GENEVA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Renowned Olympic and sports marketing expert Michael Payne has been appointed Chair of Volleyball World, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced Thursday.
Payne, 67, was the first Marketing and Global Broadcast Rights Director of the International Olympic Committee, serving from 1983 to 2004. He oversaw the development and implementation of marketing programs for 15 Olympic Summer and Winter Games.
Following the 2004 Athens Olympics, Payne founded Payne Sports Media Strategies, advising many of the world's leading sports organizations, including Formula One, FIVB and CVC Capital Partners.
Volleyball World, founded in 2021, is the exclusive operator of commercial international volleyball and beach volleyball events.
Payne succeeds Fernando Lima, who served as the founding Chair of Volleyball World. The FIVB said Lima will remain on the Board of Volleyball World and will assume a new leadership role within the federation in the coming months.
"Over the past four years, the Volleyball World team has made great progress in taking volleyball to the next level as a global entertainment product. I have followed this process closely and look forward to working with the team to support volleyball on the next stage of its global growth. It is particularly exciting to join ahead of a thrilling summer of volleyball, with both the Volleyball Nations League and World Championships set to show the very best of the sport on the world stage," Payne was quoted as saying in an FIVB statement.
Lima said: "This is an exciting and promising moment for volleyball. I'm extremely proud of the period I served as Chair of the Board of Directors, and I'm confident that with Michael now at the helm, we'll accelerate our growth even further. Having been part of the FIVB for many years, I look forward to continuing my contribution to the sport-connecting technology, data and fan interests to help elevate volleyball to new heights." Enditem
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