Nick Bunting OBE is an experienced chief executive, company director and governance professional with a distinguished career spanning the commercial, sporting and charitable sectors. He has led major organisational transformation, governance reform and commercial growth across businesses, national governing bodies and Royal Charter organisations.

Nick began his career with Cadbury,progressing through senior roles in sales, production, marketing, management and operations before joining Guinness, PepsiCo and Whitworths. He later became part of the management buy-out of the dry dog food division of Dalgety, serving as Sales and Marketing Director and helping build the UK’s largest supplier of own-label dry dog food.

He subsequently joined the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to lead the professional development of refereeing. During his fourteen years with the RFU he held several senior executive appointments, including Head of Public Affairs and Operations (Chief Operating Officer), and served as a member of the Executive Committee. Internationally, he represented the northern hemisphere refereeing unions on the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby), contributing to the development of the modern professional game.

Following the RFU, Nick became Chief Executive of one of His Majesty King Charles III’s charities (then The Prince of Wales’s charity), where he led programmes that helped create more than 2,000 new businesses and over 3,000 jobs. He later became Chief Executive of the RAC Motor Sports Association, leading the organisation through a period of significant strategic, operational and financial transformation.

Since March 2014, Nick has served as Group Chief Executive of the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA), the Royal Charter welfare charity supporting serving and former members of the Royal Air Force and their families. Under his leadership, the Association has strengthened its governance, modernised its operations and expanded its services while supporting more than 60,000 members through a worldwide network of over 200 branches and 40-plus clubs. With approximately 900 employees, more than 6,500 trained volunteers, annual income of around £33 million and a balance sheet exceeding £36 million, RAFA is one of the United Kingdom’s leading military welfare charities.

In 2019, Nick founded RAFAKidz, an award-winning social enterprise providing affordable, high-quality childcare for Service families. Under his leadership it has grown into the largest provider of military early years childcare in the UK, supporting more than 3,000 children across 23 settings on 20 military stations. RAFAKidz has twice been named Nursery Group of the Year and is consistently recognised among the UK’s top 25
nursery groups.

Nick holds ministerial and non-executive appointments and has served as a trustee and governor of several national charities and organisations. A Chartered Director, Chartered Manager and Fellow of both the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Management Institute, in 2020 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his services to charity, business and sport.

Outside work, Nick enjoys travelling, good food and wine, and playing golf with considerably more enthusiasm than talent.