Marketing and communications is considered a key pillar of this strategy and structural changes including the appointment of Finch, who previously occupied a similar position within British Cycling, are designed to better support Badminton England in this aim.

"I am delighted that Gavin has agreed to join our team as we embark on a really exciting period for English badminton," said the Adrian Christy, the chief executive of Badminton England, who are based in Milton Keynes.

"With our plans to relocate the National Badminton Centre, the inaugural London Grand Prix in October, the Commonwealth Games in less than 12 months time, one of our most exciting portfolio's of community badminton programmes ever and some great partnerships being developed, there are some fantastic stories to be told and some amazing opportunities to engage with us. 

"After a period that has seen our domestic fan base grow to more than four million people and achieve a global reach of 350 million people, developing a better understanding of our fans is a key component of our business strategy.

"We have a vision to develop a CRM [Customer Relationship Management] business solution that enables us to manage and enhance relationships with the millions who play and follow badminton and the cornerstone to achieving this will be information about our fans and how they interact with us.

"It was critical for us to secure someone who can lead this exciting project and we are very much looking forward to Gavin sharing his skills and experience with us."

Finch arrives shortly before October's London Grand Prix to be held at the Copper Box in the Olympic Park

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Finch has spent the last three years with the marketing department of British Cycling at a time when the sport has never been more popular at either elite or recreational levels.

He will hope to enjoy similar success in a new sport:

"I am very excited to be joining a talented marketing and communications team at Badminton England," he said.

"I have been impressed with the clear focus and direction that Adrian has for the organisation and I am looking forward to delivering the projects that have been identified as priorities.

"I will be looking to implement learnings from my experience at British Cycling and with strong support and leadership from Adrian and the senior team, there is huge potential to be realised for Badminton England over the next few years.

"I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to contribute at such an exciting time for the sport."

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