YMCA Chief Resigns
20 May 2014 at 11:13 am
The head of YMCA NSW has resigned just weeks before the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse hands down its report into the organisation.
The YMCA NSW board of directors announced the resignation of CEO Phillip Hare on Monday.
The Royal Commission exposed the individual and institutional failures of the YMCA during last year’s public hearings.
In his resignation letter published by the ABC, Hare said it was time for a change of leadership and he was resigning after consultation with the board.
Hare had been with the YMCA for 25 years and had spent eight years as the NSW CEO.
His resignation comes just weeks before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is expected to hand down its findings into how the child-care organisation let a (now convicted) pedophile operate at a centre in south Sydney.
The Board statement said: "We are thankful for Phil's leadership over the past eight years as the organisation has grown and evolved. We wish Phil all the best in his future endeavours.
“Former Director, Sarah Hawthorn, has been named Acting CEO for the organisation while the Board conducts a search for a new CEO. The Board of Directors will conduct an extensive recruitment process to attract a ?eld of quality candidates for this important leadership role.”