I regard Kevan as an important mentor in my Olympic administrative career. He was a close friend and a man of high principles who led the Australian Olympic movement with great distinction.

As a student of Newcastle Boys High, he first showed prominence when he won four open events at the CHS athletics championships at the SCG in one day. The 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump.

Kevan won a scholarship to Michigan State University and went on to win a silver medal in the men’s 4 x 100 relay in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

He was a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in 400 metres and co-captain of the Australian athletics section at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Kevan won a position at Shell and rose to be Chairman and Chief Executive of Shell Australia. He ranked his involvement in the partnership with Woodside in the development of the North West Shelf as his greatest corporate achievement.

Kevan was appointed to the IOC in 1977 and was Australia’s longest serving IOC member. He served on the Executive Board for 20 years including 12 as vice-president.

In the Australian Olympic movement, Kevan was elected to the Presidency of the Australian Olympic Federation in 1985 and was instrumental in establishing the first Olympic marketing program in this country.

During this time, Kevan was elected to the presidency of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC), a position he held for more than 20 years and on his retirement was known as the doyen.

Kevan’s association with Oceania had commenced with his days in Shell and he was Chef de Mission of the Papua New Guinea Team which participated in the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth.

Kevan was instrumental in the foundation of the Oceania Foundation which provides funding for athletes from the region to attend universities in the United States, as he did.

I had the privilege to serve as Kevan’s Vice President of the Australian Olympic Foundation from 1985-1990, at which time was a federation of state Olympic councils that converted to a committee of all the national sports federations which were on the Olympic program.

This involved disenfranchising the state Olympic councils who lost their vote, but under Kevan’s leadership they continued to exist and play a major role in fundraising for Australia’s Olympic Teams.

Kevan played a major role in Melbourne’s candidature for the 1992 Olympics and in Sydney’s candidature for 2000 and the delivery of those Games.

He retired as President of the AOC in 1990 where his work with Shell took him to a senior position based in London.

I extend my deepest condolences to Kevan’s family. Wife Judy, children Dean, Brett, Richard and Sophie.