Henry Staelens, chief executive officer of Ice Hockey UK (IHUK) and England Ice Hockey (EIH), has announced his intention to step down from his positions in early 2026.

Henry joined Ice Hockey UK in March 2023, becoming the first chief executive in the organisation’s history, and subsequently assumed the CEO role at England Ice Hockey through a shared services agreement.

During his tenure, the sport has delivered significant reform, achieving Code for Sports Governance compliance and strengthening the foundations required by both UK Sport and Sport England.

This progress has been matched by a renewed focus on impact and growth, including high-profile partnerships such as NHL Street, record investment into GB Women, and a strengthened strategic approach to athlete development through the restructuring of the GB Pathway.

In December 2025, the sport also took a major step forward with an historic merger vote, enabling Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey to enter detailed discussions on forming a single, progressive governing body for ice hockey in Great Britain.

Henry Staelens said: “It’s been an honour to lead this sport, and I am very proud of the work and change we have delivered.

“This isn’t one of those boilerplate comments that you see so often – this is tangible, transformational change, for a sport that both needed and deserved it.

“My desire for the sport to be professionalised, working in unison, and ready to seize the opportunities that lie ahead, has been realised. The next 12 months are going to be very much focused on the legalities and structure of the proposed merger – during this period, I strongly believe I can add more value focusing on other crucial areas within the sport, whilst this process continues.

“This was far from an easy decision, but I have always held the belief that you do what is right for the sport in every moment, and this is something I have honoured since day one.

“I thank the boards for their understanding that there must be a refreshed structure in 2026, if we are to fully transform, protect and evolve ice hockey, whilst simultaneously delivering the merger.

“My appreciation for the ice hockey community is immense. This sport has been built on every single person’s desire and passion for the game, and it has been a privilege to play a part in harnessing that energy and using it to build an even better future for the sport.”

Henry will be retained as a strategic commercial consultant, supporting the sport to maximise value for members through partnerships, commercial development and wider opportunities.

Clifton Wrottesley, chair of Ice Hockey UK, said: “I want to place on record my sincere and unreserved thanks to Henry for his exemplary leadership of Ice Hockey UK and England Ice Hockey.

“Henry brought pace, clarity and ambition at a time when the sport needed it most. He has been instrumental in modernising how we operate, raised standards far beyond originally envisaged, and played a key role in bringing the sport together with a single direction of travel.

“Thankfully, this is not goodbye, we are hugely buoyed that Henry will remain involved in a strategic consultancy capacity, to spearhead the commercialisation of the sport, working closely with IHUK, EIH and SIH, as well as separately helping the UK Ice Hockey Foundation fully realise its own commercial and partnership goals, as we move into the next truly exciting phase of our sport’s development.

“To their great credit, Henry, in partnership with our COO Grant King, have put in place a plan to restructure the executive leadership and operations of the sport, enabling resources and expertise to be targeted in the most effective way possible.

“The recent vote to pursue a merger of the sport’s governing bodies allows the key people involved in delivery for the sport to focus on releasing the incredible, untapped value that lies nascent within ice hockey.

“Put simply, thanks to Henry’s vision and ability to deliver, the future for our sport is exceptionally bright.”

Duncan Hough, chair of England Ice Hockey, commented: “It’s been a pleasure working with Henry over the past two years, and the last 18 months as CEO.

“As a board and an executive, we have delivered on what was needed during this period – significant reform across governance, with a clear vision for the future – and Henry’s leadership ability, and desire to bring people together and deliver change quickly, has been vital to that, as we now have the foundations needed for the next phase.

“I am very pleased that we can continue working with Henry in a new capacity to seize on new opportunities for the sport, alongside the important merger discussions.”

Following a handover period in the coming weeks, Grant King, chief operating officer of Ice Hockey UK and England Ice Hockey, will act as interim chief executive officer in 2026, supporting the boards through the next stage of the merger and integration programme.

Grant King said: “It’s been brilliant working closely with Henry over the past 18 months or so. Under his leadership we have been able to drive huge progress across governance, standards, innovation and ambition, which have been delivered through a collective effort across boards, staff, volunteers and stakeholders who care deeply about the sport.

“I thank Henry for his leadership, vision and impact on the sport, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in his commercial consultancy capacity”.

A further update will be issued in due course with more detail on the transition arrangements and the next steps in the merger and integration programme.

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