Executive Board

The role of the Executive Board is to govern World Athletics’ business.

The Executive Board has responsibility for all decisions related to the business of World Athletics including developing and reviewing the World Athletics Strategic Plan; adopting and monitoring the annual plan and budget; appointing and monitoring the Chief Executive; financial planning and controlling income and expenditure; identifying and managing risks; and developing internal controls, organisational policies, procedures and systems (e.g., human resources, IT).

The Executive Board is currently made up of the following nine members:

  • President (elected at the 2023 Congress meeting);
  • 4 Vice-Presidents (elected at the 2023 Congress meeting);
  • 3 Appointed Executive Board Members (appointed by the 5 Elected Executive Board Members on the recommendation of the Executive Board Appointments Panel);
  • Chief Executive Officer (non-voting).


The term of office for Executive Board Members is four years.

Sebastian COE

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics President (2015-present)
  • Board of the Diamond League AG Chair (2015-present)
  • World Athletics Vice-President (2007-2015)
  • World Athletics Council Member (2003-2007)

Other athletics administration

  • International Athletics Foundation President (2015-present)
  • World Athletics Championships Organising Committee Director, London 2017 (2013-2015)

Experience with other sports or sports bodies

  • Olympic Games and Paralympic Games - London 2012 Organising Committee Chair (2005-2012)
  • Olympic Games and Paralympic Games - London 2012 Bid Committee Chair (2004-2005)
  • British Olympic Association Chair (2012-2016)
  • IOC Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Coordination Commission Member (2013-present)
  • IOC Public Affairs and Social Development through Sport Commission Member (2016-present)
  • IOC Olympic Summit Member (2015-present)
  • ANOC Executive Council Member (2015-present)
  • ASOIF Council Member (2017-present)

Other relevant and significant experience

  • Chaired British Government Sports Honours Committee (2010-2018) and served within the Cabinet Office as Legacy Ambassador for the London 2012 Games (2012-2017)
  • International Inspiration Chair (charity delivering London 2012 Bid pledge to use sport to enhance the lives of youth around the world) (2013-2015)
  • IOC Athletes’ Commission Member (1981-1989)
  • European Olympic Committee Executive Committee Member (2013-2017)
  • ANOC Working Group on Youth Chair (2015-present)

Athletics career

  • Olympic Games: 1500m gold and 800m silver at Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984
  • 12 world records: 800m, 1000m, 1500m and one mile
  • World Cup: gold and silver in 1981 and 1989
  • European Indoor Championships: 1977 gold 800m
  • European Championships: 1978 bronze 800m, 1982 silver 800m, 1986 gold 800m, silver 1500m

Other experience and achievements

  • Non-Executive Chair, CSM Sport & Entertainment (2021-present / previously Executive Chair 2013-2021)
  • Chancellor of Loughborough University (2017-present)
  • Non-Executive Board Member Vitality Health & Life Group (2015-present)
  • Advisor to Morgan Stanley & Co International and to Vitality Health & Life Group (present)
  • Member of British Parliament (1992-1997) & Private Secretary, Opposition Leader (1997-2001)
  • Made a Peer in 2000, received a Knighthood in 2006 and Companion of Honour in 2013
  • Lifetime Achievement Award (BBC Sports Personality of the Year)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award (Laureus World Sport Awards)
Sebastian Coe (Philippe Fitte)

About

  • NATIONALITY Great Britain GREAT BRITAIN
  • LANGUAGES English, French

Ximena RESTREPO

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics Council Senior Vice President (2023-present)
  • World Athletics Council Vice President (2019-2023)
  • World Athletics Gender Leadership Taskforce (2018-present)
  • Athletes’ Commission Member (2001-2003)
  • World Athletics Human Rights Working Group Member (2020-2021)
  • World Athletics Bid Evaluation Panel Member (2021-present)
  • World Athletics Risk Committee Member (2020-present)
  • Atletismo Suramericano Board Member (2019-present)

Other athletics administration

  • ConSudAtle Athletes’ Commission Member (2017-2023)
  • Universidad Catolica track and field Team head coach (2006-2011)
  • Club Deportivo Universidad Católica Track and Field Board Member (2011-present)

Experience with other sports or sports bodies

  • Organising Committee of Santiago 2023 Pan-American Games Technical Director
  • Organising Committee of Santiago 2014 South American Games Technical Director (2010-2014)
  • Panam Sports Technical Commission Member (2018-2023)

