A look at FISA's Executive Committee

Remaining at the post of FISA president until July 2014 is Denis Oswald of Switzerland. When Oswald departs it will be 24 years since he took up the position of president. An Olympic medallist, Oswald was secretary general of FISA from 1977 before taking over as president in 1989. Outside of his rowing commitments Oswald pursued his career as a lawyer. Oswald is also actively involved in other sporting organisations including roles within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which saw him chair the London 2012 co-ordination commission and president of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).

After July the new FISA president will be Jean-Christophe Rolland of France. Rolland is Olympic champion from Sydney 2000 as well as world champion in 1993 and 1997. He is an executive with EDF and ran the EDF sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Replacing long serving Vice President Anita DeFrantz, FISA’s new vice-president starting in January will be Canadian Tricia Smith. Smith rowed at the first Olympic Games that included women's rowing; the Montreal 1976 Olympics. She was selected for four Olympic teams and was a member of the Canadian Rowing Team for thirteen years, holding nine Olympic and World Championship medals. A qualified lawyer, Smith is currently a partner at her law firm specialising in liability claims and risk management. She has been on FISA's executive committee since 1999 prior to being elected vice-president. DeFrantz, previously a Vice President of the International Olympic Committee, was recently elected to the IOC Executive Board where she will join rower John Coates who was recently elected to be a Vice President of the IOC.

Returning as treasurer of FISA is Mike Williams of Great Britain. Williams has a master’s degree in economics from Cambridge University and it was at university that he took up rowing when he coxed the Cambridge blues to victory in the Oxford / Cambridge Boat Race. He then coached as well as becoming an umpire. Williams has been FISA Treasurer and a member of the FISA Executive Committee since 1993. Outside of rowing Williams is a director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development specialising in risk management.

Matt Smith is the executive director of FISA and started in this role in 1995. From Los Angeles but now also holding Swiss passport, Smith rowed at university where he studied economics. After earning his MBA degree, he then went on to work as a coach at Italy's national training centre in Piediluco from 1986 to 1989, then worked at USRowing from 1989 to 1992 before taking up the position of development director with FISA in 1992 in their Oberhofen, Switzerland headquarters.

Originally from Australia but living in Hong Kong for many years is the chair of the events commission, Mike Tanner. Tanner started rowing in his homeland Tasmania but helped start the rowing federation in Hong Kong with Bob Wilson. He is long-time chairman of this federation along with many posts in Asia.

John Boultbee is from Sydney, Australia where he started rowing through coxing at Sydney University, later coaching. Boultbee then went into the administrative side of the sport as Australia's team manager. A qualified lawyer, Boultbee became the secretary general of FISA from 1989 to 1995 when he moved back to Australia to become director of the Australian Institute of Sport.

Lenka Wech will be the only new members to the executive committee come January. An Olympian and 2003 World Champion from Germany, Wech competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. She is now a qualified medical doctor and came into FISA as a member of the athletes' commission. Now as chair of the commission Wech, she was elected in Chungju to also become a member of the executive committee.
 
The FISA Executive Committee consists of the president, vice-president, treasurer, three commission chairs and the non-voting executive director. There are seven members of the FISA Executive Committee and they meet a minimum of four times per year.