LAHORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced that Manu Sawhney had been appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer. Sawhney, the former CEO of Singapore Sports Hub and Managing Director of ESPN Star Sports, will join the organization next month before formally taking over the reins from David Richardson in July following the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The appointment was ratified by the ICC Board following a global search and appointment process led by ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar and the Nominations Committee. Manohar said: “I am delighted to confirm Manu’s appointment today. He brings 22 years of outstanding commercial experience to the ICC and will lead the delivery of our new global growth strategy for the game. Our search produced a host of excellent candidates from around the world, but Manu stood out as the man to work with our Members and take cricket forward.” Sawhney, was with ESPN Star Sports for seventeen years and during his tenure as Managing Director was responsible for scaling the business and doubling annual revenues whilst delivering an innovative content and digital growth strategy and building strong partnerships with stakeholders across 24 countries in Asia. He said: “It is a great privilege and responsibility to serve the global cricket community as CEO of the ICC. The sport has more than a billion fans and an ambitious growth strategy so it is a very exciting time to lead the organization.” Published in Daily Times, January 16th 2019.