President Mohammed Ben Sulayem chaired the first two World Councils of a new FIA era

04.02.22

On 3rd February, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem chaired the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism (WCAMT).

Gathered in digital format, the meetings marked an important milestone, chaired by the President alongside his team: Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid, Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Tim Shearman and Senate President Carmelo Sanz de Barros.

In respect of the commitments already made by the President and the strong will expressed by the FIA Members at the 2021 Annual General Assembly (AGA) last December in Paris, governance topics such as transparency and collaboration were at the heart of these World Councils.

As provided for in the FIA Statutes, and following the election of the new World Councils members at the AGA, two major series of decisions were taken:

  • The appointment of FIA Commissions’ Presidents and four additional Senate members, guided by the key priorities of ensuring greater diversity and representation of the world’s regions,
  • The launch of a new and robust governance process, including a fully independent financial audit of the FIA, and the recruitment of an FIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

These resolutions were adopted by the members of both World Councils, giving the new road map clear legitimacy and strong momentum for the years to come.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “A new era has begun for the FIA, through the creation of a governance framework founded on openness and global diversity. This is a key pillar of our strategy and I warmly thank the World Councils’ Members, who have approved the changes. Responsibility and authority of World Councils, which emanate from our Members, will be increased. A more effective oversight model will be designed, stakeholders’ priorities will be aligned, and a responsibly profitable FIA operation will be ensured. To reach these objectives, the Federation’s governing bodies and administration will work closely together to make the FIA the global voice of motor sport and mobility.”
 
ELECTION OF FOUR MEMBERS OF THE SENATE

The election of four new members of the Senate by the World Motor Sport Council members was approved. They are added to the eight Senate members already appointed on 17th December 2021 in Paris.

FIA SENATE
 

Name

Country

Position

 
Members appointed on 17th December 2021
 

Carmelo SANZ DE BARROS

Spain

President of the Senate

Mohammed BEN SULAYEM 

UAE

President of the FIA

Robert REID

United Kingdom

Deputy President of the FIA (Sport)

Timothy SHEARMAN

Canada

Deputy President of the FIA (Mobility)

Irina BOKOVA

Bulgaria

Member

August MARKL

Germany

Member

Elizabeth PERRY

Luxembourg

Member

Robert SLOCOMBE

Australia

Member

 
Members appointed on 3rd February 2022
 

Faisal BIN AL-HUSSEIN

Jordan

Member

Monica MAILANDER

Italy

Member

Carlos SLIM DOMIT

Mexico

Member

Guojun ZHAN

China

Member

 
 
FIA COMMISSIONS
The following members were confirmed as Presidents of the Specialised Commissions.

Sporting Commissions
 

Commission

Name

Country

Rally Commission

TBA

 

World Rally Championship
Commission

Roger ENGSTROM

Sweden

Cross-Country Rally
Championship Commission

Dimitry MAKHENYA

Kazakhstan

GT Commission

Lutz Leif LINDEN

Germany

Touring Car Commission

Alan GOW

United Kingdom

Hill Climb Commission

Dusan KOBLISEK

Slovakia

Historic Motor Sport Commission

John NAYLOR

Ireland

Off-Road Commission

Wlodzimierz SZANIAWSKI

Poland

Drag Racing Commission

Lars PETTERSSON

Sweden

Truck Racing Commission

Manuel VIDAL PERUCHO

Spain

Electric and New Energy
Championships Commission

Xiaoxu ZHOU

China

Circuits Commission

Jorge ABED

Mexico

Homologation Regulations
Commission

Xavier SCHENE

Belgium

Medical Commission

Dr Sean PETHERBRIDGE

United Arab Emirates

Land Speed Records Commission

Roger BANOWETZ

United States

Safety Commission

Sam MICHAEL

Australia

Women in Motorsport
Commission

Deborah MAYER

France

Volunteers and Officials
Commission

Abdulaziz ALTHAWADI

Bahrain

Single-Seater Commission

TBA

 

Endurance Commission

Richard MILLE

France

Drivers’ Commission

Felippe MASSA

Brazil

CIK – International Karting
Commission

Akbar EBRAHIM

India

Closed Road Commission

Nicolas KLINGER

France

Drifting Commission

Koichi MURATA

Japan

Esports Commission

Niroshan PEREIRA

Sri Lanka

 
Click here to see the full list of Sporting Commission Members *
 
Joint Sporting & Mobility Commissions
 

Commission

Name

Country

Environment and Sustainability
Commission

Felipe CALDERON

Mexico

Manufacturers’ Commission

Oliver SCHMEROLD

Austria

Disability and Accessibility
Commission

Nathalie McGLOIN

United Kingdom

 
Click here to see the full list of Joint Sporting & Mobility Commission Members *
 
