Urs Lehmann returns to FIS as interim secretary general until March 2027
Urs Lehmann, the former Swiss skier and until recently CEO of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, is returning to the operational top level of FIS only a few weeks after leaving the CEO position. On June 19, 2026, FIS announced that Lehmann would take over the position of secretary general ad interim from July 1, 2026, and remain in that role until the end of March 2027. The federation states that the decision was made after consultations between the new president Alexander Ospelt and the FIS Council, with the aim of preserving operational continuity during a period of leadership change. According to the FIS announcement, Lehmann's temporary mandate corresponds to the nine-month contractual notice period from his existing agreement with the federation. This opens a transitional period in which FIS will simultaneously manage day-to-day operations, review its own governance structure and prepare an open procedure for the selection of a new permanent secretary general.
A transitional decision after the congress in Belgrade
The decision on Lehmann's return followed the 57th FIS Congress held in Belgrade, at which Alexander Ospelt of Liechtenstein was elected the new president of the federation. FIS announced that, after the election, Ospelt spoke with the Council to resolve the issue of restructuring the organization's administrative leadership. In the same announcement, the federation stated that secretary general Michel Vion announced his departure during the congress, while Lehmann submitted his resignation from the CEO position on June 5, 2026. The combination of the secretary general's departure and the earlier resignation of the CEO created a need for a temporary solution at the top of the administration. FIS therefore explained that the president and the Council considered it urgent to ensure the continuity of the federation's activities, especially at a time when the organization's political and operational leadership is changing.
The function of secretary general in international sports federations is usually crucial for implementing the decisions of elected bodies, coordinating the administration and communicating with national associations. In the case of FIS, that role carries additional weight because the federation manages a large system of international competitions, regulations, calendars, disciplines and commercial relations. According to its own data, FIS governs international skiing and snowboarding, including the Olympic disciplines of alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing and snowboarding. The federation states that more than 7000 skiing and snowboarding competitions are held annually through its system, with around 330 World Cup events. After the congress in Belgrade, FIS also announced that Belize had been admitted as a new member, bringing the number of national ski associations in the organization to 142.
Lehmann returns after a short and turbulent CEO mandate
Lehmann's appointment is particularly interesting because it comes very soon after his departure from the position of FIS CEO. On June 5, 2026, the federation officially confirmed that Lehmann had stepped down from the CEO role, without stating detailed reasons for the resignation in a brief statement. At the time, FIS emphasized that the organization had strong governance structures, an experienced management team and a strategic framework approved by the competent bodies. Two weeks later, the same official is returning to the organization, but in a different role and under a new president. According to the available information, that return has not been presented as a permanent solution, but as a bridge toward a new model of executive leadership that FIS should define by spring 2027.
Lehmann came to FIS as the federation's first CEO after his appointment was announced in August 2025. FIS then stated that the Swiss sports official would begin the new role during the autumn meetings of the FIS technical committees at the end of September. In the official 2025 announcement, the federation highlighted his experience in sport and business management, including the fact that he had been president of the Swiss Ski Association since 2008. FIS also recalled at the time that Lehmann ended his career as an active skier in 1997, and achieved his greatest sporting success by winning the downhill world championship title in 1993 in Morioka. According to FIS, Lehmann was a member of the FIS Council from 2021 to 2024, and from 2009 to 2024 he led the pharmaceutical company Similasan, after which he took over the role of chairman of the board of directors of the Similasan Group.
FIS announces a review of the executive leadership structure
The most important part of the new decision is not only Lehmann's personal return, but the announcement of a broader restructuring of FIS executive leadership. The federation announced that the Council would establish a working group to review the future structure of executive leadership and assess whether changes to the FIS Statutes are needed. In that process, according to the federation's announcement, the working group will also take into account proposals submitted to the congress. Such wording indicates that the organization is not dealing only with filling one position, but also with the question of how relations between the president, the Council, the secretary general and possible executive management roles should be arranged in the future. FIS has not published a final model that will be considered, but it has announced that the process will lead to an open competition for a permanent secretary general by March 2027.
According to FIS, the selection of a permanent secretary general will be carried out through an open and thorough application procedure with professional support in the field of human resources. The federation states that the aim is to ensure a transparent and objective selection. In the context of a tight presidential race and discussions about governance, that detail has special importance because it suggests an attempt to separate the new administrative setup from impressions of closed or politically driven decisions. For national associations, competition organizers, athletes and commercial partners, it is important whether FIS will be able during the transitional period to maintain operational stability and restore confidence in decision-making processes at the same time. Lehmann's temporary mandate will therefore be observed not only through administrative tasks, but also through the federation's ability to carry out a calm transfer of authority.
A special working group for the financial situation
Alongside the working group for the governance structure, FIS also announced the establishment of a separate working group that will review the federation's financial situation and prepare proposals where necessary. In that announcement, the federation did not provide a detailed assessment of the financial situation, but the very fact that a special body is being established for that area is an important message in the period after the election. Reuters, reporting on the presidential election in FIS, stated that some larger skiing nations had questioned the federation's spending priorities and direction under the leadership of Johan Eliasch, including efforts to centralize commercial rights. AP also reported that the years of Eliasch's mandate were marked by frequent disputes with individual skiing nations, among other things over governance style and the spending of the federation's financial reserves. These claims do not represent an official financial conclusion by FIS, but they explain why the announced financial review will be closely followed.
