JD Sports appoints Sarah Kuijlaars as new non-executive director

JD Sports Fashion has appointed Sarah Kuijlaars as an independent non-executive director, effective 10 November 2025.

Kuijlaars, currently chief financial officer at Tate and Lyle, will join the board’s audit and risk committee and nomination committee. 

She is due to succeed Ian Dyson as chair of the audit and risk committee on 1 June 2026, following a handover period.

Dyson, who took on the interim chair role in July 2025, will remain a member of the committee.

Kuijlaars has held senior finance roles across a range of multinational companies. Before joining Tate and Lyle, she served as chief financial officer at De Beers Group and Arcadis, and was previously deputy chief financial officer at Rolls-Royce Holdings. 

She spent 25 years at Shell in a series of leadership positions.

Following her appointment, the JD Sports board will comprise eight non-executive directors, seven independent and one not considered independent, alongside a non-executive chair and two executive directors.

Andrew Higginson, non-executive chair, said: “The board is delighted to welcome Sarah to the JD board and we are very pleased that Sarah has agreed to become Audit and Risk Committee chair. 

“Sarah’s valuable experience from serving as a finance leader in public companies, along with a deep knowledge of accounting and disclosure requirements and experience of a wide range of governance matters will further strengthen the existing board for many years to come. The board is grateful to Ian Dyson for fulfilling the interim role as chair of Audit and Risk Committee and would like to thank Ian for his commitment to the role during this time.”