Mobility Commissions
 

Commission

Name

Country

Policy Commission **

Ferry SMITH

Netherlands

Services Commission **

Luis Palma FIGUEIREDO

Portugal

International Historical
Commission

Giuseppe REDAELLI

Italy

 
Click here to see the full list of Mobility Commission Members *
Click here to see the full list of International Historical Commission Members *

* List subject to change after the Governance Review
** The Presidents of the Policy and the Services Commissions remain

ZONES
The World Motor Sport Council has nominated Co-ordinators of the Zones recognised by the FIA.
 

Regions

Zones

Co-ordinators

Vice-Presidents

Africa

Africa

Rodrigo ROCHA

Rodrigo ROCHA

North and South
America

NACAM

Daniel COEN

Daniel COEN

CODASUR

Fabiana ECCLESTONE

Fabiana ECCLESTONE

Asia-Pacific

Asia

Lung-Nien LEE

Lung-Nien LEE

 
 
Europe

Benelux

Anna NORDKVIST

 
 
Anna NORDKVIST
Manuel AVINO ROGER

Eurasia

Victor KIRYANOV

North Europe

Anna NORDKVIST

Central Europe

Manuel AVINO ROGER

South-East Europe

Manuel AVINO ROGER

Middle East

MENA

Abdulla AL KHALIFA

Abdulla AL KHALIFA

 
WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL FULL MEMBERS

The list of the World Motor Sport Council members has been completed with some of the Commissions’ Presidents members by right.
 

Mohammed BEN SULAYEM (United Arab Emirates)
President of the FIA

Robert REID (United Kingdom)
Deputy President of the FIA (Sport)

Vice-Presidents

Abdulla AL KHALIFA (Bahrain)

Manuel AVINO (Spain)

Daniel COEN (Costa Rica)

Fabiana ECCLESTONE (Brazil)

Lung-Nien LEE (Singapore)

Anna NORDKVIST (Sweden)

Rodrigo ROCHA (Mozambique)

 Titular members

HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan AL FAISAL AL SAUD (Saudi Arabia)

Eric BARRABINO (Monaco)

Wayne CHRISTIE (New Zealand)

Garry CONNELLY (Australia)

Victor KIRYANOV (Russia)

Tom KRISTENSEN (Denmark)

Andrew MALLALIEU (Barbados)

Amina MOHAMED (Kenya)

Rado RASPET (Slovenia)

David RICHARDS (United Kingdom)

George SILBERMANN (United States)

Jan STOVICEK (Czech Republic)

Serkan YAZICI (Turkey)

Tao ZHANG (China)

Deborah MAYER (France)
President of the Women in Motorsport Commission

Stefano DOMENICALI (Italy)
Formula 1

Oliver SCHMEROLD (Austria) / Mattia BINOTTO (Italy)
President of the FIA Manufacturers' Commission / or the F1 Commission Delegate

Felipe MASSA (Brazil)
President of the Drivers’ Commission

Akbar EBRAHIM (India)
CIK President

 
WORLD COUNCIL FOR AUTOMOBILE MOBILITY AND TOURISM FULL MEMBERS
 

Mohammed BEN SULAYEM (United Arab Emirates)
President of the FIA

Tim SHEARMAN, CAA (Canada)
Deputy President of the FIA (Automobile Mobility and Tourism)

Vice-Presidents of the FIA (Automobile Mobility and Tourism)

REGION I : Thomas MØLLER THOMSEN, FDM (Denmark)

REGION I Sub Region  -  African Council for Touring & the Automobile (ACTA)
Simon MODISAEMANG, Emergency Assist 991 Netcare (Botswana)

REGION I Sub Region  -  Arab Council of Touring & Automobile Clubs (ACTAC)
Essa Hamzah ALFAILAKAWI, KIAC (Kuwait)

REGION II : Greig CRAFT, AAV (Vietnam)

REGION III : Frank FOTIA, CAA (Canada)

REGION IV : Ricardo MORALES RUBIO, ACC (Colombia)

Titular members

REGION I : Gottfried WANITSCHEK, ÖAMTC (Austria)

Didier BOLLECKER, ACA (France)

August MARKL, ADAC (Germany)

Gyorgyi MILOVUKOVICS, MAK (Hungary)

Giuseppe REDAELLI, ACI (Italy)

Marga DE JAGER, ANWB (Netherlands)

