A former Test opening batsman will be replaced by a sometime club
cricketer and corporate heavyweight when David Peever takes over from
Wally Edwards as chairman of Cricket Australia - and head of the ICC's
newly formed and influential ExCo - next year.
Peever, the managing director of the mining giant Rio Tinto's Australian
operations from 2009 until retiring earlier this year, was appointed
deputy chairman of CA at a board meeting on Friday, and will duly
replace Edwards when his term expires at the 2015 AGM in October. His
elevation to a major role in global cricket is an escalation of CA's
desire to be governed by accomplished and independent directors, after a
raft of structural changes in 2012.
Central to the re-shaping of Australian cricket's decision-making was
the appointment of 56-year-old Peever, Jacquie Hey and Kevin Roberts as
the board's first fully independent directors in 2012.
They have made their presence felt in asking hard questions of CA
management at the board table since then, and Peever has now emerged to
assume a role made doubly influential by the drastic changes made to the
ICC earlier this year, ceding enormous power and influence to the
boards of India, Australia and England.
"The board this morning has appointed David Peever as our deputy
chairman," Edwards said, announcing his successor. "David will be the
next chairman. I'll remain chairman until October 2015, we make our
appointment now so the deputy chairman can get involved with me
initially in the international area, we have the ICC conference coming
up in June in Melbourne, and that's the first chance for David to start
meeting and mingling with a lot of the international people in the world
of cricket.
"David joined the board in October 2012 when we did our governance
changes. He was the managing director of Rio Tinto in Australia. He's
been a terrific contributor for the nearly two years he's been on the
board, he's brought a lot of business acumen to the board, and I'm sure
he'll continue to do that and develop it further. He's got a deep
passion for cricket, and I'll be working closely with him over the next
18 months to ensure a smooth transition."
Raised in Queensland, Peever was a modest opening batsman for the Easts
cricket club, and has noted his apprehension when occasionally facing
his better-known clubmates including Craig McDermott, Carl Rackemann and
Geoff Dymock in the nets. However it is his business acumen that CA
have sought to carry on from the governance changes driven largely by
Edwards since his appointment in 2011.
"As deputy chairman my priority is going to be to continue to do what
we've done the last 18 months since I've been on the board, and that is
to support Wally, James [Sutherland, chief executive] and his team with
the board to progress in the way we have, especially on the governance
front," Peever said. "In particular our strong focus is going to be
really unifying Australian cricket and continuing down that path. We do
have a way to go, but Australian cricket can be in a pre-eminent
position over a long period of time if we can get this unification going
the way it can."
While Peever is well attuned to CA's desire to continue its process of
unification and alignment, so all the six states work more cohesively
together for common goals, he has plenty of learning to do about the
labyrinthine politics of the global game. He will now be travelling
extensively in the company of Edwards to meet and understand cricket's
overseas custodians, from the financial powerbrokers in India and
England, to the administrators of the many Associate nations.
"I'd say the ICC's in much better shape now than it was when I came into
the job and it will be better in another 18 months," Edwards said. "But
it's really getting to meet the people - there's a lot to get to know
from various positions right through to the associates, Ireland,
Afghanistan and other places. It's important to get a feel for the way
it works, the way people think, and get a bit of an understanding of the
ICC itself."
Peever's other corporate roles include directorships with the Melbourne
Business School and the Business Council of Australia, and membership of
the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council and the Department of
Defence Gender Equality Advisory Board. The last two positions will be
of some significance as Peever also works on CA's aspirations to
diversify cricket's following in Australia.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig
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