EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi welcomed Jan Lehmann, who is now CEO of the European Olympic Committees, at the headquarters of the Association in Rome. Jan Lehmann was selected by Deloitte, who carried out the selection process, from 1,840 applications. The list was narrowed down to 10 candidates. They were then interviewed by the EOC management, who chose Jan Lehmann from Germany.

The need for the appointment of a CEO is a result of the increasing complexity and workload of the implementation of the organisation's roadmap for the future, the Strategic Agenda 2030, and all that it entails.

The growing dimension of the EOC, its activities, its sporting events, as well as the importance of its relationships and the economic significance of its commitments, became the determining factors for the expansion of the workforce and the involvement of qualified individuals.

Jan Lehmann started his career at McKinsey. He went on to hold senior positions at the sports marketing agency Infront, the German Football League (DFL), Nielsen Sports and as a board member of Bundesliga club Mainz 05.

His primary role is to ensure that the EOC continues to meet the highest standards of professional management, financial responsibility and ethical conduct, with particular reference to the IOC Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance within the Olympic Movement.

The need for the appointment of a CEO is a result of the increasing complexity and workload of the implementation of the organisation's roadmap for the future, the Strategic Agenda 2030, and all that it entails.

The growing dimension of the EOC, its activities, its sporting events, as well as the importance of its relationships and the economic significance of its commitments, became the determining factors for the expansion of the workforce and the involvement of qualified individuals.

Jan Lehmann started his career at McKinsey. He went on to hold senior positions at sports marketing agency Infront, the German Football League (DFL) and Nielsen Sports. He was also a member of the board at Bundesliga football club Mainz 05.

He aims to ensure that the EOC continues to meet the highest standards of professional management, financial responsibility and ethical conduct, particularly as set out in the IOC's Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance within the Olympic Movement.

EOC President Spyros Capralos said: "I am delighted to welcome Dr Jan Lehmann as our new CEO. He brings a wealth of experience in the European sports industry and commercial expertise. His appointment will strengthen the EOC's governance structures in line with the Strategic Agenda 2030. This is an exciting time for sport on our continent with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on the horizon. I look forward to working with Dr Lehmann to ensure that Europe remains at the heart of global sport."

Jan Lehmann said: "I am delighted to be joining the EOC team. The unifying role of sport, and in particular the Olympic ideals, is more important than ever in a world that is increasingly polarised and divided. These values have always been important to me, as well as the idea of a united Europe. That is why I am looking forward to contributing to the future of Olympic sport and its commercial development in Europe in my new role".

All day-to-day operations and commercial activities will be overseen by Jan Lehmann. All this will be done with a special focus on the implementation of the EOC Strategic Agenda 2030.