Other relevant and significant experience

  • Member of the Jury of Appeal and jury for Fair Play Award (2021 and 2022)
  • Everest School Sports Director (2002-2006)
  • World Athletics Level IV in middle and long distance events (2004)

Athletics career

  • 1992 Olympic 400m bronze medallist
  • Four-time Olympian
  • 1991 World Championships 400m sixth place
  • 1993 World Championships 400m fifth place
  • 1991 NCAA champion

Other experience and achievements

  • Nutritional coach since 2015
  • Masters in managing Olympic sport organisations (2017) Universidad San Sebastian-Chilean Olympic Committee
Ximena Restrepo (Philippe Fitte)

About

  • NATIONALITY Colombia Colombia
  • LANGUAGES Spanish, English

Jackson TUWEI

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics Council Member (2023-)

Athletics administration

  • Senior Vice President, CAA
  • President, Eastern Africa Athletics Region
  • President, Athletics Kenya
  • Vice President Athletics Kenya
  • Chairman, Military Athletics in Kenya

Other experience and achievements

  • Military officer for 39 years and retired 2010
  • Attended professional and civilian courses both locally and internationally
  • Progressed through the military ranks and held different appointments in operations, training and logistics
Jackson Tuwei ()

Raul CHAPADO SERRANO

Adille J. SUMARIWALLA

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics Vice President (2023-present)
  • World Athletics Council Member (2015-2023)
  • Chair – Strategic Communications Advisory Group & Chair - Age Manipulation Committee
  • Development Commission: Chair – Kids' Athletics work stream, Member – Technical Officials Education work stream, Member – Coaches Education workstream
  • Member – Audit Committee of the Executive Board
  • Member – Human Rights working group

Other athletics administration

  • AFI (Athletics Federation of India): President since 2012
  • Chairman, Organising Committee - Asian Athletics Championships (2013 - Pune, India) & (2017 - Odisha, India), and Member, Organising Committee - Permit Meetings in India

Experience with other sports or sports bodies

  • National Olympic Committee – Vice President and Acting President (2017–2022)
  • Chef-de-Mission of the Indian Contingent - Asian Games 2014
  • Olympians Association of India - Founder & Treasurer
  • Mission Olympic Cell - set up by Government of India, to prepare Olympic medallists
  • Board of Directors - Governing Council of National Dope Testing Laboratory in India
  • Organising Committee for Commonwealth Games (New Delhi 2010), Commonwealth Youth Games (Pune 2008), Indian National Games (Pune 1994)

Other relevant and significant sports experience

  • Member of Core Committee to develop a curriculum for Postgraduate/Masters Program in Sports Management, set up by Government of India
  • Chair, Maharashtra State Sports Policy Committee (Outdoor Sports)
  • Member of Terry Fox Run Committee, India, for past 10 years. In 2018, raised over US$900,000 for Cancer Research in Children

Athletics career

  • Represented India in the 100m at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow
  • 1979 Asian Championships 4x100m bronze, with national record
  • 1984 South Asian Games gold and South Asian Games record
  • Won 17 international medals for India (six gold, five silver, six bronze)
  • National 100m champion 11 times and held the national record for 18 years

Other experience and achievements

  • Arjuna Award from the President of India for excellence in athletics, 1985. The highest award for sports in India
  • President of India Award for Scouting, 1975
  • Shiv Chhatrapati Award for excellence in sports from the Government of Maharashtra, 1980
  • Dadaji Kondev Award for excellence in coaching by the Government of Maharashtra, 1999
  • AIM Alumni Achievement Award - better known as the Triple A Award - is the highest recognition given by the Asian Institute of Management (Manila) to its outstanding alumni, 2020
  • Lifetime Achievement Award by Sports Journalist Association SJAM, 2022
  • Maharashtra Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar for Lifetime Contribution in the field of Sports by the Government of Maharashtra, 2023
  • Doctor of Letters - Honoris Causa, Jagran Lakecity University
  • Founder & Managing Director - Interspace Communications Pvt Ltd - Media House
  • Board Director - SE TransStadia Holdings Ltd, Professional Sports Services (I) Pvt Ltd., TransStadia Education and Research Foundation
  • Provost – TransStadia University
Adille Sumariwalla (Philippe Fitte)

