Home|Sports|Bahamian Fred Perpall elected USGA presidentSports
Sheldon LongleySend an emailFebruary 28, 2023 280 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Bahamian Fred Perpall, a resident of Dallas, Texas, has made a significant breakthrough in the sport of golf, and sports in general.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Beck Group, an American based international architecture and construction company, was elected as president of the United States Golf Association (USGA) on Saturday, becoming the first person of African descent to hold the position in the 128-year history of the organization. He is also on the Board of Directors of FedEx Corporation.
Perpall, 48, attended St. John’s College in New Providence, before moving on to the College of the Bahamas (COB), now University of the Bahamas (UB), and then on to the University of Texas at Arlington and Harvard University. He began his professional career as a project designer at Gideon/Toal Architects in 1996, and three years later, he joined the Urban Architecture of Dallas as an architectural intern, shortly before the company merged with The Beck Group. Moving up the ladder with the company, Perpall has served as CEO since 2013.
He was nominated as president-elect of the USGA in December 2022, and served on the USGA Executive Committee in that capacity. His election to the three-year term as president was made official at the USGA’s Annual Meeting in Napa, California, on Saturday.
“We talk too much about what separates us, and not enough about what unites us. In golf, we’re a community,” Perpall said as he spoke to the USGA’s member clubs, allied golf associations and invited guests in California on Saturday. “When we lean in together, when we include more people in the game, not only will the game get better, but our lives will get better, too.”
Coming up in sports, Perpall excelled in athletics and basketball as a young aspiring athlete. He continued his involvement in sports at the collegiate level. Now, today, he has evolved as not only the first person of African descent to hold the position of USGA President, but also the first Bahamian to be elected as president of a major sports organization in the United States.
Perpall replaces outgoing president Stu Francis as USGA President.
“The USGA is stronger with global business leaders like Fred on our board,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan as quoted by Tod Leonard of Golf Digest, a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. “Beyond his work with golf in the last three years, Fred clearly loves the game and wants to leave it better than he found it. We couldn’t ask for better energy to propel our strategy and mission, and we’re rolling up our sleeves with that inspiration and drive to guide us.”
The USGA has launched its national developmental program, and Perpall is now charged with spearheading that.
Perpall is married with two kids.