Five-time Olympian and gold-medal winning member of the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ rowing team, Mike McKay, has been appointed as CEO of DrinkWise Australia.
Mr McKay, also a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Ambassador to DrinkWise, has a strong background in health and business, and has been a board member of the Australian Olympic Committee and Rowing Australia. More recently he was CEO to GreenEDGE, Australia’s first ever international World Tour road cycling team.
Mr McKay, who takes up the position on February 13, said he was excited to have the opportunity to make a difference in how Australians view their drinking habits.
“Through my sporting and health interests, and as a Sport Australia Hall of Fame ambassador, I’ve seen the good and the bad of Australians’ attitude towards drinking,” he said.
“I hope that I can play some small part in DrinkWise’s continuing efforts and results in affecting generational change on how Australians consume alcohol.”
DrinkWise Australia Chair, the Hon. Trish Worth, said Mr McKay would bring a wealth of experience to the CEO role through his previous sporting, health and business-related successes.
“As well as being one of our country’s greatest ever Olympians, Mr McKay has demonstrated a proven ability to achieve cultural and behavioural change, and create world leading initiatives in the area of preventative health,” Ms Worth said.
“His role as a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Ambassador means he already understands the challenges and opportunities facing DrinkWise to promote change towards a healthier and safer drinking culture in Australia.”
Mike McKay competed in five successive Olympics from 1988 to 2004, winning gold with the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ at Barcelona and Atlanta, silver with the ‘eights’ in Sydney and a bronze at Athens.
He has also been an owner and director of a world leading web-based preventative health business, Fitness2live.
DrinkWise Australia is a not-for-profit social change organisation dedicated to promoting a healthier and safer drinking culture in Australia. It does this through national information and education campaigns, partnerships with community leaders and organisations, and the development of practical strategies and resources that better support the community in relation to alcohol use and misuse.
