Patrick Flannigan has been appointed the incoming Chair of Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, taking over from Russell Caplan whose term at the helm of the key sports and entertainment venues body expires on 31 October.

Patrick Flannigan has been appointed the incoming Chair of Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, taking over from Russell Caplan whose term at the helm of the key sports and entertainment venues body expires on 31 October.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula confirmed the appointment of Mr Flannigan, who has been a member of the Trust since 2016 and currently chairs its People and Remuneration Committee.

The Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust manages Victoria’s largest sports and entertainment complex including Rod Laver, Melbourne and Margaret Court arenas, the National Tennis Centre, AAMI Park, the Holden Centre, Olympic Park Oval and Gosch’s Paddock training fields.

Mr Flannigan is a long-standing director of the National Broadband Network and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. For 16 years he has also been a director of Western Chances, a charitable organisation supporting youth in Melbourne’s west.

He has 30 years of experience in the infrastructure and industrial services sectors, most recently as the managing director of Utility Maintenance Systems, a leading facilities, infrastructure and capital works management company.

Minister Pakula thanked Mr Caplan for his service, which began in 2007 and has included five terms as Chair.

Mr Caplan has overseen the transformation of the Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct, including chairing the project steering committee for the near $1 billion Melbourne Park redevelopment which has enabled Victoria to secure the Australian Open in Melbourne until at least 2036.

A new Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust board member has been appointed – business consultant Sammy Kumar, a co-founder of Sayers Group and chief executive of Sayers Advisory.