Bill Bush, the Premier League's Senior Adviser, has been appointed a Commander of the British Empire in the King's New Year's Honours list, while Ruth Shaw, the chief executive of the Premier League Charitable Fund, has received an OBE.
Bush has been awarded the CBE for services to sport. He joined the Premier League in 2006 as Executive Director and has led areas including intellectual property, public policy, relations with government and the EU, relations with fans, communications and the community programme in that time. He became a Senior Adviser to the Chief Executive in 2021.
He is also on the Premier League Charitable Fund Board (PLCF), is the Chair of the Alliance for Intellectual Property, board member of English Touring Opera, National Council Member for the Arts Council and board member of the Football Foundation.
Shaw has been chief executive of the PLCF since 2018 and has been awarded her OBE for services to football and gender equality.
Having held senior roles in government including at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Shaw's numerous roles in football include five years as the Chief Executive of the Football Licensing Authority.
Shaw was an independent board member of Women in Football from 2012 to 2015 and became an independent member of the Premier League's Equality Standard Panel from 2015-2018. She is founder of TEDxWhitehallWomen, a 2012 winner of the First Women Awards for Public Service and a 2018 winner of the inaugural 50 Leading Lights in the Lloyds Bank Kindness & Leadership Award.
Established in 2010, the PLCF is one of the biggest sport charities in the world. As an independent charity that distributes Premier League and partner funding to professional club community organisations (CCOs) across the Premier League, English Football League and National League, it aims to create positive sporting, health, personal and education opportunities for children, young people and the wider community.
Everyone at the Premier League would like to congratulate Bill and Ruth on their appointments.
Also honoured in the list are Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham (OBE), Brighton & Hove Albion chairman Tony Bloom (MBE), Kick It Out's chair Sanjay Bhandari (MBE) and its head of player engagement Troy Townsend (MBE) and the chairman of the League Managers Association, Howard Wilkinson (OBE).
