UK Sports Institute announces two Senior Leadership appointments
The UK Sports Institute (UKSI) has today announced two appointments to its leadership team, continuing to build the depth of expertise that underpins its support for Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Paul Mullan will join the UKSI as Director of Performance Services, and Dr Jonathan Leeder has been appointed as Head of Health and Human Sciences.
Together, the appointments bring extensive experience from across the high-performance sport system, reinforcing the UKSI’s commitment to providing integrated, expert support that enables athletes and sports to perform at their best.
Mullan returns to the UK Sports Institute having begun his career with the organisation in 2005 as a physiologist. He rejoins from British Cycling, where he is currently Deputy Performance Director – Head of Performance, having joined the organisation in 2020 as Head of Performance Support before progressing to his current position. During that time, he has played a key leadership role within the Great Britain Cycling Team, including through the Tokyo and Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games cycles.
Succeeding Matt Parker, Mullan will lead the UKSI’s Performance Innovation and Technical Expertise function, ensuring sports have access to world-leading expertise, specialist technical support and innovative performance solutions that help create competitive advantage on the world stage.
Leeder is currently serving as the UKSI’s Interim Director of Performance Services while on secondment from UK Sport, a position he will hold until September. Before this secondment, he spent four years at UK Sport in a series of senior roles, joining in 2022 as Senior Performance Advisor before being appointed Head of Performance Delivery in 2023 – a role focused on understanding the demands of Olympic and Paralympic performance and maximising the chances of winning well, cycle on cycle. Prior to joining UK Sport, Leeder spent 15 years at the UKSI.
Succeeding Lucy Follett, Leeder will lead UKSI’s Health and Human Sciences function, reporting to Director of Performance Services, Paul Mullan. He will oversee technical expertise, specialist projects and the development of specialist networks across the function, setting the standards for delivery of world-class performance solutions that positively impact Games-time performance.
UK Sports Institute Managing Director, Mike Cavendish, said: “I am incredibly pleased to confirm the appointments of Paul Mullan as Director of Performance Services and Jonathan Leeder as Head of Health and Human Sciences. They each bring a wealth of experience, strong leadership and an impressive track record of delivering in high-performance sport, and will add to what is already a world-class group of staff at the UKSI.
“The expertise they’ll bring will strengthen our ability to innovate, respond to the evolving needs of sports and ensure athletes and sports continue to have access to world-class support. Their appointments represent another important step in delivering our strategy and building an organisation that’s ready to meet the opportunities and challenges ahead.
“As we look towards LA 2028 and beyond, I’m confident they will both make a significant contribution to the future success of the UK Sports Institute and the wider system.”
Paul Mullan, said: “I am incredibly honoured to step into the role of Director of Performance Services. Having collaborated with UK Sports Institute colleagues for many years in previous roles, I know the importance of role this organisation and its individual play in progressing sport in UK. I look forward to connecting and collaborating with the exceptional people in the UKSI and across the wider high-performance system to harness our collective ability to generate a competitive advantage for our athletes through to LA 2028 and beyond.”
Dr Jonathan Leeder, added: “I’m delighted to be joining the UK Sports Institute as Head of Health and Human Sciences. High-performance sport has been at the heart of my career, and it all started at the English Institute of Sport, as the UKSI was then known. The 15 years I spent there were hugely formative, giving me incredible opportunities and introducing me to people who taught me so much about supporting athletes and sports to thrive. After a fantastic chapter at UK Sport, I’m excited to be returning to the UKSI and joining the Performance Services Directorate. I look forward to working alongside the exceptional people across the UKSI as we support sports and athletes to achieve their ambitions and build towards Los Angeles 2028 and the French Alps 2030.”
Both appointments will take effect in autumn 2026, with start dates to be confirmed in due course.