MONTE CARLO: Paul Deighton, the man who made London 2012 ‘work’ for Sebastian Coe, has been appointed to head up the audit and finance committee by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Lord Coe, voted into the presidency last autumn, has included Lord Deighton – formerly ceo of London 2012 – among the 21 chairpersons of new commissions and advisory groups to confront the crisis in world athletics amid the uncovering of systematic corruption and doping cover-ups in Russia, and corruption scandals exposed within the world governing body itself.
Deighton, 60, is a former investment banker who followed his London 2012 task by serving as commercial secretary to the Treasury in the Coalition government from January 2013 to May 2015.
The membership of the new set of consultative bodies is composed of smaller, more represented groups with increased representation of women, younger age groups, coaches, former athletes and experts from outside athletics. The membership of each of the commissions and advisory groups will be announced in the coming days.
Other appointments include South African Harold Adams to head the medical and anti-doping commission, while French athletics federation president Bernard Amsalem heads the values commission. Former IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss is involved in the process as head of the masters’ commission.
Coe said: “The commission chairs draw upon the vast array of experience and expertise from across the globe, from within and outside the athletics family, and their combined knowledge will be an important resource to build a modern sport which is open to new ideas and is fast and responsive to the challenges which lie ahead.”
Chair list:
Rozle Prezelj (Slovenia) – Athletes’ Commission
Paul Deighton (UK) – Audit and Finance Commission
Victor Lopez (Puerto Rico) – Coaches’ Commission
Abby Hoffman (Canada) – Competition Commission
Hamad Kalkaba Malboum (Cameroon) – Development Commission
Prince Albert II (Monaco) – International Relations Commission
Maria Clarke (New Zealand) – Legal Commission
Pierre Weiss (France) – Masters’ Commission
Harold Adams (South Africa) – Medical and Anti-Doping Commission
Carlo Capalbo (Italy) – Road Running Commission
Bernard Amsalem (France) – Values Commission
Dahlan Al Hamad (Qatar) – Youth Engagement and Social Media Commission
Max Seigel (United States) – Commercial and Marketing Advisory Group
Hansjorg Wirz (Switzerland) – Competition Calendar Advisory Group
Stephanie Hightower (United States) – Conflict Resolution Advisory Group
Rajne Soderberg (Sweden) – One-Day Meetings Advisory Group
Marc Ventouillac (France) – Press and Media Operations Advisory Group
Adille Sumariwalla (India) – Strategic Communications Advisory Group
Sylvia Barlag (Netherlands) – Sustainable Development Advisory Group
Alex Gilady (Israel) – Television and Digital Advisory Group
Libor Varhanik (Czech Republic) – World Athletics Series Renovation Advisory Group
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