06/02/2022
NEWS STORY
In his first meeting of the World Motor Sport council since his election in December, Mohammed Ben Sulayem set out his plan to overhaul the organisation's governance.
"A new era has begun for the FIA, through the creation of a governance framework founded on openness and global diversity," he said. "This is a key pillar of our strategy and I warmly thank the World Councils' members, who have approved the changes.
"Responsibility and authority of World Councils, which emanate from our members, will be increased," he continued. "A more effective oversight model will be designed, stakeholders' priorities will be aligned, and a responsibly profitable FIA operation will be ensured.
"To reach these objectives, the Federation's governing bodies and administration will work closely together to make the FIA the global voice of motor sport and mobility."
To this end, three working groups have been established to assist in the CEO recruitment, Governance and Financial reviews, with two members of each World Council appointed to sit on each of the groups.
The objective of the CEO recruitment Working Group is to assist the presidential team in determining the key attributes required of a CEO to manage the operational affairs of the Federation.
The aim being help select an executive search firm, establish a budget and timeframe for the CEO recruitment, and recommend a shortlist of candidates to the World Councils and the Senate.
The objective of the Governance review Working Group is to assist the presidential team in its review of current FIA Governance and Structure and to make recommendations for changes going forward.
The aim being to help select a third-party governance consultant, establish a budget and timeframe for the review and recommend any actions to the World Councils and the Senate.
The review Working Group will identify the most important issues associated with FIA's governance structure, prioritize efforts to delve into remedies for these challenges, and develop roadmaps to address these issues.
The objective of the Financial review Working Group is to assist the presidential team in its review of current FIA financial practices and to make recommendations for any changes going forward.
The aim being to help select a third-party audit firm, establish a budget and timeframe for the review and recommend any actions to the World Councils and the Senate.
The Financial review Working Group will identify the most important issues associated with FIA's financial practices to determine if there are any changes necessary.
This Working Group will be co-chaired by the Deputy President for Sport and the Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism.
The group will be comprised of the co-Chairs, President of the Senate and two members from each of the World Councils.
The next meeting of the World Motor Sport Council is 19 March in Bahrain, at which time the result of the investigation into the events in Abu Dhabi will be made public... assuming Peter Bayer, the man leading the investigation, doesn't reveal all to a journalist in the meantime.