ACB announce new Chief Executive Officer

The Australian Cricket Board today announced former first-class cricketer and the current General Manager of its commercial operations, James Sutherland, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Sutherland, 35, a chartered accountant, said it was a privilege to be appointed to the role.

"It almost goes without saying that I am honored to be given the opportunity by the ACB directors to lead the game in Australia. As a player and coach, cricket has given me great enjoyment and many friendships and I am pleased that I now have the chance to put something back into the game," said Mr Sutherland.

"There's no doubting that this is an enormous responsibility but I'm very much looking forward to the challenge at hand," he said.

ACB Chairman Denis Rogers said that the process for selecting the new Chief Executive Officer was exhaustive, searching the world for a suitable replacement for Malcolm Speed who will begin leading the International Cricket Council in the new financial year.

"After a lengthy and rigorous process, the committee appointed by the Board came to the conclusion that James was the best person for the job," Mr Rogers said.

"He is a brilliant young man who recognises the values for which we stand and has a great ability to bring an all-round contribution to the game," he said.

Mr Sutherland joined the ACB three years ago and in addition to his finance and administrative responsibilities has been responsible for building an effective relationship between the ACB directors, ACB management, the Australian Cricketer's Association (ACA) and the state associations on key issues including player relations.

Along with Malcolm Speed he was one of the chief architects behind the recently finalised Memorandum of Understanding with the ACA which has cemented the long term security of this relationship.

Before joining the ACB, Mr Sutherland spent six years with AFL club Carlton as Finance Manager and Company Secretary, working under both Stephen Gough and Ian Collins.