Chiefs' boss becomes CBE

Tony Rowe in king's first honours' list

The man behind the rise of the Exeter Chiefs has been named in the king's first New Year's honours' list.

Tony Rowe is already an OBE, a freeman of the city of Exeter, and an honorary doctor of letters, awarded by Exeter University.

Now King Charles has appointed him a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a CBE, in recognition of his services to rugby union and to the community in Exeter.

Beginning his working life in the Royal Marines, Mr Rowe, now 74, built up a successful marine engineering business in Exmouth before launching South West Communications at the dawn of phone deregulation in the 1980s. After taking control of Exeter Rugby Club in the following decade, he rebranded it as Exeter Chiefs, invested heavily in infrastructure and people, and engineered the move to Sandy Park, building a respected banqueting and conference suite around the rugby club. His companies continue to employ hundred of people in the Exeter area.

Of his new honour, he said: “Obviously, I’m delighted and honoured to receive the CBE, but a good part of this is down to the team I have around me on a daily basis. I’m very fortunate that here at the rugby club we have a fantastic team on the field, but an equally good one off the field that has brought us great success over many years.

“Equally, my role with the Exeter Chiefs Foundation is just as rewarding and those trustees I have alongside me play a huge part in helping making a real difference within the local community. We are rightly proud of our many achievements over the years and again this award for myself is down to a lot of their hard work as well.”

Also in the New Year's honours' list is Julie Hawker, the chief executive of digital social enterprise Cosmic, based in Honiton, who becomes an MBE. Ms Hawker, who is a former director of Exeter Chamber of Commerce, is recognised for her services to the economy,

Nicholas John Millington from Exmouth becomes an MBE for his work on the Network Rail's safety task force and for his services to the railways and to the NHS during covid-19.

Julie Meredith from Budleigh Salterton receives a British Empire Medal for her services to the community.

For his services to policing, temporary Inspector Mark Ruston, who has served with Devon and Cornwall Police for 26 years, also becomes an MBE.

He said: “The news of this honour was a massive surprise. When I received the letter from the Cabinet Office, I thought I was being asked to contribute to the nomination for someone else - until I saw my name as the recipient!

“I am immensely proud and overwhelmed to have been awarded an MBE in His Majesty King Charles III first New Year Honours and I would like to thank those who nominated me. There are so many colleagues who I have worked alongside for 26 years who are just as deserving of such recognition because policing is delivered by teams, not individuals.

“My recent contribution to the safety and security of the G7 Summit in Cornwall was a career highlight and personally my most significant challenge yet, but our teams and the Force came together as we do so often across Devon and Cornwall to safely deliver the event whilst maintaining business as usual.

“This honour brings with it a sense of great pride, a bit of embarrassment, but some sadness as well having lost my mum to covid in the January peak of 2021 leading up to the G7 Summit. I wish she were here for me to share this news with her. This award is also for her and her tireless support to me, and for my wonderful family who continue to prop me up, support me, and allow me to make my contribution to policing possible."

During the G7 Summit, Mark coordinated a team of advisors and worked across government and partner agencies bringing them together to focus on security along with opportunities to explore innovative ways of working. He chaired the G7 security tasking group ensuring a mutual understanding of roles, needs and requirements, working with partners and building relationships to resolve different approaches to risk and threats. He also ensured the security plan could be delivered coherently to other strategic and tactical plans.

Assistant chief constable Glen Mayhew QPM said: “We are immensely proud of Mark’s achievement and would like to take the opportunity to wish him congratulations for his MBE which is a deserved reflection of his police career. Widely respected and liked by his colleagues, he has played a vital role in contingency planning for the Force for many years and was instrumental in the successful policing of the G7 Summit. Without doubt his pragmatic approach to security planning, combined with his commitment to work with partners and our communities, was absolutely key to delivering the event safely."