Sussex Cricket has appointed Beth Barrett-Wild as its next permanent chief executive, with the former England and Wales Cricket Board executive due to take over on January 1, 2027. The club announced the appointment on November 3 and said she will be its first female CEO.
Alex Paterson will remain acting chief executive until she starts. Barrett-Wild joins after 13 years at the ECB, where her roles included director of the women’s professional game and head of The Hundred’s women’s competition. She most recently served as tournament director of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Before joining the ECB in 2013 as media manager for England Women, Barrett-Wild worked at Marylebone Cricket Club. She also played county cricket for Essex and was the first girl selected for the Essex Cricket Academy when it opened in 2001.
Sussex said the appointment followed a competitive recruitment process. Barrett-Wild will become the club’s tenth permanent chief executive.
Archive illustration: a cricket ball striking stumps, photographed in May 2010; not the Sussex appointment. Photo: Graham Dean, CC BY 2.0. Resized; display may be cropped.
