Newcastle man Olympic Council of Ireland chief

Newcastle man Olympic Council of Ireland chief

14 February 2018

A FORMER Newcastle man has been appointed the chief executive officer of the Olympic Council of Ireland.

Peter Sherrard will move to his new position in May from the Football Association of Ireland where he is operations director and worked closely alongside a number of the team’s former managers and current boss Martin O’Neill.

Mr Sherrard’s responsibilities for the FAI included international team operations and match operation and organising team preparations at Euro 2016.

He has also held a number of management positions during his career including market manager for Ryanair in Italy, head of communications at Ryanair, director of communications at the FAI, interim commercial director at the FAI and his operations director role which he has held since 2014.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Mr Sherrard is a fluent French and Italian speaker, having lived and worked in both countries.

“We are very pleased that we have been successful in attracting a person of the calibre and experience of Peter to the Olympic Council of Ireland,” said OCI President Sarah Keane.

“His hands-on experience and leadership skills will be of great value to us as we continue to pursue our athlete centred programme of reform. 

“With the recent launch of our new strategy, Peter is starting at a time of real growth and development for the Olympic movement in Ireland.”

Mr Sherrard comes into the OCI after the most turbulent time in its history which involved the arrest in Brazil of key members of the organisation, including former president Pat Hickey. Since then, the council has voted in an entire new committee and President in Keane.

“I am delighted to have been appointed CEO at this exciting time of growth and change at the OCI. I look forward to working with the Board and staff to build on the good work of the past 12 months,” Mr Sherrard said.

“I share the Board’s commitment to placing athletes and Federations at the centre of everything we do at the OCI. With the Winter Games currently underway in Pyeongchang and the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo fast approaching, I am committed to working with Team Ireland and our partners to help deliver world class support for our athletes.”

Mournes SDLP councillor Laura Devlin has congratulated Mr Sherrard on his appointment with the Olympic Council of Ireland.

“This is a very prestigious role and I am delighted to see Peter appointed,” she said. “I have asked Newry, Mourne and Down Council chief executive Liam Hannaway to send him a letter congratulating him on his appointment and to wish him all the best in his new role.”

Cllr Devlin added: “This is a great example of someone local who obviously is very talented and has  a great work ethic do so well.”