Rest in peace: Mike Robinson

Badminton Scotland would like to pass on their condolences after hearing news of the passing of Mike Robinson, Chair of Badminton England’s Board of Directors.

Article sourced from Badminton England

18 December, 2023

It is with profound shock and deep sadness that we announce the passing of Mike Robinson, Chair of Badminton England’s Board of Directors.

Mike, who has been at the very heart of the development of our sport in this country since joining the board nearly a decade ago, sadly passed away on Friday evening following a brave battle with illness.

The thoughts, condolences and deepest sympathies of all at Badminton England and everyone within the badminton community are with his partner Fiona, his children, his family and friends at this very difficult time.

Mike’s impactful contribution to badminton aptly began on the court – a conversation with a serving board member, whilst playing for his local club at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes, led to an invitation to join the Badminton England board of directors.

With in excess of 30 years’ experience with one of the world’s largest professional services firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mike accepted and was duly appointed as Chair of the Finance, Risk and Corporate Services on 28th June 2014.

With a wide-ranging skillset and a strong well-respected international presence, he became a valued advocate and an ambassador for badminton in this country.

A Senior Partner at PwC, Mike retired in 2017 to undertake more non-executive director work and spend more time on the badminton court and the golf course.

He served as Finance Director on the Badminton Europe council for four years, also taking on roles of Chair of BEC Governance and Chair of BEC HR committee.

He was a Trustee of the National Badminton Museum and then he took on the role of Chair at Badminton England on 29th June 2019. Mike played club standard league badminton, for ten years was Chairman of the Chalfont & District Badminton Association and was also a Director of Badminton Wycombe.

Earlier this year, he had been re-elected at the BE AGM for his fourth term on the board, spending the last four years of that nine-year period of service as Chair.

Mike thoroughly enjoyed watching badminton as a fan, always making time to watch the game, attend competitions and tournaments and support our sport at every level.

Jackie Newcombe, Senior Independent Director at Badminton England, said “On behalf of the board, I’d like to express our deep sorrow following Mike’s passing. We are all the richer for having known Mike, both professionally and personally. An incredibly smart and astute man, I personally learnt so much from him – even though I always felt as though I was at least three steps behind him! “His passion for badminton and his dedicated support for Badminton England shone through in everything he did, leading us through some challenging times with boldness and integrity. One of the most genuine, kind people I have ever met, Mike was always generous with his time, ensuring everyone was included and heard. He fought his illness with characteristic bravery and fortitude, even keen to attend and participate in meetings from his hospital bed. I know I speak for the whole board when I say that we all feel immensely privileged to have known and worked with him.”

Sue Storey, CEO at Badminton England, said “The whole badminton community are deeply saddened by the passing of Mike Robinson, a man who gave so much to the world of badminton here in England, across the United Kingdom and on a global scale. Mike always approached his strategic roles on the board with utter dedication, total commitment and boundless enthusiasm and, despite his roles being voluntary, he worked tirelessly to apply his vast experience and knowhow to help transform the organisation and the sport. “Personally, I will be forever grateful for the trust he placed in me to appoint me as Chief Executive at Badminton England nearly two years ago. Mike expertly guided the board and the organisation through the highs and lows over recent years and was steadfast in his ambitions to achieve the very best for the sport in England. On behalf of the staff, athletes, coaches, volunteers, supporters and the whole badminton family, I’d like to thank Mike for his devotion to the sport we all love. Mike, you will be missed by so many, Rest in Peace.”

Jackie Newcombe will cover the role of Chair as Senior Independent Director and the board will appoint an Interim Chair in the new year – but for now the thoughts and sympathies of everyone at Badminton England will remain with Mike’s family and friends. Details of his funeral arrangements will be shared in due course.