Board Members

Introducing our Leigh Leopards Board of Directors. Our Board comprise of long standing members and new faces, each bringing individual skill sets and a collective passion for the club. Our promise as a Board, is to raise standards across the club to provide a sustainable and future-proof vision for Leigh’s progression in Super League and Cup Competition.

DEREK BEAUMONT - OWNER

Leigh Centurions owner Derek Beaumont explains why the club asked to push back their pre-season game with Warrington - Manchester Evening News

Derek Beaumont is the owner of the Leigh Leopards and an active and integrated member of the operational board across many facets of the business.

Born in 1971, he is a self-made, successful, mature business man who built the industry’s leading holiday home Sundecks manufacturer and installer from scratch to a £10m plus turnover business which proudly supports all levels of Rugby League as grass roots, women’s, men’s and competition sponsor.

He is a proud husband to his wife and rock Laura and proud father to his three sons Danny, Ryan and Rocky who are his inspiration. Derek’s interest and hobbies above his love of Rugby League are his love for the South African wildlife where he is a trustee of the Madikwe Wildlife Foundation, through which he is able to invest in conservation work and significantly surrounding the Rhino population and their protection. He is also joint owner of Leopard Rock Safari Lodge in the Madikwe game reserve.

Derek has a passion for living life in the fast lane, always pushing himself to the limit and is a keen fan of the Lamborghini car brand. He is a black belt at Shukokai Karate and a keen road cyclist which serves as a great platform from which he can challenge himself and raise significant funds for various charities.

Derek openly admits he is someone that has faced many hurdles in his life and has dealt with addiction and is active in being open about his mental health issues to assist others in realising it’s okay not to be okay.

His and his wife’s charity work they choose to keep close to their hearts as it’s only necessary for those receiving to know as they are the real champions that make funds work where they are needed.

He openly admits he is a tough task master and demands the best from those around him and is driven with a single-minded approach to anything he focuses on.

He knows he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, he is a realist and knows he can never please all of the people all of the time but he is more interested in pleasing others than himself. As he says he can’t change the world but if he can change the expression on a person’s face in a positive way, if only for one day, then it’s a positive impact.

Derek can be contacted via the club’s media manager concerning interviews or appearances

MR MIKE LATHAM - CHAIRMAN

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Mike has supported his hometown club for over 50 years and is honoured to be a Life Member as well as the club’s historian, archivist and ambassador. He has served on the non-executive board since being invited to join by Derek Beaumont in early 2014 and as Chairman since February 2018, apart from briefly stepping down during 2023 after eye surgery. He was an honours graduate of Bristol University and has run his own accountancy business for many years.

For much of the past 40 years he has researched the history of Rugby League, cricket and football, often on microfilm readers in libraries, explaining why he wears thick glasses and blinks in daylight.

He has written for local and national newspapers and contributed match reports, features and articles for Rugby League Express for 20 years following its formation in 1990 and currently writes a long-standing monthly historical article for Forty-20 magazine.

He was appointed Chairman of the Association of Sports Historians upon its formation in 1993 and for 12 years (1996-2008) hosted a weekly, hour-long Rugby League programme on BBC Radio Lancashire as well as hosting a weekly cricket programme for the station.

A self-confessed groundhopper, he has visited over 3,000 football, Rugby League and cricket grounds including every venue in the UK that has hosted a first-class Rugby League match.

After four years as Vice-Chairman of the Northern Premier Cricket League, he became Chairman of Cricket for Cumberland CCC between 2013-2018, a tenure which included the county becoming Minor Counties champions in 2015.

A founder member of the Rugby League Record Keepers’ Club, he has compiled a vast historical and statistical archive about the game. He was Leigh’s programme editor for many years and researched and compiled the club’s Heritage Numbers which culminated in a special Heritage Day at Leigh Sports Village in 2014.

He has written over 30 sports books, including several on Leigh. His most recent books are one on cricket, entitled When Frank Woolley came to Berwick and a history of Runcorn Northern Union Club.

Married to Janet with two grown up daughters, he was born at Firs Maternity Home in Leigh in 1960.

His many duties on the board included co-compiling with Derek and Laura Beaumont the club’s successful Super League application in 2021. He attends and chairs board meetings, writes and edits the club’s press releases,and website articles, maintains club records and archives, co-hosts Premier Club on match days with Gill Wood, as well as compiling the RFL and statutory returns and accounts. He also undertakes many engagements around the local community in an ambassadorial role.

Having been at Wembley as a ten-year-old in 1971, he was honoured to receive a Challenge Cup winner’s medal in 2023 in his role as Chairman.

NEIL JUKES - OPERATIONS DIRECTOR & NON EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Neil Jukes was born 23 May 1976 and is a former professional rugby league player and represented Leigh and Rochdale Hornets. You may remember his time as the head coach of the Leigh Centurions, having also been assistant coach at the club between 2009 and 2016, coaching the team successfully into the Super League in 2016

Making his playing debut for Leigh in January 1995, he went on to make 32 appearances for the club. His playing career ended in 1998 after suffering an injury while playing for Rochdale Hornets.

Neil is now Operations Director at Leigh Leopards, overseeing a number of integral functions within the club to ensure its day to day efficiency and success. He is also a Manager at club sponsor AB Sundecks, where he works alongside club owner Derek.

An ever present figure at the club, Neil has played an important part in helping secure Super League status, the recruitment of great coaching staff and helped Derek and his team build a squad to compete at the highest level.

Away from the club enjoys many sports, live events and spending time with his wife and children.