Jorge F. DELGADO MENDOZA, RACE (Spain)

Peter GOETSCHI, TCS (Switzerland)

REGION II : Michael BRADLEY, AAA (Australia)

Govinda Prasad BHATTARA, NASA, (Nepal)

Nitin DOSSA, FIAA (India)

Rifat SUNGKAR, IMI (Indonesia)

Bernard TAY, AAS (Singapore)

REGION III : Alvaro OLIVER VENERE, ACD (Dominican Republic)

Selwyn PERSAD, TTAA (Trinidad and Tobago)

REGION IV : Alejandro QUINTANA HURTADO, ACCHI (Chile)

COFINO ORTEGA Pedro Guillermo, ACG (Guatemala)

Gorki OBANDO, ANETA (Ecuador)

 

FIA UNIVERSITY BOARD MEMBERS

WCAMT Members approved the mobility members to the FIA University Board, on the recommendation of the Programmes Committee.
 

Name

Country

Proposed by

Ian STONE (Chairman)

Australia

Region II

Oliver SCHMEROLD

Austria

Region I

Frank FOTIA

Canada

Region III

Gabriela GOÑI

Peru

Region IV


FIA FOUNDING MEMBERS' CLUB

The WCAMT noted the appointment of Mr Carl Höhner (KNAC), Netherlands, as President of the FIA Founding Members’ Club.
 
ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUPS ON CEO RECRUITMENT, GOVERNANCE REVIEW AND FINANCIAL REVIEW

Three Working Groups have been established to assist in the CEO recruitment, Governance and Financial reviews.

Two members of each World Council have been appointed to sit on each of the following Working Groups: 

CEO Recruitment Working Group

The objective of the Working Group is to assist the presidential team in determining the key attributes required of a CEO to manage the operational affairs of the Federation. 

The aim of this Working Group is to help select an executive search firm, establish a budget and timeframe for the CEO recruitment, and recommend a shortlist of candidates to the World Councils and the Senate. 

This Working Group will be chaired by the President of the Senate.

The group will be comprised of the Chair, the Deputy President for Sport, the Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism and two members from each of the World Councils.

WMSC representatives: Fabiana ECCLESTONE (Brazil) and Rodrigo ROCHA (Mozambique)
WCAMT representatives: Marga de JAGER (Netherlands) and Ricardo MORALES RUBIO (Colombia)
 
Governance Review Working Group

The objective of the Working Group is to assist the presidential team in its review of current FIA Governance and Structure and to make recommendations for changes going forward. 

The aim of this Working Group is to help select a third-party governance consultant, establish a budget and timeframe for the review and recommend any actions to the World Councils and the Senate. 

The Working Group will identify the most important issues associated with FIA’s governance structure, prioritize efforts to delve into remedies for these challenges, and develop roadmaps to address these issues. 

This Working Group will be chaired by the President of the Senate.

The group will be comprised of the Chair, the Deputy President Sport, the Deputy President Automobile Mobility and Tourism and two members from each of the World Councils.

WMSC representatives: David RICHARDS (United Kingdom) and Jan STOVICEK (Czech Republic)
WCAMT representatives: Peter GOETSCHI (Switzerland) and Didier BOLLECKER (France)
 
Financial Review Working Group

The objective of the Working Group is to assist the presidential team in its review of current FIA financial practices and to make recommendations for any changes going forward. 

The aim of this Working Group is to help select a third-party audit firm, establish a budget and timeframe for the review and recommend any actions to the World Councils and the Senate. 

The Working Group will identify the most important issues associated with FIA’s financial practices to determine if there are any changes necessary. 

This Working Group will be co-chaired by the Deputy President for Sport and the Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism. 

The group will be comprised of the co-Chairs, President of the Senate and two members from each of the World Councils. 

WMSC representatives: Lung-Nien LEE (Singapore) and Rado RASPET (Slovenia)
WCAMT representatives: Alejandro QUINTANA HURTADO (Chile) and Thomas MØLLER THOMSEN (Denmark)
 
Upcoming World Motor Sport Council Meetings
 

Date

Country

March 19 (Welcome session on March 18)

Bahrain

June 30

Venue TBC, Part of FIA Conference

October 20

Great Britain

December 7

Venue TBC, Part of FIA Annual General Assembly Week


Upcoming World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Meetings
 

Date

Country

March 28

Paris (hybrid physical/digital format)

Week of 27 June

Venue TBC, Part of FIA Conference

Week of 5 December

Venue TBC, Part of FIA Annual General Assembly Week