Peter O'Meara was the inaugural CEO of the Western Force rugby union team.[1] He was appointed in March 2005 following the successful bid by RugbyWA for the right to host the fourth Australian franchise.[2][3] O'Meara had previously been on the boards of the NSWRU and QRU and had moved to Western Australia in his capacity as an executive with the Commonwealth Bank.[4][5]
After the launch of Western Force and two completed seasons in the Super 14 competition, O'Meara resigned as CEO in January 2008. This followed RugbyWA being fined $150,000 by the Australian Rugby Union for a breach of protocols relating to player contracts.[4] The controversial fuel technology company Firepower Holdings,[6] run by O'Meara's friend Tony Johnston,[7] had provided sponsorship deals which were a major factor in luring high-profile players including Wallaby star Matt Giteau and others to play for the Western Force.[8] Firepower's Australian operations were put into liquidation in early July 2008 in the Federal Court of Australia,[6] leaving Giteau and a number of other sportsmen owed millions of dollars by Firepower.[9]
He was succeeded as CEO of the Force by Greg Harris, appointed in March 2008.[10] O'Meara was appointed as CEO of the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust in Sydney in 2010.[5]In 2023, O'Meara received the Papal Honour of the Knight of St Gregory the Great.
References
edit- ^ "RugbyWA Staff". RugbyWA. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007.
- ^ "Perth Super 14 team announces CEO". Australian Rugby. 2005. Archived from the original on 16 September 2006.
- ^ Guinness, Rupert (8 January 2008). "CEO quits in new Force woe". Brisbane times. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Force CEO Peter O'Meara resigns". The Australian. News. 7 January 2008. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024.
- ^ a b White, Richard. "Wise as Serpents & Gentle as Doves". Dialogue (Spring 2011). WN Bull Funerals: 17–18. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014.
- ^ a b Ryle 2009, p. 244.
- ^ Ryle 2009, p. ix.
- ^ Chadwick, Justin (27 May 2008). "Firepower debacle hits Matt Giteau, Western Force". PerthNow. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Magnay, Jaqueline; Ryle, Gerard (28 May 2008). "The game's almost up for Firepower". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008.
- ^ "Greg Harris replaces Peter O'Meara as Western Force CEO". The Australian. News. 7 January 2008. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024.
Sources
edit- Ryle, Gerard (2009). Firepower: The most spectacular fraud in Australian history (PDF). Sydney: Allen and Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-355-4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2012.
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