Former French Olympic fencing champion LAURA FLESSEL was named minister of sport by French PM EDOUARD PHILIPPE. Flessel succeeds PATRICK KANNER and is the first female sports minister since CHANTAL JOUANNO, who served from ’10-11 (LE FIGARO, 5/17). ... Rugby Football Union CEO IAN RITCHIE will retire at the end of the summer. Ritchie, 63, joined the RFU in Feb. '12. Under his leadership, the RFU delivered record revenue and investment into professional and community rugby. Ritchie also oversaw the delivery of Rugby World Cup 2015 in England. Ritchie is one of two RFU representatives on the World Rugby Council, a member of the board of the British & Irish Lions and a member of the Six Nations board (England Rugby). ... UFC announced the appointment of PETER STRINGER as VP of social media. Stringer has more than 20 years of experience in digital communications, most recently spending the past 12 NBA seasons as VP of digital media for the Boston Celtics (UFC). ... Premier League side Watford Manager WALTER MAZZARRI will leave the club after Sunday's final game of the season at home against Man City. The 55-year-old Italian was in charge of the club for "less than a year." Watford's next manager will be its ninth in five years and the eighth since the Italian POZZO family took over the club in '12 (BBC, 5/17).
