We sat down with Rob to discuss his passion for sailing, career so far, and what he’s looking forward to most about joining the Andrew Simpson Foundation. Rob’s addition to our team strengthens the close relationship we have with the Royal Yachting Association, and supports our continued collaboration on many community projects.

We are delighted to have him with us.

What’s your background in sailing?

I started sailing from a young age with trips on the family cruiser before catching the racing bug, and at times realising my limitations, in our home-built Mirror dinghy. This progressed into a childhood of sailing adventures with friends and eventually becoming an instructor, which led me to work internationally for a number of years, before returning to the UK to take on a more strategic role in establishing and overseeing water sports centre operations, delivering participation, personal development and educational programmes, managing stakeholder engagement supporting instructor and coach development.

What have you been doing most recently?

In 2020 I moved to the RYA and took the role of Director of Sport Development, leading the organisation’s focus to support and grow participation in sailing and windsurfing, working alongside the RYA network of clubs and training centres, volunteers, coaches and instructors, as well as managing the relationship with key funding partners and invested stakeholders, locally and nationally.

How do you spend your free time?

I have lived in Poole for nearly 20 years, now with my wife Emma and 2 daughters Josie (13) and Mia (10). We all share a love for being on and around the water, whether that be sailing, windsurfing or winging, surfing, paddleboarding or simply messing about at the beach. I still try to find the time for a bit of dinghy and keelboat racing, with occasional success, however, spend much of my free time helping to support the girls’ (and their friends) sailing ambitions as a volunteer coach and safety boat crew.

What are you looking forward to in your new role?​​​

I had the opportunity to meet Andrew on a number of occasions through my own sailing. Each time I was struck by his passion for the sport of sailing, his humility, honesty, desire to give back and an ability to remember and relate to the people he encountered. These are characteristics that I share and value immensely and am really excited to join the team at ASF, working in an environment where we are all motivated to make a difference and support people to connect to sailing and realise their ambitions on the water. The opportunity to work in an organisation where collaboration and innovation are fundamental behaviours, enabling you to focus energy on specific outcomes for every individual, be agile in your decision making, and see the direct impact of your work firsthand is something that I am particularly looking forward to and I am excited to see where I can support the team across our centres and programmes.