Bears bolster workforce with three key positions

Warwickshire County Cricket Club have enhanced their memberships, content and communications functions with the addition of three important appointments. 

Gareth Howells has joined as Head of Ticketing, Membership and Hospitality, Rida Iqbal as Head of Digital & Content and Matt Joule as Head of Media & Communications, with all three joining the Bears with vast experience from other sports and at a time of ambitious growth at Edgbaston Stadium. 

Howells, who joined in November, will lead the Ticketing, Membership and Hospitality offering across all formats and joins from Burnley FC, having previously worked at Gloucester Rugby in similar roles. 

His main focuses will be streamlining ticketing and memberships, enhancing supporter services and building on the excellent hospitality offering at Edgbaston. He has a wealth of experience in member engagement, and he will look to utilise those skills in working with Bears’ members on a daily basis.

Iqbal has impressive experience across a plethora of sports, including Formula 1, golf and football, producing content with household names and leading digital transformations. 

She will manage the redevelopment of the club’s website to improve the functionality, making it easier to use and navigate for members and supporters, while ensuring the quality of content across all digital products is top class. 

Joule, meanwhile, joins from the DP World Tour, having spent the last seven years working as a Senior Press & Communications Officer at some of the world’s biggest tournaments, including Rolex Series events, Major Championships, and Ryder Cups. He previously spent time working in football and will focus on external communications, media relations, and enhancing coverage of cricket across all formats and teams, to ensure Bears’ fans can follow the club more closely than ever before. 

Adam Lowe, Commercial Director of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new recruits to the club, alongside the fantastic team already in place. 

“Each brings a wealth of knowledge from across sport which will help take us to a new level in delivering excellent matchday and digital experiences for our members, fans and guests of Edgbaston.

“They join a team that has broken multiple records and won the most Business of Cricket Awards of any county in 2025. With some further recruitment across the department, we’re excited to see what’s next.

“All three additions will help us deliver more to our members across three important functions, adding to the excellent team we already have in place.”

The trio’s appointments complete the wider Commercial Team function, joining Chris Airey as Head of Marketing & Brand, Angela Sanders as Head of Conference & Event Sales and Ben Seifas as Head of Commercial Partnerships & Sales.