Name John Lee | Role New South Wales | |
John Lee (born 22 August 1964) is the current CEO of the Sydney Roosters. Previously he was CEO of rival rugby league club the South Sydney Rabbitohs as well as CEO of Casinos, Resorts Australia (CRA) and the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF), a senior Australian bureaucrat, former head of the NSW Department of Premier & Cabinet, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Transport and State Transit Authority.
He is a Commissioner on the Australian Sports Commission having been appointed in 2011. His involvement includes membership of the Governance and Executive Performance Sub-Committee and previously the Finance & Audit Sub-Committee. HIs community work has included serving on the Advertising Standards Board (2006-2014) and the Mary Mackillop Foundation (2005-2010).
On graduating from De La Salle College (Cronulla, NSW) in 1981, Lee successfully completed a Bachelor of Education at the University of Wollongong. Whilst studying he held the position of President of the University Union and was an elected member of the Wollongong University Council. At the same time he completed his Sports Medicine qualifications and rose to be the Head Trainer for the Cronulla Sharks under Jack Gibson and Alan Fitzgibbon. Later he successfully coached junior representative teams for the Parramatta Club winning the 1992 SG Ball competition for the Eels.
Upon completing his degree he taught at secondary schools in Western Sydney. During the first term of the Carr Government he worked for Treasurer Michael Egan and then transitioned to work for the State Rail Authority in the lead up to and during the Sydney 2000 Olympics as the General Manager of Communications and Marketing.
He was Managing Director of Westbus and the National Bus Company in the early part of the 2000s before joining the public sector. During his time in transport he was integral in reforming the funding and contractual management of public transport services in NSW.
In October 2008 Lee was appointed Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet under a five-year contract.
Lee was ousted from this appointment just fourteen months into the five-year contract by incoming Premier Kristina Keneally. In November 2010, Lee was appointed CEO of peak industry body, the Tourism & Transport Forum.