Urs Lehmann and Johan Eliasch GEPA footage
Urs Lehmann to Develop into First CEO of FIS, Step Down as Swiss-Ski President
Even earlier than the primary race of the 2025–26 Olympic season, Alpine snowboarding faces a significant management change. Urs Lehmann, co-president of the Swiss Ski Federation, will depart his put up on the finish of September to change into the primary chief government officer of the Worldwide Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
The 56-year-old Swiss official will tackle the newly created function throughout the FIS Technical Committee Autumn Conferences, scheduled for Sept. 23–27. His transfer ends 17 years as Swiss-Ski president and 19 years on its government board. The bulletins got here Friday in statements from FIS and Swiss-Ski.
“I’m actually trying ahead to this new problem,” Lehmann mentioned within the Swiss-Ski press launch. “After the very optimistic improvement of our collaboration with FIS President Johan Eliasch over the previous few months, we now wish to lead FIS into the longer term with our mixed strengths – along with Secretary Basic Michel Vion, your complete FIS crew, and the member federations. I wish to be a bridge builder.”
FIS President Johan Eliasch referred to as the appointment a crucial step ahead. “Strengthening our management with Urs is a crucial step to make sure we’re finest positioned to satisfy the main challenges of the approaching years,” he mentioned.
From Rival to Accomplice
Lehmann and Eliasch haven’t all the time agreed. The 2 clashed publicly previously, most notably over FIS’s plans for centralized advertising. Whereas each supported the idea in precept, Lehmann criticized features of its implementation and communication. In latest months, they’ve eased tensions and emphasised a shared imaginative and prescient for the game’s progress.
Their historical past dates again to the 2021 FIS presidential election, when Lehmann challenged Eliasch for the highest job after the retirement of longtime chief Gian Franco Kasper. Eliasch received within the first spherical of voting.
Robust Relationships and Challenges Forward
FIS and a number of other nationwide federations, together with Austria’s, have skilled strained relations in recent times. Lehmann maintains robust private ties with Austrian officers. Austrian Ski Federation Secretary Basic Christian Scherer welcomed the information cautiously, noting the CEO function doesn’t seem within the FIS statutes and can want clarification by the manager board. He mentioned the federation will watch carefully to see if the management change boosts income and strengthens group.
Remodeling Swiss-Ski
Lehmann, a health care provider of economics, joined the Swiss-Ski government board in 2006 and succeeded Duri Bezzola as president two years later. He reworked the federation right into a dominant drive in Alpine snowboarding, successful 5 of the final six Nations Cup titles.
“Urs Lehmann’s imaginative and prescient of constructing Switzerland the primary snowboarding nation once more has change into actuality,” mentioned Swiss-Ski co-president Peter Barandun. “The Swiss-Ski household is awfully grateful to Urs for all the things he has achieved for Swiss snow sports activities. We’re already trying ahead to working collectively within the new constellation.”
Throughout a transition interval, Lehmann will share the presidency with Barandun till the following Swiss-Ski government committee assembly in mid-September. The federation will evaluation its management mannequin within the coming months.
Stepping Away from Different Roles
Lehmann can even step down as president of the Crans-Montana 2027 Alpine World Ski Championships organizing committee and as co-president of the Swiss 2038 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Video games Affiliation.
“As a lot as I’m trying ahead to this new problem, I’m leaving Swiss-Ski with a heavy coronary heart,” Lehmann mentioned. “My resolution was made simpler by my deep conviction that Swiss-Ski is probably higher positioned than ever earlier than. I very a lot stay up for actively shaping the way forward for snow sports activities, a matter near my coronary heart, within the coming years.”
From Champion Racer to International Chief
Earlier than shifting into sports activities administration, Lehmann raced on the Alpine Ski World Cup within the Nineteen Nineties. In response to FIS-ski.com, he earned 5 profession top-10 finishes — 4 in downhill and one in super-G — and reached the head of his racing profession in 1993, successful the downhill world championship in Morioka Shizukuishi, Japan. He retired from competitors in 1997.
Lehmann additionally served on the FIS Council from 2021 to 2024. In enterprise, he led pharmaceutical firm Similasan as CEO from 2009 to 2024 earlier than changing into chairman of its board. His mixed athletic, administrative, and company expertise now positions him to information snowboarding’s world governing physique into a brand new period.
Supply: FIS-ski.com and Swiss-Ski press launch
