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AAP
June 2, 2016, 11:28 am
The Queensland Rugby Union have appointed radio industry boss Richard Barker as their chief executive, taking over from the departed Jim Carmichael.
Barker has been general manager of Southern Cross Austereo Brisbane since 2003 and is well known to the Queensland rugby community as a former captain of the Queensland Country side that played against Fiji, Canada and the touring All Blacks in the mid-1980s.
His first task will be to steady the ship at Ballymore, where there have been up to eight recent redundancies amid reports the QRU is battling a major cashflow problem, with home crowd averages down and a loss of $1.48 million posted last year.
"I am excited to be joining QRU and intend to make a difference," said Barker, who will commence on a yet-to-be-determined date.
"There's work to be done and I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves to help to make rugby a game for all."
QRU chairman Damien Frawley said Barker has the experience, skills and knowledge needed to lead the Reds in what he described as one of the toughest sporting markets in the world.
"I look forward to working with Richard over the coming years as we continue to grow interest and participation in rugby at the grassroots level and build a platform for the sustained success of our elite teams," he said.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sp...d-new-qru-ceo/