Debbie Hewitt

In 2021, she was voted in by a unanimous decision of the seven-member selection panel to become the first chairwoman of the FA, following the resignation of Greg Clarke in 2020. The FA Council will ratify the decision in its 22 July 2021 meeting. She announced she would step down as chair of the Restaurant Group at the end of 2021.

Since 2018, Hewitt has been the non-executive chairman of BGL Group. She is also non-executive chair of Visa Europe and White Stuff. In 2011 Hewitt was awarded an MBE for services to business and the public sector.

Hewitt did not initially go to university, and began her career on a Marks & Spencer management training scheme. She later joined Lex where she managed a Volvo dealership in Bristol; Lex sponsored her MBA from the University of Bath, which she completed part-time from 1992 to 1995. She was chief executive officer of the RAC (which was part of the Lex group) from 2006 until 2008.

Alison Deborah Moira Hewitt (born 31 August 1963) MBE is a British businesswoman and sports administrator. She was appointed as chairwoman of the Football Association in June 2021, taking up the role in January 2022. Hewitt will be the first woman to hold the post. Hewitt was previously chairwoman of The Restaurant Group.

Alison Deborah Moira Hewitt was born on 31 August 1963 and grew up in Nottinghamshire. While studying for her A-levels, her mother died. Her grandfather, Dr Vivian Brackstone, received an MBE for saving the lives of his fellow prisoners-of-war in a Japanese prison camp.