BMC CEO Dave Turnbull - What's Going on at the BMC?Interview

© Alan James

Following the recent announcements of five resignations from the British Mountaineering Council's Board of Directors, and the further Director resignation of Chris Stone as announced today, we sent CEO Dave Turnbull twelve questions about the state of the BMC, the reasons for the resignations and the organisation's next steps.

Dave Turnbull - CEO of the BMC.  © Alan James
Dave Turnbull - CEO of the BMC.
© Alan James

Alongside Chris Stone's resignation, the statement also explains that BMC Chair Gareth Pierce has now resigned, further to the prior announcement that he would be stepping down from his role.

UKC/UKH sent the following questions on 8 September and the response is from today.


Can you describe the structure of the BMC, as in the relationship between the Board of Directors, paid staff members and volunteers and how they relate to one another?

The BMC is a members organisation with over 80,000 members. We employ 34 staff who work hard to protect the interests of climbers, hill-walkers and mountaineers.

The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the organisation and provides guidance on key areas of work. The Board is supported by a series of sub-committees focused on different topics to support the running of the BMC. We benefit from having a highly committed and passionate volunteer network who support many aspects of our work. All members of the Board except myself as CEO and the Company Secretary are volunteers.

Whilst the Board retains overall responsibility for the direction of the organisation, it is supported by the National Council who act as a representative body of the members, consulting with and constructively challenging the Board in order to hold their decisions to account on behalf of the members.

How has COVID-19 impacted the working week of the BMC - are you working from home, in the office etc. Has this affected relations between directors/staff volunteers?

The BMC team has adapted to a new way of working in light of the challenges presented by COVID-19. Lockdown forced the closure of our head office and compulsory remote working and a third of the workforce was put on furlough to save costs.

Today the office is operating at around 30% capacity. Government guidance is changing daily and most staff continue to work remotely. During lockdown, the Board met virtually at least twice per month to monitor the evolving situation and its impact on the BMC's business operations.

COVID-19 has put pressure on all of us but I'm very proud of how BMC staff rose to the challenge and grateful to the dedicated network of volunteers who have supported the BMC during this difficult time.

During and after the first lockdown, the BMC was working with the government on access and issues relating to returning to climbing. How successfully do you feel the situation was handled, and did this contribute to tensions between the BMC affiliates involved?

For me personally and for all three access and conservation staff members, lockdown was a uniquely demanding, complex and fast-moving period. My feeling was that the staff and volunteers did an exceptional job addressing issues on access during an extremely uncertain period.

Supported by the COVID-19 Access Advisory Group (including lawyers, medics and access specialists) we provided clear guidance to members on how to return to crags, hills and indoor walls safely and in line with Government guidelines.

We ran Facebook live streams, produced regular articles and worked with our regional access volunteers to communicate with members across England and Wales on how to safely return to the activities we all love.

Of course, this work is not over and as we see signs of a second wave across the UK, we continue to provide guidance as the situation develops.

A press release filled with management speak cited 'issues' and 'concerns' with specific matters and behaviours within the Board as reasons for recent resignations. In your own words, what exactly is going on at the BMC at the moment in relation to the Board and its ever-dwindling number of members?

Firstly, I would like to thank all outgoing members of the Board for the hard work carried out during their tenure.

Since 2018 when members overwhelmingly voted for a change to the way the BMC operates, the organisation has undergone a period of fundamental change for staff and the Board. This transition, which we are still going through, plus the challenges created by the global pandemic have led to pressures and tensions which ultimately have resulted in some members stepping down from their roles on the Board, with some electing to continue working with the organisation in other ways.

Whilst this is a challenging period, the BMC remains committed to embedding new ways of working which will ultimately allow us to work more effectively for members. To help facilitate a swift and precise process of review, the Board has enlisted the support of Management Consultants Campbell Tickell to assess Board Performance with a deadline of 2 to 3 months.

According to online comments, BMC members have lost confidence amid the confusion of resignations and a lack of communication. There were weekly social media livestreams and posts throughout lockdown on access issues, but there has been less information and reassurance regarding the resignations despite repeated requests for clarity - both on UKC, social media, and at area meetings - and there hasn't been any further comment from the Board. What are the reasons behind this?

The staff and volunteers involved with the management of the BMC remain fully committed to the well-being of the organisation and continue to work extremely hard for members. We have begun the process to shore up the Board with the appointment of Paul Drew as Acting Chair and by co-opting Rosi Yule from the Finance and Audit committee onto the board. Recruitment of a permanent Chair and new Directors is also underway.

Given the volume of recent change, the Board recognises the value in giving members an additional and collective forum and have today announced that they will host an online Members Open Forum at the end of this month.

Do the Board have confidence in the Nominated Director, and the Nomination Committee's processes which were run in 2019, resulting in the current Director appointments?

It is crucial that our members are confident in the nomination process for Directors which is why we have announced a review into the 2019 process to identify areas of improvement and provide reassurance that our recruitment processes are robust.

With specific reference to 2019, a thorough interview process was conducted and an individual with accounting experience was appointed.

