Tennis Canada President Named New LTA Chief

24 Sep 2013 | tshego

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Michael Downey, the former President and CEO of Tennis Canada for the past 9 years, has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association.

Beginning his new role on 6th January, Downey replaces Roger Draper who has led the organisation since 2006. During the interim period, the LTA’s chief operating officer, Nick Humby, will lead the executive.

In March this year, Draper announced that he would be stepping down from his role at the end of September.

Draper said at the time: ‘It has been a huge honour to serve the sport that I love so much and to play my part in leading British tennis. I have been very lucky to work with fantastic people both at the LTA and across the wider tennis community, and I would like to thank them all for their passion, commitment and hard work.’

‘As a result, the sport is entering a very exciting phase, and now is the right time for me to hand over the baton to a new leader who can build on what has been achieved in recent years and take British tennis to new levels.’

During Downey’s time in charge in Canada the sport has enjoyed significant growth, both at grassroots and at the elite level, with more than 1.2 million people playing the sport at least twice a month, while at an elite level, the country also reached the semi-finals of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.

Prior to Tennis Canada, Michael held a series of executive positions including regional president for Canada’s largest brewery, Molson Canada.

In a statement, Downey said: ‘This is a huge privilege for me, at a fantastic time for British tennis. We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us, and it is an honour to be able to lead the work of the LTA in getting more people playing tennis.’

LTA chairman, David Gregson, added: ‘We set out to recruit a CEO with true success in business, with exceptional leadership credentials and ideally with significant knowledge of tennis. Michael demonstrably fits the bill perfectly and was the unanimous choice of our recruitment panel.’