Dear Mr. Brian Lewis
With warm greetings from the ICSS, it is my pleasure to share with you the announcement that Michael Hershman, co-founder of Transparency International, has been appointed as Group CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security.
This is a significant appointment for the future growth and success of the ICSS and for our work in the fields of safety, security and integrity where we strive to be at the service of sport.
Michael is a highly-respected professional who has operated at the very highest levels in both the security and integrity fields. In a distinguished international career, Michael has held a variety of high-profile positions in both the public and private sector - including serving as a member of the FIFA Independent Governance Committee and a number of committees within the United States’ Senate and House of Representatives.
Michael has been honoured in the Ethisphere Institute’s Top 100 most influential people in business ethics worldwide every year since 2008. He has also received Columbia Business School’s 2013 Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics.
A member of the ICSS Advisory Board since 2014, Michael is ideally placed to join us as Group CEO and to work with me to further develop and strengthen the organisation. He will lead the implementation of a transformation project which will result in an enhanced overall corporate structure to support the further success and growth of the ICSS.
Michael joins the ICSS from his former role as President and CEO of the Fairfax Group, where he advised governments, financial institutions, multi-national corporations and sports governing bodies on transparency, governance and security matters.
I am pleased to confirm that Helmut Spahn, Director General of the ICSS, will remain very much involved with the organisation as an expert senior advisor on safety and security.
Helmut has been with me since the beginning of the ICSS and is a highly-respected expert. I am delighted that he will continue to provide his invaluable knowledge and expertise.
Having founded and established the ICSS over five years ago, our business has grown rapidly. We have firmly established ourselves as a leader in sport safety, security and integrity and through the Save the Dream initiative, we are protecting the purity of sport, especially for children and young people.
As a founding supporter in the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), we continue to underline our commitment to establish an independent body to oversee the governance and integrity of sport.
With the many new, complex and concerning safety, security and integrity challenges now facing sport, it is the right time to assess how the ICSS can best service our partners and clients and also optimise the expertise we have within the ICSS.
Through Michael’s appointment and under his leadership, we will continue to strive to be a leading and influential player in the fight against corruption in sport and in the aim to ensure sport is safe and secure for all. We look forward to continuing to work with you and to introducing you to Michael.
Best Regards,
Mohammed Hanzab
ICSS Founder and President
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