Commonwealth Games England are delighted to announce that Jan Paterson has been appointed Team England's Chef de Mission.

Left to right: Adam Paker, Graeme Dell, Jan Paterson, Hilda Gibson and Don Parker.

Her appointment completes England’s senior leadership team which also includes Don Parker, Graeme Dell and Hilda Gibson, (Deputy Chefs de Mission), Claire Furlong (Head of Media) and Mo Diprose (Head of Commercial Operations). The appointments bring together a mix of experience and expertise from more than 50 multi-sport Games.

Chairman of the Board of Commonwealth Games England Sir Andrew Foster said:

“I’m delighted to welcome this strong leadership group to make this the best prepared England team ever.  We have set out our strategy to improve our performance in all areas.”

Commonwealth Games England Chief Executive Adam Paker said:

“A top team of athletes demands a top team of leaders and I am thrilled to announce a talented and experienced leadership team which gives us the best possible chance of success in Glasgow.” 

Jan, who was a Team GB Deputy Chef de Mission at the London 2012 Olympics, is the British Olympic Association’s (BOA) Director of Olympic Relations and Chief Executive of the British Olympic Foundation. She will be seconded to CGE for the Games in Glasgow in 2014.

Jan Paterson said:

“I am honoured to have been given the privilege to be Chef de Mission for Team England at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

"I am looking forward to working with a highly experienced and respected leadership team to deliver the best support to Team England’s  athletes and officials in their quest for personal best.”

Jan Paterson (Chef de Mission) has worked with Team GB since 1992 in a broad range of Games roles including at the inaugural Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games where she was the country’s first female Chef de Mission.

Previously she worked with Team England at the Commonwealth Games as Press Officer (Manchester 2002) and HQ Manager (Melbourne 2006).  Paterson has also worked with Team GBR at five World University Games.

Don Parker (Deputy Chef de Mission for Sport) steps up from his role as CGE’s Sports Director for what will be his fourth Commonwealth Games since joining in 1997 as Sports Liaison Officer.

A former England international table tennis player and National Coach, Don joined CGE from the BOA where he was Deputy Technical Director for three years. He has attended seven Olympic Games in various roles including Team Leader and Head Coach and is a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s Sports Committee.

Graeme Dell (Deputy Chef de Mission for Operations) is set to work on his fifth Commonwealth Games with England, having worked in various Team Support roles since 2002. He comes with strong experience from 15 multi-sport Games.

An accomplished Operations Executive, Graeme brings valuable experience as a National Coach, Team Manager and in a number of Team Operational roles where he is one of Britain’s most experienced international coaches. He is also an Elite Coaching Instructor with FIFA.

Hilda Gibson (Deputy Chef de Mission for Planning) was England’s archery Team Leader at the Delhi 2010 Games where the nation topped the sport's medals table with four gold and three silver medals. 

Hilda brings broad Games experience having competed in Field Archery at the World Games, been Team GB Archery Team Leader at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and, as LOCOG Archery Services Manager, played a key role in the highly successful London 2012 Archery and Para-archery competitions. In addition, Hilda brings strong strategic planning and communication skills developed as a former Global Vice-President of AstraZeneca, a world-leading multi-national corporation.

Claire Furlong (Head of Media) runs her own sports communications agency 16ten. She was previously Head of Marketing and Communications at UK Athletics and Head of Communications at VERO and the English Institute of Sport. She has acted as the athletics team press chief since 2007 and has worked for Team England at the last two Commonwealth Games. She has previously served on the Board of CGE.

Mo Diprose (Head of Commercial Operations) spent six years at LOCOG where she was integral in the development and delivery of the successful London 2012 client service and commercial activation programme and previously worked with the RFU.

With a focus on events and operations, Mo will be responsible for managing the CGE commercial and stakeholder programme in Glasgow whilst developing fresh brand initiatives and engaging new supporters and businesses into the CGE corporate family.