About

  • NATIONALITY India India
  • LANGUAGES English

Hasan ARAT

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics Executive Board Member

Experience with other sports or sports bodies

  • Turkish NOC Vice-President
  • Istanbul 2020 Candidate City Bid Chairman
  • European Olympic Committee Executive Committee Member 
  • European Olympic Committee Coordination Commission for the 2023 European Games Chairman
  • IOC Marketing Commission Member
  • ANOC Marketing Finance Commission Member

Other experience and achievements

  • Novo Invest Chairman
  • Beymen Vice-Chairman
  • FIBA Group Board Member
  • Dome Group Founder and Partner

Sports career

  • Former professional basketball player
  • Besiktas FC Vice-President (1998-2000)
Hasan Arat (Getty Images)

About

  • NATIONALITY Turkey Turkish
  • LANGUAGES Turkish, English

Sunil SABHARWAL

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics Executive Board Member

Experience with other sports or sports bodies

  • International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) Secretary General (2003-present)
  • International Olympic Committee Commission on Sustainability and Legacy Member (2000-present)
  • Former LA2028 Candidature Committee Board Member

Other experience and achievements

  • Former Chair of a publicly listed and private equity backed companies
  • Chaired or been a member of various audit, risk, remuneration and nomination committees
  • Private equity and Board Member experience in telecoms, media, healthcare, software and fintech sectors
  • Former United States Board Member on the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • Best-in-class financial and technology sector and subject matter knowledge
  • US Olympic fencing team Chief of Mission Beijing 2008

Sports career

  • Three-time NCAA all-American fencing champion
  • International fencing referee
Sunil Sabharwal (Getty Images)

About

  • NATIONALITY USA/HUN US Hungarian
  • LANGUAGES English, Hungarian

Abby HOFFMAN

World Athletics administration

  • World Athletics Council Member (1995-present)
  • World Athletics Safeguarding Working Group Chair
  • World Athletics Russia Taskforce Member (2015-2023)
  • Executive Board Member (2019-present)
  • Executive Board Remuneration Committee Chair
  • World Athletics Competition Commission Member and then Chair (2015-2019)
  • World Athletics Working Group on Integrity & Governance Reform Member (former)
  • World Athletics Medical/Anti-doping Commission Member (former)
  • World Athletics Doping Review Board Member (former)
  • Women’s Committee (former)

Other athletics administration

  • NACAC Council Member (1995-2023)
  • NACAC Governance Committee Chair (2020-present)
  • Athletics Canada Athlete Rep and then Board Member (ex officio) (1995-present)

Experience with other sports or sports bodies

  • Sport Canada/National Sport Agency Director General (1981-1991)
  • Athletics Integrity Unit Board Member (World Athletics Council Rep)
  • AIU Board Appointments Panel Member

Other relevant and significant sports experience

  • Organisational Delegate World Athletics Championships Daegu 2011, World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 2014; World Athletics Indoor Championships Portland 2016
  • Canadian Olympic Committee Board Member (representing athletics) and elected Executive Board Member
  • Led successful campaigns in Canada to secure athlete representation and financing
  • Chair of the Jury of Appeal for all World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games since 2009
  • World Athletics Championships Site Review Committee Member for 2019 World Championships

Athletics career

  • Represented Canada at four Olympic Games, reaching the 800m final on two occasions: Mexico 1968 (seventh) and Munich 1972 (eighth, PB of 2:00.17)
  • Medallist, including two gold, at four consecutive Pan-American Games at 800m/1500m
  • 1966 Commonwealth 880 yards champion
  • National titles: Canada (10x); also USA and Great Britain (800m)
  • Canadian Team flag-bearer at 1976 Olympics

Other experience and achievements

  • Named an Officer of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian award)
  • Awarded Honorary Doctorates from three Canadian universities - University of Toronto, York University and Acadia University - for contributions to sport, health and public policy
  • Executive Secretary of the Ontario Human Rights Commission
  • Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Health for Canada
  • Significant experience as a public speaker at national and international conferences and events
  • University professor in political science
  • Experienced journalist - print, radio and television - columnist, documentaries, commentary
Abby Hoffman (Philippe Fitte)

About

  • NATIONALITY CANADACanada
  • LANGUAGES English, French