Darren Childs has quit as Premiership Rugby's CEO

Premiership Rugby have announced that Darren Childs has stepped down as chief executive and will leave the organisation over the coming weeks. It was April 2019 when it was revealed he would take up the leading role in English club rugby that August but his tenure not been overly impressive despite a media release to the contrary.   

A Premiership Rugby statement read: "As chief executive, Darren has led Premiership Rugby through a challenging period for all professional sports, steering the league’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"During this period, Premiership Rugby achieved the successful completion of the 2019/20 season, working closely with the Government to provide £88million of support for member clubs, concluded the extension of its long-standing broadcast partnership with BT Sport and has reached an agreement to extend PRL’s involvement in the European competitions Champions Cup and Challenge Cup via EPCR for the next ten years.

"After leaving his current position, Darren intends to focus on a wider range of business interests and will act as an advisor to CVC Capital Partners, which has been in partnership with Premiership Rugby since 2018. Details of Premiership Rugby’s leadership succession plans will be communicated in due course."

Childs said: “After a huge effort by the whole team, I am pleased that we have managed to navigate the many challenges of Covid-19 and that Premiership Rugby is able to look ahead with real optimism. 

"While now is the right time for me to step back and focus on a wider range of business interests, I will remain a committed and enthusiastic supporter of club rugby as the sport completes its recovery and returns to growth in the years ahead.”

Childs became chief executive of Premiership Rugby in August 2019. In addition to this role, he is currently a board member at Antenna Group, the international media company, and Vizrt, the global software provider.