7th January 2021

Paul Buxton has been confirmed as GB Taekwondo’s next Chief Executive Officer.

The 50-year-old will succeed present incumbent, Matt Archibald, whose four years in post ends in February 2022 when he takes up a new position as chief executive with the English Institute of Sport.

Paul joins the Manchester-based operation from UK Sport where he has spent the past five years as Head of Performance Investment, overseeing the successful 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics investment processes.

Prior to that, he led the Performance Advisor team at UK Sport with a portfolio of Olympic and Paralympic sports including taekwondo. He will take up his new position in March 2022.

Paul said: “I am grateful to Julia and the GB Taekwondo Board for giving me the opportunity to join this experienced team as CEO.

“With a cohort of high performing athletes, more Taekwondo events in the Paralympics Games programme, and a diverse community of aspiring athletes and coaches, GB Taekwondo has a great opportunity ahead. I look forward to working with the team to chart a successful future for the athletes, the sport, and for this unique national sporting organisation.

“On leaving UK Sport, I would like to thank the staff and Board at UK Sport both past and present for their support over the last 16 years.

“It has been a privilege to play a part in the success story of UK Sport and the high-performance system.”

Julia Newton, Chair of GB Taekwondo, said of the appointment: “I am delighted Paul will be joining us as our new CEO.

“This was a very competitive process with a broad range of highly qualified candidates.

“Paul was an outstanding candidate in terms of his understanding of the issues facing GB Taekwondo and his deep understanding of the sector.

“His background as a leader in policy in high performance sport, covering Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, development and performance and his previous experience with both Sport England and British Triathlon will prove to be invaluable as we work with our stakeholders.

“I am excited to work with Paul and I am confident he will be a brilliant leader for GB Taekwondo.” Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport said: “I’m delighted for Paul and would like to congratulate him on his appointment with GB Taekwondo.

“He has been a hugely valued colleague at UK Sport and I’m pleased the Olympic and Paralympic family will continue to benefit from his skills, knowledge and experience of performance sport.

“He will be sorely missed at UK Sport and we wish him the best of luck and look forward to working with him and the wider team at GB Taekwondo as we continue to build towards Paris 2024.”

Archibald prepares to leave after he and Performance Director Gary Hall presided over the sport’s most successful cycle, culminating with a total of five medals from this summer’s Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 2019 World Championships, hosted in Manchester, also brought kudos to the organisation.