CHRISTOPHE DUBI (KEYNOTE SPEAKER) - Mr. Dubi is the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Sports Director.  An economics graduate and holder of a Masters in Sports Administration from Lausanne’s Public Administration Higher Education Institute, Christophe started his career in finance and real estate. He subsequently worked as a political economics teacher. In 1996, the year of the centenary of the Olympic Games, he entered the IOC world as a trainee to work on his favorite subject: sports management and Games’ impact. In July 2007 Christophe was designated IOC’s Sports Director and is now responsible for the relationship with the International Sport Federations, as well as the sport components in the organization of the Olympic Games. He is also the director responsible for the Athletes’, Olympic Program, and Sport for All Commissions which are of paramount importance for the IOC and the Olympic Movement. Athletes dedicate themselves entirely to the sporting movement and bring their commitment and excellence. In return good care must be taken of them and their voices must be heard.  The Sport Program is the Heart of the Games. It offers a great variety of disciplines which reflects the diversity of skills, interests and cultures. 

For many years, Christophe was responsible for Games coordination and strategy. In this capacity, he developed an overall understanding of what Games represent for a city and a country from every standpoint: architectural, economical, environmental, social and human.  For Christophe, the Olympic Games are more than ever about sport, culture and strong symbolism. He truly believes that they have a meaning for the world today. This is what the IOC would like to implement with the idea of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). By giving equal emphasis to the manner in which results are achieved, rather than the sporting achievement itself, the YOG will present a true vision of educating young people through the values sport teaches. Young people who live the YOG experience will either go on to become future Olympians, or simply ambassadors in society for sport and Olympic values, having learnt their relevance and significance today.  As a Sports manager, Christopher has also written numerous publications and he is a frequent lecturer to a myriad of audiences in many countries, sharing his vision of the Olympic Games and their unique legacy to sport, economy and culture.

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DETLEF DUMON - Detlef Dumon holds a university degree in journalism and worked in different communication agencies before becoming Communications Manager with the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).

Since 2007, Detlef has been Executive Director of ICSSPE, and in this capacity responsible for the business of the organization. As a leading officer of a global player in sport science and physical education, he sees a strong need for generating knowledge and strategic communication, as well as creating awareness for the complexity of the sport phenomenon among partners in and outside the network. In line with ICSSPE’s three working pillars "Science, Service, Advocacy," Detlef considers the linkage of these as central to a comprehensive strategy for the organization to deal with today’s global challenges in sport, science, education, and health.

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NICLAS ERICSON  - FIFA's Director of its TV Division, Niclas Ericson, has a rich background in sports marketing and television.

Niclas joined FIFA in 2003 and has played a key role in bringing the TV Division to what it is today.  FIFA's TV Division comprises of the following departments: Sales & Distribution, FIFA Films, Broadcaster Servicing and Host Production.  A significant step was taken when FIFA decided to bring the sales of its media rights in-house, a sound move confirmed by the successful completion of sales for both the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. 

Prior to joining FIFA, Niclas was Chief Operating Officer and Board Member of Media Partners, a Media & Marketing Agency based in London and Milan.  The group's main properties were FIS World Cup Skiing, Italian football, TV channels and New Media.  Niclas was also Business Development Manager at media group Nethold which operated Telepiu in Italy and many other Pay TV services around the world.

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CARSTEN FLORSTEDT, Dipl. Kfm.  - Mr. Florstedt is CEO of Datenverarbeitungs & Computervertriebs GmbH.  With more than 20 years experience in various IT areas, he specializes in complex onsite integration as well as web site administration.  With US SportsLink Inc. he had organized soccer tours such as the "German Bundesliga Meets Major League Soccer” and additional events around the World Cup 2006. His current focus is on IT subjects like Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Online Marketing & Market Research and individual Video Analysis and Development of Athletes.

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MARIO GALLAVOTTI - Mario is a founding partner of Gallavotti Honorati De Marco.  He has a wealth of experience advising and assisting clients with mergers and acquisitions, entertainment law, sports law, copyright issues, intellectual property, and international law.   Mario represents nationally and internationally recognized organizations in the sports and entertainment sectors, and he is often asked to speak at professional and academic seminars and conferences on a diverse range of issues in those areas. 

