A woman who helped steer one of the world's biggest accounting networks through the COVID-19 pandemic has been appointed as the CEO of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
US-born Cindy Hook stepped away from her role as CEO of Deloitte Asia Pacific earlier this year.
"The opportunity to lead the Olympics and Paralympics is once in a lifetime," Ms Hook said.
"I honestly thought I was retiring from the corporate world back in June … but when an opportunity like this gets presented to you … the more I read and learned about the possibilities here, the more excited I got," she said.
Ms Hook previously lived in Australia for 10 years.
"In my prior role, leading Deloitte, I was in Brisbane very regularly … and I'm really excited to make this my new home."
Brisbane Games 'a start-up'
Her number one mission is laying foundations to ensure the Games will be cost-neutral.
"Today, we're really a start-up. We're basically forming a business and we've got to set the foundations that will serve us well for the next 10 years," she said.
"I'm an auditor by background and an accounting graduate – so I've got that at my core.
"In business, to balance a budget you have to make choices, which means you can't do everything you want … we're going to figure out how much money we can bring in … and then we are going to live within our means."
Another priority will be setting up sustainability strategies to make sure Brisbane 2032 meets its contractual commitment to deliver a 'climate-positive' Games.
Ms Hook is also passionate about hosting an inclusive Games.
"First, you've got to get a diverse team … our First Nations people, people with disabilities, women, men, different cultural backgrounds," she said.
"But a diverse team is only as good as the environment they work in … so I'll absolutely be working on that."
CEO appointment a 'significant step' in creating city's 'Golden Age'
She also knows that her performance in the role will be held to account by public scrutiny.
"My prior role had a level of media engagement and scrutiny, but nothing close to this," she said.
"I'm a pretty transparent and open person and that's how I plan to engage the media … but is it the part of the role that I'm most looking forward to … I wouldn't say that."
Questions have already been raised about funding for the planned redevelopment of the Gabba stadium as the event's key venue.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) member John Coates said he was "a supporter of the Gabba".
"It will be rebuilt and refurbished for the cricket and the AFL and it will be finished two years before the Games start," he said.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she has been discussing the Gabba project with the prime minister.
"There'll be further announcements coming in the near future," Ms Palaszczuk said.
Brisbane Olympics president Andrew Liveris said Ms Hook won the role of CEO after a rigorous selection process that involved more than 50 high-quality applicants from across the globe.
"We needed an individual that knows what it takes to run a multi-billion-dollar business on time and on budget, as well as how to engage to the community, industry and the corporate sector," Mr Liveris said.
"We wanted someone who not only knows how to open corporate doors, but for whom the doors are already wide open, across Australia and internationally."
Ms Hook first came to Australia in 2009 and became CEO of Deloitte Australia in 2015, living in Sydney with her husband and two sons.
In 2018 she became the inaugural CEO of Deloitte Asia Pacific. Ms Hook has also held directorships on the Economic Board of Singapore and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
Her contract, like that of Mr Liveris himself, is for four years even though there are still nine and a half years until the Games.
"I can already tell you from the board, our mindset is we recruited a CEO for 10 years, health willing, God willing and everything else willing and that's the way we're approaching this," Mr Liveris said.
Ms Palaszczuk, also the Minister for the Olympics and Paralympics, said Ms Hook's appointment is "a very significant step on our path to 2032".
"This will be our Golden Age," she said.
Ms Hook and her husband moved to Brisbane last week. She will begin her role as CEO in February.
