Irish Sailing appoints Tim Bourke as new CEO

The board of Irish Sailing has appointed Tim Bourke as its new CEO.

The organisation says Bourke is well regarded in both business and sailing circles, bringing a discerning blend of commercial and sporting experience, to lead the organisation.

Bourke has a life-long passion for sailing which started with dinghies and continued with instructing, racing keelboats, cruising and volunteering. In sailing administration he ran a sailing school in the US, co-founded the SB20 class, recently rebuilt the Feva class and re-started an adult sailing programme locally. Commercially, Bourke has successfully led large digital change management programmes in multinational environments for many years.

“We thank outgoing CEO Harry Hermon for his tireless efforts over the years,” says Irish Sailing President John Twomey. “We are delighted to have Tim to take up the helm. With his previous experience in business and his vision for the future of Irish Sailing, we have every confidence in his ability to lead the organisation, support all stakeholders and sailors throughout Ireland and internationally.”

Irish Sailing has around 24,000 members across 100 clubs and its focus is on supporting two complementary elements in the sport. These are core activities which it classes as the grass roots of learning, participation, cruising and racing in both clubs and centres, and performance which is the Irish elite athlete’s performance at international events.