RFU director joins board of Line Up

James Thornton, 03 February 2009

Rugby Football Union boss links with London agency

Rugby Football Union (RFU) business operations director Paul Vaughan has joined the board of London agency Line Up as a non-executive director.

In his role he will provide advice and support and commenting on his appointment, Vaughan said: "Having worked with Line Up in the past, I know that the creativity and quality of the agency's work is second to none. They're also great people to work with. I'm looking forward to helping the directors find the best ways to keep driving the business forward."

Vaughan was recruited by the RFU in 2001 as its first commercial director, helping more than double its turnover within five years to over £103m in 2006/7. Prior to joining the RFU, he was a senior vice president at Octagon, the sports marketing agency, where he worked on sponsorship deals for Lloyds TSB with rugby's "Five Nations" and Sony and Mastercard at Euro 2000.

Vaughan first became involved with event and sports marketing whilst at Whitbread in the 1980s, working on the Stella Artois Tennis Championships, the Heineken Cup and the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.

Duncan Beale, managing director of Line Up, comments: "Paul's breadth of experience as first a brand marketer, then head of an agency and now as commercial head of a major sports body gives him a unique perspective on our market. He already knows our business well, and will be a tremendous asset as we seek to take the business to the next level."