The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the appointment of three new directors over the next few months.
Starting her role on 15 September, Jan Paterson has been named as chief of staff in the executive office of the IOC president Kirsty Coventry. James Pearce, who joined the organisation on 1 September, has taken up the role of chief communications advisor to the IOC president; while on 1 January 2026, Julien Baehni will join the IOC and, following a transition period lasting until the end of March 2026, will succeed Xavier Tissières as human resources director.
The Olympic Movement has been at the heart of Paterson’s career. She spent over two decades at the British Olympic Association, first as chief of staff and then as director of Olympic Relations and CEO of the British Olympic Foundation. She is currently the managing director for Sport at NEOM in Saudi Arabia. Paterson was also the deputy chef de mission for Team GB at London 2012 and chef de mission for Team England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Pearce was formerly a BBC sports broadcaster and was the BBC’s Olympics Correspondent from 2001 to 2012. Since then, he has been leading his own communications consultancy.
Baehni is currently chief of human resources at UEFA, based in Nyon, Switzerland. After several years in the banking industry, he joined UEFA in 2009 and has led the human resources department since 2012.