Within the Sport Law, Mario matured a large professional experience practising before all the Sport Courts and Arbitration Panels, both domestic and international, mainly dealing with professional football.   Mario served as Director of an Italian professional club of Premier League (Serie A)  from 1989 until 1992; from 1992 to 2002 he served as a member part of the Chamber of Arbitration of Italian Professional Football League, and represented the  League in several technical panels, both domestic and international.  

In 2001, Mario was a member of the FIFA/UEFA task force which worked with the European Commission to draft the FIFA Regulations on the transfer of professional football players.   Since then he has continued to work with FIFA as a member of the Dispute Resolution Chamber.  He also served in the Club Licensing panel of UEFA  and since 2007 he is a member of UEFA Legal Committee.  Mario Gallavotti is Legal Counsel to the Italian Football Association (FIGC). 

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DENIS HAINAULT - Denis has been involved in ice hockey for most of his life and has been with Vancouver 2010 as General Manager Olympic Ice Hockey Venue & Director, Ice Sports for the past 5 years. Prior to joining VANOC, he served on the Organizing Committee for the 2006 IIHF World U20 Hockey Championship as Director of Operations in Vancouver and spent 14 years with Hockey Canada as Director, High Performance where he supervised and oversaw the national men’s and women’s national team programs. 

With VANOC, Denis oversaw the planning and delivery of the Ice Hockey requirements for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, served as Venue General Manager for ice hockey venues with overall responsibility for the development, planning, coordination and operations of the specific Olympic Venue Operating Plans, oversaw and coordinated the work of the five ice sports (Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Short Track, Curling and Hockey) staff and managed 13 direct reports and 1000 workforce and volunteers.

With over 20 years of experience with Hockey Canada high performance programs as well as International Ice Hockey Federation programs and events, Denis has a comprehensive knowledge of international ice hockey and Canadian sport systems (bringing an involvement in five Olympic Games and 20 IIHF World Championship in various leading roles).

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JONATHAN HILL – Jonathan Hill is Kentaro's Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Kentaro, Hill served as the Group Commercial Director for the English Football Association and in this position, had turned the organization into the world's most profitable football association. Jonathan was also a member of the UEFA Marketing Advisory Committee.  Prior to that, Hill was IMG's Senior International Vice-President Responsible for all European Federations, UK and Club commercial relationships (including the Manchester United website, Liverpool UEFA Cup Rights, Galatasaray commercial rights, etc.) 

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THOMAS HOCH – Thomas Hoch is Head of Brand Strategy at TNS Infratest. In that role, he is responsible for everything regarding segmentations and positioning as well as developing strategies for brands and services.

Besides doing market research projects for various international and regional clients ranging from consumer over media to IT companies he is a consultant on brand strategy implementation and bringing results to live.

He worked in qualitative and quantitative market research for over 16 years now, specializing in the role of emotions on human behavior. As a trained psychologist with a focus on morphology, he was always fascinated with the depth and wealth of emotion within sports.

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JORGE IBARROLA - Jorge Ibarrola is partner in Libra Law, a law firm specializing in Sports and Business Law.  He holds a law degree from the University of Lausanne, and a Master of Laws degree from McGill University. 

Between 2003-2007, Ibarrola had served as counsel to the Court of Arbitration for Sports, principally in charge of football cases.  Since June 2007, he practices as an attorney-at-law dedicated to Sports and Tax Law. He advised and represents numerous clients in sports, including but not limited to football clubs, athletes and players, coaches and agents. As an advocate, he has handled more than 60 cases before the CAS and before International Federations.

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GIANNI INFANTINO - Gianni Infantino is the UEFA General Secretary – the Head of the UEFA administration – since October 2009.  Previously, Mr. Infantino occupied the following positions within UEFA: Deputy General Secretary and Director of Governance and Legal Services, Head of UEFA's Commercial Legal Services and Head of UEFA's Professional Football Services.  As Legal Director Mr. Infantino fostered close contacts with the EU, the Council of Europe, other sports organizations as well as government authorities and nongovernmental organizations. 

