Cindy Hook appointed CEO of 2032 Olympic organising committee in Brisbane

American executive Cindy Hook has been appointed as the inaugural CEO of the organising committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.

The organising committee announced the appointment on Tuesday after engaging with 50 candidates over six months.

Hook was based in Singapore as CEO of Deloitte Asia Pacific until June and had previously worked for the international professional services network in the US and in Australia, moving to Sydney in 2009 to lead the auditing practice for six years and later becoming CEO of the Australian operation in 2015.

"The opportunity to lead the Olympics and Paralympics is once in a lifetime," Hook said.

 

"The idea of setting up the organisation, building the team, creating a vision and driving to a smooth delivery of Brisbane 2032 is very exciting and I expect it will be both challenging and rewarding."

Hook said she'd made regular visits to Brisbane during her prior time in Australia and would be moving to the Queensland state capital and starting the new role in February.

Brisbane 2032 President Andrew Liveris described Hook as a person who knows what it takes to run a multi-billion dollar business on time and on budget.

"I'm so pleased that we've found someone with a deep affinity for Australia while also understanding what is required to turn Brisbane 2032 into a household name across the world," Liveris said.

The International Olympic Committee awarded the 2032 Games to Brisbane in July of last year, under a revamped procedure for choosing host cities that saw a small group of IOC members identify and propose host cities to the board. Australia has twice previously hosted the Summer Olympics, at Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.

The 2032 organising committee held its first board meeting in April and, on July 23, started the decade-long countdown.