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Co Down man appointed CEO of Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI)

Co Down man Peter Sherrard has been appointed CEO of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). Picture: RTE
Co Down man Peter Sherrard has been appointed CEO of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). Picture: RTE Co Down man Peter Sherrard has been appointed CEO of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). Picture: RTE

A CO Down man has been appointed the new chief executive officer of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI).

Peter Sherrard, who is originally from Newcastle, will join the body from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) where he is currently Operations Director with responsibility for International Team Operations and Match Operations, a position he has held since 2014.

He will take up his new role as chief executive of OCI from May.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Mr Sherrard is fluent in French and Italian, having lived and worked in both countries. He also has 10 years of experience within Irish Sport.

Mr Sherrard has also held a number of other management roles during his career including Market Manager for Ryanair in Italy, Head of Communications at Ryanair, Director of Communications at the FAI and Interim Commercial Director at the FAI.

Mr Sherrard joins the OCI following a controversial time for the organisation.

The body's former president Pat Hickey resigned from the International Olympic Council's executive board last year after he was arrested in Rio at the 2016 Olympic Games over alleged ticket touting.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Sherrard said he was "delighted" with his new role "at this exciting time of growth and change at the OCI".