Before that Mr. Infantino was, amongst other activities, General Secretary of the CIES (Centre International d'Etude du Sport - University of Neuchâtel,  Switzerland), acted as advisor to the Spanish Professional Football League and the Swiss Football Association and was also member of different Committees of the Swiss Football League and the Italian Football Association.

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WOLFRAM KLUG  - Wolfram Klug is FIBA's Head of Technology and has been with FIBA since 1999. His academic background is Sport Science, Mathematics and Information Technology which he studied and graduated in Germany. 

Wolfram's main activities are:

- Development  and implementation of standards in FIBAs 213 Basketball Federations,

- Information services for Basketball World- and Continental Championships,

-  on-, offline and mobile services. 

One of Wolfram's professional interests lie in commercial opportunities as a result of digital services.  He had initiated multiple research and development activities in order to innovate technology used in basketball and sports in general. Another focus lies in the engagement of and communication with the global basketball community via a free content model.

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RAIJA MATTILA  - Raija Mattila is the Co-Chair of the International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG). Between 2002 and 2009, Raija has worked for the Finnish Government as a Director  of the Sport Division and has  represented Finnish sport on the international arena (EU, Council of Europe, UNESCO, Wada) for decades. Raija had chaired the Council of Europe Committee for the Development of Sport from 1996 to 1998, and was in charge of promoting sport themes in the Ministry of Education during Finland's EU presidencies in 1999 and 2006.

Raija has had an active role in promoting national and international equality work concerning sport. She has chaired several equality workgroups, executing their proposals, acting as a lecturer, and supporting the Spikes award (equal opportunity in sport) and mentor training for female executives.

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JEAN PIERRE MARTENS  - Jean Pierre Martens is head of the information management department at the Dutch Olympic Committee, NOC*NSF. In that role, he is responsible for everything regarding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within the organization, which includes projects like unified communications, digitalization of workflow, corporate website and others. Jean Pierre also works on projects which involve all sports federations in the Netherlands such as knowledge information system for sports (business intelligence and data warehousing solution), nationwide talent tracking application and an online community across all federations for sharing knowledge and information. Prior to working for NOC*NSF, Jean Pierre worked with an IT company for 10 years as a business consultant, account manager  and member of management, working for a variety of organizations in different industries.

Jean Pierre pursued an active sporting career in sailing, including winning the Admirals Cup, Swan Cup, world champion in J22 and sailing at the highest level in the Star class.

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GIANNI MERLO - Gianni Merlo is the President of AIPS (International Sports Press Association) and Chairman of the Press Commission of IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations).  He is a member of the Press Commission of IOC and well as of the Media Committee of FIFA.  He had also served as President of the European Sports Press Union (1984-88) and has worked as a journalist and TV commentator. 

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CHRISTIAN MICHELS – Christian joined the FIFA IT software team in November 2007 as Manager Information Systems.  He is responsible for managing software projects end to end with focus on new technologies, information and data architecture as well as Microsoft technologies. Beside some individual software development projects for FIFA departments he is responsible for the development and implementation of a world wide data standard for football management systems which will simplify the horizontal and vertical interchange of information within the football family.

Before he joined FIFA he worked as Senior Systems Engineer and Quality Manager for Lufthansa Systems Flight Nav. and Lufthansa Systems Airline Operations Solutions for seven years. He started his career as software developer inventing a GIS based system for the production of paper based aeronautical charts and the further development towards digital aeronautical maps. Christian was responsible for the development and implementation of the world wide data model for en route, approach and departure charts. Being a long time very deep into prototyping and implementation of new technologies he refocused on quality management and process analysis in his last year at Lufthansa. As part of the reorganization team he was responsible to streamline IT processes within the division of Lufthansa Systems Airline Operations Solutions  in Zurich, Frankfurt, Gdansk, Singapore and Newark.

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VERON MOSENGO-OMBA – Veron Mosengo-Omba is a qualified lawyer from the University of Fribourg. Between 1996 and 1998, he worked as a scientist collaborator at the International Centre for Sports Studies of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. In 1999 he became Head of the Disciplinary Department of FIFA (Zurich, Switzerland) where he drafted a FIFA Disciplinary Code and participated in several conferences in relation with disciplinary issue in football. Since 2005 he is working as a Legal Counsel at the UEFA Disciplinary Service.