The financial issue in FIS is directly connected with the future position of national associations, prize funds, the development of disciplines and commercial rights. After the election, according to the FIS announcement, Ospelt spoke about the need to attract additional stakeholders, investment and sponsors so that greater revenue could be distributed to national associations and respond to athletes' demands for increased prize money. In the same appearance, he stressed that he wanted to listen to national ski associations and athletes in order to better understand the problems they face. Such an approach suggests that financial and governance issues will be interconnected in the first months of the new administration. Lehmann, as interim secretary general, will probably have an important operational role in that process, but final political decisions remain in the hands of the president, the Council and the FIS Congress.
Ospelt takes over the federation after an election decided by one vote
The broader context of Lehmann's appointment is marked by an extremely tight presidential race. FIS announced that Alexander Ospelt was elected at the 57th congress in Belgrade, and in his first press conference after the election he himself emphasized that the result of 65 to 64 showed that the federation remained divided. According to the FIS announcement, Ospelt said that he saw that division as an opportunity, not as a problem, and that his first task would be to build unity and a shared ambition for the development of the federation. Reuters reported that Ospelt defeated the incumbent president Johan Eliasch by one vote, 65 to 64, with no abstentions at the congress in Belgrade. AP reported that Eliasch, the owner of the Head company, after the defeat also lost his membership in the International Olympic Committee linked to the presidential position in FIS.
Ospelt is a lawyer from Liechtenstein and a member of the FIS Council since 2024, and FIS states that from 2016 to 2023 he was president of the Liechtenstein Ski Association. In the official biography, the federation states that Ospelt is a doctor of law, an attorney and a long-standing member of various boards and associations. After the election, he said that every national association must feel that a new period is beginning and that its problems will be taken seriously. He particularly emphasized the need for solidarity between larger and smaller skiing countries, explaining that it is not in the interest of the sport for only athletes from the leading nations to compete in the World Cup. This is important for FIS because the organization must simultaneously maintain the quality of elite competitions and expand the development base in countries with fewer resources.
What Lehmann's mandate means for FIS until 2027
Lehmann's temporary mandate is clearly limited in time: it begins on July 1, 2026, and lasts until the end of March 2027. During that period, FIS must resolve several connected issues. First, it must ensure that day-to-day administration continues without interruption after the departure of Michel Vion and the earlier resignation of the CEO. Second, it must define whether it will retain, modify or abolish the model in which there is a separate executive function such as CEO alongside the role of secretary general. Third, it must prepare an open procedure for selecting the person who will lead the federation's administrative apparatus in the long term. Fourth, it must show that the announced review of the financial situation is not only a procedural move, but part of a serious attempt to respond to the questions of national associations and sports stakeholders.
For Lehmann, this is a return to a familiar system, but in different political circumstances. As the former president of Swiss-Ski, a former member of the FIS Council, a former CEO of the federation and a downhill world champion, he enters the transitional role with experience from sporting, administrative and business environments. Precisely that combination may be the reason why FIS decided on him as a temporary solution, although only two weeks earlier he had officially left the CEO position. At the same time, such a return could raise questions about how many alternative operational solutions FIS had at this moment. For now, the federation emphasizes continuity, an open future competition and a transparent process as key elements of the transitional period.
Governance stability is important for the global competition system
Changes at the top of FIS are not only administrative news because the federation influences a large part of international winter sport. According to its own data, FIS was founded in 1924 during the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix and today has its headquarters in Oberhofen am Thunersee in Switzerland. The organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee and sets international competition rules in skiing and snowboarding disciplines. Its decisions influence World Cup calendars, world championships, the development of para disciplines, rules for organizers, competition safety, media rights and revenue distribution. For that reason, changes in the presidency and general secretariat are relevant for national associations, athletes, coaches, organizers, sponsors and spectators around the world.
In the coming months, the key test for the new administration will be the balance between continuity and reform. Ospelt has publicly emphasized unity, listening to members and the need for FIS to develop disciplines where they have audiences and growth potential. Lehmann will, according to the federation's announcement, at the same time perform the function of secretary general ad interim while the competition for a permanent solution is being prepared and while the working groups consider the governance structure and the financial situation. FIS has not yet published a detailed work schedule for those groups or concrete proposals that could end up before the congress or the Council. It is clear, however, that the period until March 2027 will be decisive for the way in which the new authority in the federation will turn its electoral mandate into a functional governance model.
Sources:
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) – official announcement on the appointment of Urs Lehmann as interim secretary general until March 2027. (link)
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) – official announcement on the election of Alexander Ospelt as FIS president at the congress in Belgrade. (link)
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) – official announcement on Urs Lehmann's resignation from the CEO position. (link)
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) – official announcement on Lehmann's appointment as the first CEO of FIS and his biography. (link)
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) – official page about the organization, membership, disciplines and scope of FIS competitions. (link)
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) – official biography of president Alexander Ospelt. (link)
- Associated Press – report on the FIS presidential election, the voting result and the broader political context. (link)
- Reuters / The Star – agency report on the election of Alexander Ospelt, the result of 65 to 64 and discussions about the federation's direction. (link)