Coe welcomes Warner appointment

London Olympic Games supremo Sebastian Coe has welcomed the appointment of City businessman Edmond Warner as the first chairman of UK Athletics and the man charged with preparing the sport for the 2012 Games.

Warner, 43, will act as part-time non-executive chairman and his role will be equivalent to that of the chairman of a public company.

Coe was consulted during the recruitment process and he said: "I am delighted that Ed has agreed to take up the new role of chairman of UK Athletics."

He added: "I have already had the pleasure of meeting Ed and I am looking forward to working with him as he leads the sport through its next stage of development as we prepare for 2012 and beyond.

"His track record in business speaks volumes and his vision will be a welcome addition to the athletics community."

Coe, and other former UK athletics greats including David Bedford, Steve Cram and Brendan Foster, were tipped for the job.

But well before Christmas, the foursome had declared they were not interested, some hinting it would need more than the stipulated 20 days a year commitment to fulfil the task properly.

That saw the search for not only the inaugural chairman but also a replacement for the retiring chief executive David Moorcroft, delayed a little longer than it initially should have been.

Warner has held an impressive array of business appointments.

He is a non-executive director of The Eastern European Trust, and lectures on the investment banking industry at Cranfield School of Management.