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JEFF O'BRIEN - Jeff O’Brien currently holds the leadership role to drive and develop Dubai Sports City’s Sports Academies, based in the United Arab Emirates. Jeff is also on the board of the National Rugby Federation and is Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Professional Golfers’ Association.  With a professional history spanning over 25 years in the sports and leisure industry in his native Australia and internationally, Jeff is a qualified golf professional with experience in the development and implementation of grass roots and elite national athlete development programs as national coach, sports development master planning, strategy, construction, commercial feasibility and operations.

In his leadership roles Jeff is cognisant of the opportunities, expectations and challenges that face the wider community in addition to the commercial requirements of stakeholders in both private and government sectors, with knowledge transfer being at the forefront of the priorities using research to provide the baseline for implementation.

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Dr. TOMASZ POLGRABSKI - Tomasz Półgrabski, PhD, is Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of Poland. He is responsible for top sports in the country.

His social activity includes acting as the Deputy President responsible for organizational matters of the Warsaw and Mazowsze region Tennis Association.  He was a member of the Olympic Mission to Sydney 2000. He also co-operated with the Polish Olympic Committee on their Olympic Solidarity Programme. He was a member of the Olympic Team in the years 1999-2001 as well as the coordinator of the Athens 2004 programme in the years 1999-2001.

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Dr. EMILIO POZZI  (Convener) - With over 20 years of experience running large-scale international events, Emilio has a proven record of success in Large Event Management.  His professional career covers prestigious positions with the Organizing Committees of the 1990, 1994, and 1999 FIFA World Cups, the Olympic Games of Atlanta, Salt Lake, Athens and Torino. Most recently, he has served as the  Local Liaison for the International Paralympic Committee at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, and as Bid Consultant for the successful bid by the City of Sochi, Russia, to host the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 

As Managing Director of Venue Management for the 2006 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Torino, Emilio was in charge of all competition and non-competition venue planning and operations, including the three Olympic Athlete Villages.  Also under his direction were the Food and Beverage operations, as well as, waste management and cleaning operations. The sport of passion for this Italian is soccer.  As Executive Vice President for the 1999 Women's World Cup, Emilio had a major role in record ticket sales for a women's sporting event, with the final game attracting 110,000 people to the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.  Since 2001, he has served first as Vice-President and most recently as President of Int’l Sport Events, Inc. an Oregon based company that specializes in consulting for a variety of sporting events and bid committees.

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LUISA RIZZITELLI - Luisa Rizzitelli is the president and founder of Communis, srl, a communications and public relations company based in Rome, Italy whose mission is to focus on promoting women and their issues.  The company represents notable athletes such as Josefa Idem and Antonella Bellutti as well as numerous companies which provide products and services to women. Rizzitelli also serves as the Director of Communications and Press Relations for Telefono Rosa, an Italian association committed to the defence and protection of female victims of violence. 

In 2000, Rizzitelli established and initially presented ASSIST, the first association in Italy and Europe dedicated to protecting the rights of women who compete in competitive sports as well as the rights of the men and women who work in the business of Women’s Sports.  Rizzitelli is also a journalist who contributes regularly to several publications and serves as an announcer for programmes regarding women’s sports. 

Prior to her business career, Rizzitelli was a “professional” volleyball player for 12 years and in 2003, she was honoured with the Marisa Bellisario award, the most prestigious prize in Italy dedicated to female managers. 

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JULIAN STANCULESCU, PhD  - Dr. Stanculescu brings more than 25 years experience in the organization of global events, including the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups, Continental Confederation competitions, and many national competitions for different sports. His direct involvement at the Olympic and FIFA World Cup event levels, provided him with an intimate knowledge of the infra and the superstructure of international and national sports' governing entities and their events.  Julian holds a doctorate degree from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania and a Masters in the Science of Management.  Having lived in several countries across the world and speaking eight languages, Julian brings forth a vast expertise in international relations as well as cross cultural communications.

