Monaco, Sept 14, 2015: Newly elected IAAF President Sebastian Coe today met the entire IAAF HQ staff in Monaco. The gathering took place at the association’s new offices which are situated on Quai Antoine, Port Hercules, Monaco.
“Not only am I happy to be here, I’m relieved,” said Coe, who took office as IAAF President on Monday 31 August. “The last year has been a great test of character for all candidates for IAAF positions, whether president, council, committees and commissions. Today is one of the proudest days of my life.
“I have only had five predecessors as president, each one making an indelible mark on our sport.
“The election has been a good process. It has given the member federations the chance to decide what sport they want. I have flown 778,000 km since Christmas, meeting and listening to our member federations. I’m better prepared to serve this sport having gone through that journey.
“The IAAF is here to serve its member federations. We must be a member-federation-focused organisation at all times. They are our strength.
“I see a very bright future for athletics. To deliver this future we must ensure we are open and transparent, that we are relevant and exciting to young people.
“My job is to remove all inhibitors in this organisation so that you (IAAF staff) can do the best work of your life. So that together we can deliver a world class organisation which has respect across the sporting landscape. The IAAF must be a template for best practise and most importantly athlete centred.
“This is a dream come true to be able to shape a sport. We should wake up each morning excited to serve, knowing we have the greatest job in the world. We should be very proud that we are working in this sport. It also needs to be fun. I want people to fall in love with athletics for all the reasons we did.
“The first steps are the review of the structures and resources in Monaco. We must ensure we are an organisation fit for purpose.
“Two members of our senior management team are already known, Nick Davies will be the Director of the President’s Office and Huw Roberts will serve as the IAAF’s senior counsel. Huw is leading a review of our constitution and corporate governances as part of our modernisation process.”
Seb Coe concluded his address by reminding the staff of the Council’s endorsement of his proposal to appoint Sergey Bubka as Senior Vice President, reiterating that “my object as president is to bring the athletics family together”. —- IAAF
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