Cricket West Indies has announced that Johnny Grave will step down as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the end of October 2024. Grave has been in the position since February 2017, and under his tenure, West Indies hosted the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup, 2022 Men’s U19 World Cup and 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup. "It's the right time for someone new with fresh energy to lead the organisation and continue this important work and build on the strong foundations that are now in place," he said. He will leave the CWI by the end of October.
CWI said it will be initiating a comprehensive recruitment process to select the next CEO. "I wished I would have been able to help CWI make more progress on Governance Reform and implementing the recommendations from the Wehby Report, made more progress at the ICC level with a more equitable model for International Cricket and done more to bring in new revenue to CWI specifically for grassroots cricket which is so important for the long-term health of the sport in the West Indies," Grave (48), who has held the position since February 2017, told Cricbuzz.
During his seven-year tenure, he significantly enhanced relations between the board and the players. Recently, he facilitated an MOU between the CWI and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) that guarantees players designated windows for the IPL and CPL tournaments. Additionally, the agreement ensures pay parity between men's and women's players by 2027.Under his leadership, CWI successfully hosted three ICC global events: the Women's World T20 in 2018, the U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup in 2022, and the recent Men's T20 World Cup.
His role during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic was widely praised. In collaboration with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), he pioneered the biosecure cricket model, which enabled the resumption of international cricket in England, the West Indies, New Zealand, and Bangladesh.He was also instrumental in establishing a good equation between the CWI, the CPL and the franchises.