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CLAUDE STRICKER, PhD  - Dr Claude Stricker is the Executive Director of the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) in Lausanne, founded by several Swiss Universities, including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), the University of Lausanne, the University of Geneva, IMD Business School and the International Olympic Committee. Claude Stricker holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Lausanne, a Master in Business Information System, a Master of Science in Management and a Bachelor Degree in Sport and Physical Education. Before joining AISTS he was a professor, a researcher and a consultant in the field information technology management in Switzerland and in the USA.

Claude has a long experience in sport as an international competitor racing in alpine skiing, as well as a coach and technical director of ski associations. He was member of the Swiss students national alpine ski team and participated in three Winter Universiades as an athlete.

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INGO THOMANN - Ingo Thomann is responsible for Marketing, Communication and Costumer Relationship Management at DFB-Medien in Frankfurt, the IT subsidiary of the German Football Association. He is an integral member of the roll-out team of DFBnet, a fully networked IT infrastructure designed for football associations and clubs. In addition, Ingo is the project leader for the public football portal FUSSBALL.DE, which provides supporters with a wealth of information processed by the match operations modules of DFBnet, latest news from amateur and professional leagues as well as a large community incorporating all Web 2.0 features.

Ingo has joined the football family as a sports marketing expert in 2002 after having gained experience in different management positions within other sports associations. In 1998 he already initiated an internet based system for tournament competitions as General Manager in the Tennis Federation of Lower Saxony. With an academic background in sports science and business, Ingo has in-depth knowledge in optimizing business processes and managing change within sports organizations. As a key member of the DFBnet management team, his area of expertise is online marketing and shaping business models for digital service processes.

KATARINA WITT - Always looking for new challenges, Katarina Witt is continually taking on new directions in her work, adding to her experience thus far as figure skater, producer, moderator, actress and author.

Her Figure Skating Career and Victories - Katarina Witt's biography and her career as a figure skater are incomparable and unique. Besides two Olympic victories, she became the World Champion four times, the European Champion six times, and the National Champion eight times. Following the 1988 World Championships, her successful amateur career came to a close. Together with Brian Boitano, American World Champion and Olympic Gold Medallist at Calgary, she toured for three years as the headliner in her own show in the USA and Canada. The Show "Witt and Boitano Skating" was so successful, that Madison Square Garden in New York was sold out for the first time in its history. In 1993-94 she returned once more to the limelight of amateur sports competitions, to participate as an athlete in the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer for the third time. Afterwards, she toured America and Canada for 10 years as a guest star in the American figure-skating shows "Stars on Ice" and "Champions on Ice", while also participating in countless professional international competitions. She is the creative mind behind many international ice-show productions, which she writes, creates, performs in, and with Elisabeth Gottmann, co-produces. Katarina Witt has toured the world many times, presenting figure-skating fans everywhere with her unique combination of athletic and creative skill.

Professional Life and Social Engagement - Along with her business partner Elisabeth Gottmann, Katarina Witt founded the production agency WITH WITT Sports & Entertainment GmbH in 1995. This enterprise has set new standards in the market of figure skating productions ever since. WITH WITT Sports & Entertainment produces ice shows such as "Divas on Ice", "Enjoy the Stars" and "Winter Magic" as live events for German and American TV. She has worked as a figure skating expert during world championships and Olympic Games for American and German TV channels, like NBC, CBS, ABC, ZDF and ARD, since 1991. She also moderates various programs on RTL, Pro7 and ARD. She made her acting debut on stage in 2009 with her role as Amour in the play "Everyman" in the Berlin Cathedral. She has written her biography, given tips and motivation for a healthy lifestyle in a fitness book, and packed her years of experience as a young athlete into a book combining fiction and reality, based on her own life story. Aside from her enterprising and creative undertakings, Katarina Witt is also involved with charitable activities. She formed the Katarina Witt Foundation in 2005 in order to provide aid for children and teens with disabilities. Since 2009 Katarina Witt is Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee.

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URS ZANITTI - Urs is Head of  FIFA's MA Professionalization Program since its start in 2008. He joined FIFA in 2001 as Head of the Goal Program and was in charge of the Development Programmes (e.g. FAP, Education, Services and Legacy for Women’s Football tournaments) for many years until developing the MA Professionalization Program.

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