Have any newly vacated director positions been replaced? Three new roles were mentioned in the initial press release, for a Council Nominated Director, a temporary Interim Executive and a Head of Operations and Development. Have any of these roles been filled as yet? Will the BMC be recruiting an independent Chair?

We are already at work to fill the vacant positions on the Board. We have appointed an agency to support the Nominations Committee to undertake the recruitment of a new Chair and Independent Directors over the coming months. This will be an open recruitment process and we are keen to identify the best possible candidates to the roles. Applications are invited both from within the membership or further afield. Once complete, the National Council is responsible for selecting a Council Nominated Director. The timescale for this is currently being finalised.

Finally, we have recently appointed Paul Davies to the role of Interim Executive for a 3 month contract.

What duties is the Interim Executive role fulfilling that the CEO would normally fulfil?

Paul has a background in sports management and has fitted in extremely well; he will be playing a key role supporting the BMC's strategic, operational and financial planning needs over the coming months.

Deputy CEO Nick Colton has been acting as Lead Officer for GB Climbing and Paul has taken over some of Nick's previous line management responsibilities to give him more capacity. A new senior role – Head of Operations and Development is being established and Paul is leading on defining the precise remit of this important post, which will be crucial in improving the daily operations of the BMC as we seek to grow and be more effective for members.

Is BMC projecting a surplus or a deficit in the current, and next, financial year, and what is that deficit/surplus?

Thanks to the Government furlough scheme and cost savings identified since March, the BMC is likely to break-even in 2020.

2021 looks more challenging and much will depend on the extent of recovery in the travel insurance market and new membership applications which are our major sources of income.

There have been encouraging signs since lockdown has eased with Mountain Training registrations and BMC membership sales picking up to levels seen in 2019. Later this year, we are launching new membership packages targeted at indoor climbers and hill walkers.

How has competition climbing gaining Olympic status changed the BMC's approach to governing competition and indoor climbing? There have long been tensions between proponents and opponents of both traditional and modern pursuits within the BMC - has the Olympics further divided the organisation and increased the pressure on staff?

The BMC has a formal role as the National Governing Body for competition climbing under the banner of 'GB Climbing'.

Since the inclusion of competition climbing in the Olympic Games, the BMC has worked closely with partners in UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) to create an infrastructure which can nurture and develop world class talent.

We have a formal coaching structure in place for our senior and junior teams with a training base in Sheffield to prepare for international competitions.

Internally, as I mentioned above, Nick Colton is acting as the Lead Officer for GB Climbing and is overseeing this crucial period of development.

We have established the Competition Climbing Performance Group (CCPG) which reports to the BMC Board. The CCPG is chaired by Rab Carrington and has representation from Mountaineering Scotland, the indoor climbing sector as well as athletes to ensure we have a wide range of voices and insight into the development of our competition arm. The current focus of the CCPG is to secure UK Sport funding support for the next Olympic cycle which will allow us to greatly improve our support for competition climbers.

The Olympics is a huge opportunity for competition climbing and I am pleased with the rapid progress made by the CCPG to lay the foundations of a World Class Programme for our athletes.

The Telegraph reported that the BMC is one of seven sports governing and representative bodies that does not have enough women on the Board to comply with Sport England funding. The BMC has lost a further female Director that is not reported in this article. What is the BMC Board doing to ensure it has a skilled, experienced and diverse Board?

We need a Board that reflects the ever growing and diversifying population entering climbing and mountaineering. This is a key priority for the BMC to not only ensure we have diversity on the Board but all the way through the organisation and across our membership.

The Board will need to recruit at least two women to the Board to achieve the Sport England target. There are now a number of vacancies to fill on the Board as a result of the recent resignations. Will achieving this level of Director diversity be a key target in the recruitment of new Directors?

Absolutely yes. This will be a key target for us.


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2 Oct, 2020

Another pointless statement that puts a rosy tint on a leaking bucket!

2 Oct, 2020

Looks like Sport England are concerned enough to move some external muscle in.

Does that mean that the NC approved recovery plan for the Board has now been ditched?

And I also note that the Nominations Committee is to now get professional oversight?

2 Oct, 2020

AND, since my thread on this topic has been shut down, my initial thoughts were

What on earth is happening?

Late on a Friday afternoon (a good time to bury news) comes the announcement that the Chair has now decided to step down immediately. And hidden in the article is the news that another National Council Director has resigned!

Can't be many actually elected Directors left?

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/statement-from-the-bmc 47

2 Oct, 2020

As I said in the other thread: Time to bring back 'Climb Britain' I say!!!! This BMC thing was never going to work ;)

2 Oct, 2020

As someone who is completely over the whole thing, largely because multiple threads with hundreds of replies didn't seem to get anywhere whatsoever, I clicked on this article hoping to get some concise answers to the following question:

That question is quite clear on two points: a) specific answers would be useful, and b) the membership clearly don't want corporate bollocks. Summarising that answer point by point, we get:

Thanks to those who are leaving The BMC is having to deal with the results of the 2018 AGM and covid Some Board members left, some moved to other roles Some corporate bollocks ("embedding new ways of working", really?) A "multi-disciplinary management consultancy" firm has been enlisted

All this on the same day that more resignations are announced.

Good shit lads, I'm glad everything has been cleared up.

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