AOC Appoint Fiona de Jong as Secretary General

The Australian Olympic Committee has appointed lawyer Fiona de Jong as their new Secretary General, becoming the first woman to take up the role.

Ms de Jong, who assumes the role of chief administrative and financial officer, has spent 10 years at the AOC as their Director of Sport.

A former international triathlete, de Jong is a graduate of Harvard Business Schools Advanced Management Program.

During her time at the AOC, de Jong has assumed much of the AOC’s legal work particularly around team agreements, its many by-laws, selection disputes and anti-doping matters.

She replaces Craig Phillips, who resigned in June after 23 years with the AOC.

Currently on maternity leave following the birth of her first child, de Jong will start her new position on October 7.

“I thank (AOC president) John Coates and the AOC Executive for their trust and support and I will relish this new challenge.” de Jong said.

“I’ve always been passionate about sport and I have a huge desire to advance the AOC and the Olympic Movement. I can’t wait to get back to work.”

Coates said the AOC was very focused on succession planning and de Jong was totally prepared to assume her new role after a decade of operational experience with the organisation.

“Fiona has developed a close working relationship with our member sports, she understands perfectly their needs and she will continue to forge stronger ties with the sports and our other key stakeholders in her new role,” Coates said.

De Jong is looking forward to working with another senior female member of the AOC hierarchy, the 2016 Australian Olympic Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller.