World Sailing has appointed David Graham, a 20-year veteran in the sailing industry, as its new Chief Executive Officer, starting 13 July 2020.
The announcement comes despite a recent statement by World Sailing President Kim Andersen that they would delay the appointment of a new CEO until there is more certainty around the organisations budget,
World Sailing has reported financial issues, caused in part by the rescheduling of the Tokyo 2020 Games to next year, and the expected delayed payment of the IOC Tokyo Games payout to sports organisations.
David Graham’s extensive and impressive career includes functions in sales, events, coaching and sponsorship, including CEO and Managing Director roles.
In contrast to Andy Hunt the previous CEO, Graham comes direct from a sailing industry background, with his most recent role at Oman Sail where he served as CEO from 2009 through to April 2020.
Prior to his tenure at Oman Sail, Graham managed a sailing school before spending over a decade in senior positions in the world’s leading dinghy manufacturers.
His experience as an active sailor is equally as strong.
An active sailor his whole life, he grew up as a dinghy sailor and was involved in major big boat series and races onboard both monohulls and multihulls. In addition he has recently taking up kiteboarding to add to his repertoire of sailing skillsets.
Kim Andersen, President of World Sailing, commented, “On behalf of the entire World Sailing family it gives me great pleasure to welcome David to the team.”
Scott Perry, World Sailing Vice President, added, “The board received several high calibre applicants and having reviewed each one carefully we unanimously approved the selection of David Graham. With better clarity over our finances through to 2021, now is the time to build up our future and this includes bringing in a CEO to guide the day to day operations and future negotiations of our organisation.”
On his appointment, Graham commented, “I am really looking forward to my new role with World Sailing. I would like to thank President Kim Andersen and the board for their confidence; I look forward to working with them to develop World Sailing and building a strong organization together.”
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