The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the appointment of three new directors over the next few months. Jan Paterson has been named Chief of Staff in the Executive Office of the IOC President, Kirsty Coventry. James Pearce has taken up the role of Chief Communications Advisor to the IOC President. Finally, Julien Baehni will succeed Xavier Tissières next year as Human Resources Director.
Jan Paterson, who will become IOC director on Sept. 15, has spent 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. She has also served as Deputy Chef de Mission for Team GB at London 2012 and Chef de Mission for Team England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
James Pearce joined the IOC on Sept. 1. Formerly a BBC sports broadcaster, he was the BBC’s Olympics Correspondent from 2001 to 2012. Since then, he has been leading his own communications consultancy.
Julien Baehni is currently Chief of Human Resources at UEFA. After several years in the banking industry, he joined UEFA in 2009 and has led the Human Resources Department of the European football governing body since 2012. He will join the IOC on Jan. 1, 2026, and, following a transition period lasting until the end of March, will take over from Xavier Tissières as IOC Human Resources Director.
In addition, the IOC has announced that Marcus Hausen, the former Chief of Staff, has left the organization.
