Former Mayo footballer and Chartered Engineer Tom Parsons has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Gaelic Players Association.
Parsons has been a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the GPA since 2017 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2019. He has also previously been the GPA Secretary and, more recently, held the position of Chairman of the NEC.
Following the merger with the WGPA, Tom has co-Chaired the NEC alongside Maria Kinsella.
Parsons was one of the country’s most highly respected players until his retirement in 2020. He will also be remembered for his bravery when coming back from an injury sustained in 2018, having been told he might never run again.
He joins the GPA from Jacobs Engineering where he has worked since 2012, most recently in the role of Culture Manager for Europe.
“I am absolutely delighted and honoured to be appointed as the CEO of the GPA,” he said. “I truly believe in the great work of the Association and, from personal experience, the GPA has supported me in my sporting, personal and professional life since my debut with Mayo in 2008.”
“As a player, I feel I have experienced nearly all the challenges, highs and lows a player can face. I know how important it is to have an association that unconditionally cares for every player. I’m committed to build on the great work of our previous CEO Paul Flynn and I’m privileged to have the opportunity to work with a dynamic, dedicated team in the GPA who have the player at the heart of all decisions.”
“A huge motivation for me was the decision by players to merge the GPA and WGPA in December of 2020. I feel this truly represents the leadership of our male and female intercounty players and I’m committed to serve the voice of all our players to the best of my ability. I look forward to taking up the position later in the summer.”
“On behalf of the Board of the Gaelic Players Association, I want to express our great delight at securing the services of a person of the calibre of Tom Parsons to take up the position of CEO,” said Chair Bríain McCraith.
“Tom takes on this role at a crucial time for the Association, following the recent, historic merger with the WGPA. Tom has worked extremely hard on behalf of inter-county players in his various roles within the GPA to date and we are looking forward to seeing that continue and develop further as he leads the GPA in the important years ahead.”
The GPA confirmed that Ciarán Barr will continue as Interim CEO until Tom takes up the position as CEO and will then return to the role of Head of Finance and Operations.
The Gaelic Players Association is among more than 250+ members of the Sport for Business network of sporting and business organisations working together across a number of key areas from sponsorship and research to advocacy and innovation.
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