News

Press chief Newsom leaves BOA to go solo

The British Olympic Association, already seeking a new chief executive to replace Simon Clegg and planning a move away from its quaint listed building headquarters in south London, will now be advertising for a communications director, following Graham Newsom’s decision to leave to set up his own business.

Newsom spent 2½ years at the BOA’s Wandsworth headquarters. Previously, he had been at HM Revenue & Customs and prior to that he was head of communications at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its predecessor departments.

During this period he was the Government spokesman covering a number of major sporting events including the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the Italia 90 FIFA World Cup. He was also responsible for media handling following the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989.

He was head of press at the old Great Britain Sports Council and had also worked closely with Camelot to improve coverage of the National Lottery.

According to a report in today’s Guardian, Newsom sees the period building up to the London Olympics as the time to set up his own consultancy, aimed at winning contracts with the International Olympic Committee and its national bodies before their temporary relocation to the UK.

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