Ari Vatanen has today announced the seven candidates for vice-presidents for mobility who support him in his candidacy for the presidential elections of the FIA, due to take place on October 23rd.

Should the representatives of the FIA's member clubs chose to elect the former World Rally Champion as the new President, the Finn will be backed by Ivan Dibos from Peru, Mike Harris from Australia, Earl Jarrett from Jamaica, Niklaus Lundsgaard-Hansen from Switzerland, Peter Meyer from Germany, Tim Shearman from Canada and Maria Spetz from Sweden.

"This is a first-class team and all its members came on board spontaneously because they all want to make a change together with me", says Ari Vatanen. "We have people from all regions, north and south, east and west, bigger and smaller clubs, so the team is well-balanced. I am particularly happy for two reasons: firstly because we have also a lady (Maria Spetz) on the team and secondly that Jamaica has chosen to join us. The first ever rally I drove outside of Finland was actually in Jamaica, back in 1975, so I have something like a sweet spot for Jamaica - which by the way has a successful track record in sports, too! I feel that it is a big circle in life closing."

Ivan Dibos had many achievements as a sportsman himself. He also enjoyed successful careers in business and politics (among others, Mayor of Lima 1993-1995). Moreover, he has many years of experience in sports administration with many functions in national organisations in Peru. He has been member of various commissions of the International Olympic Committee and was Chef de Mission of the Olympic Team of Peru for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Sydney in 2000. Ivan studied business administration at the University of Detroit and the Dorsey Business School in Detroit and followed additional studies at the Lima Higher Institute of Business Administration and the Centre of Military Studies.

Mike Harris is Chief Executive of the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), the national body of the motoring clubs and associations of Australia - who collectively provide services to over 6 million members. Mike has been a member of the World Council for the Automobile Mobility and Tourism since 2007. From 2007 he has been a member of the Executive Committee for Region II, for two years as a Vice President and currently as Treasurer. Mike is a member of the Mobility and Road Safety Commission of the FIA and an active contributor to the development of public policy for the FIA. In 2008 Mike was appointed as a member of the Statutes Working group that examined proposed revisions to the Statutes of the FIA. Mike has been a senior public servant in Australia with a career spanning more than 25 years. Mike has held a number of other senior positions in the public service in Treasury and Transport in both Western Australia and Tasmania over a long career. Mike holds a degree in economics from the University of Tasmania and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Earl Jarrett joined the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) in May 1997 and was appointed General Manager in October 1999. He has guided its expansion to become the Caribbean's largest building society; repositioned the Society as the third largest financial institution in Jamaica; and expanded its operations overseas as a multinational. The Jamaica Automobile Association belongs to the JN Group. Earl Jarrett is the Honorary Secretary of The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ); Member of the National Council of Jamaica, Order of St John; Member of The University of the West Indies Mona Campus Council and he is the Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).

Niklaus Lundsgaard-Hansen has been elected in June 2008 to the position of central President of the Touring Club Suisse. Lawyer and business consultant, he is a partner in the Berne-based firm of Gullotti & Partner, Management and Consulting Services. Previously, he had been with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he headed the "Public Services Industry Switzerland" market for 10 years. In his capacity as personal assistant of Federal Minister Adolf Ogi, he was responsible for monitoring many issues in the field of transport policy. He has a deep knowledge of the Swiss mobility policy as well as of the international one. Elected Member of the FIA Automobile Mobility & Tourism Region I Management Council and Euroboard and nominated for the World Council for Automobile Mobility & Tourism, he is very sensitive to the challenges that automobile clubs must face in matters of freedom of mobility, security and sustainable motoring.

Peter Meyer was elected as President of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club ADAC in 2001. Previously, he was member of the board of the Automobilclub Mülheim an der Ruhr e.V. In 2005, he became a member of the FIA Senate and the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism. In the same year, he also became a member of the FIA Euroboard and the FIA Region I Management Council. Peter Meyer has a degree in business management and has also been chairman of the ADAC Nordrhein since 2005.

Tim Shearman was appointed President of the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) in December 2007 after joining CAA in 2004 as Vice President of Corporate Affairs. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Tim also holds an MBA in International Business from McMaster University. He began his career as a financial analyst with a telecom firm before transferring his skills to the banking world where he held a series of progressively senior management positions. In his time at CAA, Tim has earned a reputation for working collaboratively with National Office staff, with Club CEOs and staff, and external stakeholder groups. In addition to his duties with CAA, Tim serves as a Board Director for the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), Trustee of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, and previously served as a Director with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa from 1998-2007.

Maria Spetz was appointed CEO of the Motormännens Riksforbund (The Swedish Automobile Association ) in 2003. She has an MBA from the Stockholm University/IHR. Before accepting the actual position in Motormännen, she had a long career in international business development management within organisations and corporations such as Solna Offset, Bolin&Stromberg Consulting Group, VenCap AB, Minnesota Trade Office, External Affairs/ National Research Council Canadian Government.

The most recent position before joining the Club was as vice president and responsible for business development consultancy services in ALMI Business Partners, one of Sweden's largest venture capital and consulting companies.