Geneva, May 23 (HS): Renowned expert in Olympic and sports marketing, Michael Payne has been appointed as the new Chairman of Volleyball World. The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced this on Thursday.
67-year-old Michael Payne served as the Director of Marketing and Global Broadcast Rights at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1983 to 2004. During this time, he developed and successfully implemented marketing programs for 15 Olympic Games.
After the Athens 2004 Olympics, Payne established ‘Payne Sports Media Strategies,’ through which he advised top global sports organizations such as Formula One, the FIVB, and CVC Capital Partners.
Established in 2021 under the FIVB, Volleyball World handles the commercial operations of international volleyball and beach volleyball events. Payne stated, In the last four years, Volleyball World has taken the sport to new heights as a global entertainment product. I am excited to be a part of this thrilling journey and to contribute to major events like the Volleyball Nations League and the World Championship taking place this summer.
Michael Payne replaces Fernando Lima, who was the first Chairman of Volleyball World. However, Lima will remain on the board and will take on a new leadership role at the FIVB. He stated, I take pride in my tenure, and I am confident that under Michael’s leadership, our momentum for growth will accelerate.
This change is considered a significant step toward strengthening volleyball’s position in the global sports market.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
