Western Australia’s Corruption and Crime Commission has appointed former Olympic swimmer and sports integrity executive Emma Johnson as its new CEO.

The appointment marks a return to the CCC for Ms Johnson, who served as a member of the commission’s executive with responsibility for strategy and assessment from 2016 to 2018.

 Prior to that she worked with the anti doping authority ASADA and was appointed deputy CEO of Sport Integrity Australia in July 2020.

Most recently Ms Johnson was an an Assistant Commissioner at Australian Border Force.

She holds degrees in law and psychology and has been a professional athlete, a bronze-medal swimmer at the Atlanta Olympics and a gold medallist at the 1997 World Short Course Championships. 

Commissioner John McKechnie said Ms Johnson will play a key role in positioning the watchdog for the future.

“The work of the Commission has always been critically important but it is also becoming increasingly complex and technical,” he said in a statement on Monday.

“Ms Johnson has had excellent experience in leading integrity agencies working to counter corruption at the most serious and sophisticated levels.”

She fills the position formerly held by Ray Warnes, who died last October.

Ms Johnson takes up the role from May 9.