy that, while they fight for their financial survival, the ECB have amassed reserves of around £40 million.

Collier's departure will leave the ECB with an inexperienced look. They have already lost Hugh Morris as managing director, Andy Flower as head coach and Andrew Strauss as Test captain in recent months, while commercial director John Perera has also announced his decision to retire.

It is understood Collier had been keen to leave some time ago, but was persuaded to stay on to provide some level of continuity. In May 2012, he was interviewed for the position of ICC CEO but missed out to Dave Richardson and he has also been linked to several other high-profile positions in recent months.

Collier said: "After 10 years at ECB I believe it is the right time to step aside and retire from the position of chief executive as I shall turn 60 in the spring and I do believe the time is right for a new CEO to open the batting.

"I am immensely proud of the achievements and the enormous strides forward which cricket in England and Wales has made during the past decade."

He was previously chief executive at Gloucestershire (1983-86), Leicestershire (1996-99) and Nottinghamshire (1999-2004) after a spell as assistant secretary at Essex (1980-83).

Collier has also worked in the travel and leisure industries. He was senior vice-president of American Airlines and president of AMR Services from 1988-95 and managing director of Servisair PLC from 1995-96.

A Loughborough University graduate and former captain of British Universities cricket and hockey teams; he is an independent director of Great Britain Hockey and a former international class one hockey umpire.