Harnden Named 2015 World Cup Chief Executive Officer

South Australian Cricket Association chief executive John Harnden has been named as the chief executive officer of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.

He has been appointed by James Strong, who is the chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the event, which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Previous to his role with South Australia, Harnden was chief executive of ther 2006 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Melbourne and chief executive of Village Roadshow International Theme Parks.

He is also currently deputy chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, has an honours degree in engineering from the University of Adelaide and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Programme.

"Coupled with his current role in cricket administration, this made John the perfect candidate for the job of chief executive," Strong said, paying tribute to Harnden's suitability for the role.

"John is known and admired around the world for his strategic thinking, the personal commitment he brings to every task, his ability to build and lead outstanding teams and his willingness to work collaboratively with everyone involved in a project."

Looking forward to the role, Harnden said "Cricket is a passion for me from a personal and a professional perspective. I am delighted to be a part of the 2015 Cricket World Cup and look forward to working with James Strong and the rest of the Board as well as everyone at New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia.

"We will make this a real partnership across the Tasman."

© Cricket World 2011