Former Olympic athlete John Treacy has been announced as the new chairman of Concern Worldwide.
Mr Treacy was appointed to the position, which is an unpaid voluntary role, last Saturday. He is taking over from Tom Shipsey, who headed the international charity’s board from 2014.
Mr Treacy will maintain his full-time position as chief executive of Sport Ireland while taking on the charity role. He joined the board of Concern in 2008 and is also a member of the agency’s US board.
“It is a privilege to have been appointed chair of Concern,” he said.
“It’s a great organisation with 50 years of history working for the world’s poorest people.
“A key focus of mine will be to ensure that Concern maintains the highest standards of governance in its work and that the organisation maintains the trust and confidence of the public,” he added.
In 2017, Concern reached 27 million people in poverty-stricken regions and spent more than €166 million on overseas programmes.
Mr Treacy was chief executive of the Irish Sports Council from 1999 to 2015 and became chief executive of Sport Ireland in 2015 when Ireland’s sporting authorities were merged.
A member of Athletic Ireland’s Hall of Fame, the Waterford athlete was the World Cross Country Champion in 1978 and 1979 and won silver at the 1984 Olympics.
Two other members of Concern’s board – former minister for justice Nora Owen and Donal D’Arcy – have been appointed as vice chairpersons of the agency.