David Howden: I will live and breathe the British and Irish Lions tour
Howden Group CEO David Howden has insisted he will live and breathe the British and Irish Lions next year in what will be the insurance firm’s first tour as front-of-shirt partner.
Excitement has been steadily increasing ahead of the tour to Australia, where the team made up of rugby players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland will compete as one.
Howden replaced Vodafone as the front-of-shirt sponsor and next year’s tour will see fans return for the first time since 2017 after the 2021 trip to South Africa was impacted by Covid-19.
“I’ve always believed in a good work-life balance as I’ve built a business,” Howden tells City PM. “Play hard, work hard.
“You’re not going to be the main sponsor of this after building a business for 30 years and not be down there to live and breathe every moment with the players and fans. I’m going to be there!”
“The shirt launch [on Wednesday] was not just fun but it was [full of] pride. Having built a company up over these years, to see our name on that iconic shirt, it was an emotional moment.”
Howden engagement
Howden was speaking at an event in Spitalfields Market where international players Maggie Alphonsi and Will Greenwood were running a drop goal competition through a giant logo of the insurance giant.
“We’re going to do a lot of engagement,” Howden adds. “For us it’s double because we want to engage our staff and employees and with the public and clients. We’re growing what we’re about.
“We have big offices in Australia so there will be some niggle between us in a good way. The Lions have not toured with the Sea of Red for eight years now so there’s so much enthusiasm.
“I’m sure the Aussies will step up their game and give us some competitive rugby.”
The agreement between the British and Irish Lions and Howden covers the upcoming tour while the group are also chief partners to the inaugural women’s tour, which will head to New Zealand in 2027.
“The next tour for us [after Australia] is the women’s tour, that’s really important. So that’s the next step and we will go from there,” Howden says when asked whether they’d extend their association beyond 2027. “But we did a partnership with Ascot [which began in 2021], and we’re big in partnerships.
“When we have them we make them work, we’re proper partners and we’re going to enjoy this.”