Royal British Legion has appointed a new Director General

The Royal British Legion has appointed a new Director General following Charles Byrne stepping down from the role. Mark Atkinson, the current Chief Executive Officer at RNID, will join us as Director General from Monday 29 January 2024 to lead our Executive Board.

As Director General, Mark will continue the delivery of our transformational change portfolio, whilst working to develop our long-term thinking to best look after the needs of our community. The Armed Forces community is evolving constantly in terms of those who serve, what they do and the challenges they face, and Mark’s priority will be to lead the charity in evolving with them.

At RNID, Mark oversaw a period of significant transformation and led the development of a new corporate strategy underpinned by four strategic programmes based on customer and supporter insight. He introduced a new financial and operating model and led the introduction of a new organisational structure and matrix working with increased focus on flexibility, agility, and trust.

During his time at RNID, Mark also played a leading role in the Disability Charities Consortium of ten national disability charities to co-ordinate advocacy and influencing government. Prior to his role at RNID, Mark was CEO at Scope and has spent his whole career to date in the charity and social sector.

The current Director General, Charles Byrne, will step down on Thursday 30th November after ten years with the charity. The RBL’s Executive Director of Services, Antony Baines OBE, has stepped up as Interim Director General until Mark Atkinson starts in post.