Deighton driven by chance to make a difference

The man who has accepted the responsibility of making sure the London Olympics runs smoothly in 2012 has revealed he does not yet know how much he will be paid.

But Paul Deighton, who is to become the chief executive officer for the London Olympic Games Organising Committee (LOCOG) in the spring, is already financially secure, having been named as one of the richest men in Britain, worth an estimated £100m (€147m).

Now his task is to use the financial acumen he honed over 22 years with investment bank Goldman Sachs to attract £1.5bn (€2.2bn) into the LOCOG coffers.

It has been suggested the 49-year-old Arsenal fan will receive around £300,000 (€440,900) a year for the task of assuming day-to-day control of the process of turning London into an Olympic venue in seven years’ time.

But Deighton, who was chosen by LOCOG chairman Lord Sebastian Coe ahead of 300 rivals, insisted he had not even thought about money, such was his enthusiasm for the project.

He said: “I only just got the job. For me the motivation is to do what is just a fantastic job. An important part of that job does have a broad potential to make a massive contribution to the community.

“The career I have been involved in so far has been fascinating but has tended to impact in a relatively small part of the world.

“What has been great since I have got involved with this is how it opens up a much broader world and gives me an opportunity to really make a difference.”