Debbie Hewitt

"In football, we start with an advantage. Everyone that works in the game loves it and this unites us. I think of The FA as three very different organisations: a governing body responsible for rules and regulations"

"My organisational style is based on two principles which I hope are making The FA a better organisation. First, what’s the aim?"

"Whether it is an opportunity we are trying to grasp or a problem we are trying to solve, it’s very important that we all understand the question we are trying to answer. Second, who’s accountable?"

"There can be only one person. And if that’s always the CEO, that’s limiting. In my experience, the best organisations have a depth of management talent who are clear on their accountabilities.""

"It’s really important that you know how things work in practice. One of the first things I did was to ask somebody to show me how we generate revenue, how we decide to allocate funding and how we track the return on that investment."

"Once I understood that, it helped me to work with our executives to review and set priorities. I see my job as to run the board and our council and to work with them to shape our strategy."

"Our executives then communicate and deliver on that strategy. I try hard to give them space to do that, hopefully recognising when they need support to do so.""

"The people around the boardroom are a powerful statement of your leadership. I wanted to create a winning team. Finding talent, selecting it, appointing and developing it – that’s a huge privilege as a leader. I spend a lot of time communicating with people on our board, making sure they feel connected."