| AGIOS KOSMAS, ATHENS, GREECE-(21-8-2003) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has the pleasure to announce the appointment of
Mr Kelly Fairweather to the position of Sports Director.
Fairweather's strong background in sport, allied to four years of experience working at the IOC, provided the springboard for his promotion to this new role, a position created following the IOC audits launched by President Rogge upon his election. Fairweather will be responsible for the IOC's relationships with the 35 International Olympic Sports Federations, the 28 IOC-Recognised International Federations and all major organisations in the world of sport. This appointment completes the restructuring of the Management Team, coming after the appointments of Gilbert Felli as Olympic Games Executive Director in February; Urs Lacotte as Director General and Philippe Blanchard as Director of Information Management in June; and Francis Gabet as Olympic Museum Director earlier this month.
During his four years at the IOC, Fairweather, 42, from South Africa, played a key role in establishing the IOC's Transfer of Knowledge Programme, which ensures that the knowledge and know-how acquired by a host city during the years of preparation leading up to the Olympic Games are passed on to the next host city. He has also worked closely with the Organising Committees of Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Turin and Beijing in the areas of finance, risk management, procurement, logistics and human resources.
Before joining the IOC, Kelly Fairweather was Director of High Performance of the South African Hockey Association, where he was responsible for the management and coordination of all national teams of all age groups for both men and women. His involvement in sport, and hockey in particular, has been strong throughout his career, which he started as a hockey player at provincial and junior national level before becoming head coach of the women's national team.
`I am delighted and honoured to take up this new role. Sport, and the values that it carries, has always played a key role in my life and professional career. I look forward to putting my sporting and management experiences at the service of the International Federations and the Olympic Movement as a whole`, said Kelly Fairweather.
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