Urs Lehmann Resigns as CEO of FIS Ahead of Bitter Presidential Election
7th June 2026
There has been a move by some of the major ski nations to oust the current FIS President Johan Eliasch. Now the CEO has stepped down after reported disagreements with Eliasch.
NEW
The election takes place later this week on Thursday 11th June at the FIS Congress in Belgrade in Serbia.
The result of the election will set the direction of travel for FIS in the years ahead.
The announcement of the departure of Lehmann was made in a short statement from the International Ski & Snowboard Federation:
“The International Ski and Snowboard Federation confirms that Urs Lehmann has stepped down from his position as Chief Executive Officer.
“FIS benefits from strong governance structures, an experienced management team, and a clear strategic framework approved by its governing bodies.
“The organization continues to implement measures designed to strengthen its long-term sustainability and further develop skiing and snowboarding worldwide.”
As reported by the Swiss newspaper, Blick, there has been a growing rift between Lehmann and Johan Eliasch.
According to Blick, there was no agreement on finances and Lehmann warned of the possible bankruptcy of FIS.
Some commentators believe that Lehmann is now hoping that Eliasch will not win the election this week and that he will be re-appointed as FIS CEO by a new president.
Urs Lehmann took on the newly created role of CEO at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation in August last year after being president of the Swiss Ski Federation.
Eliasch is a Swedish-British billionaire and boss of Head.
He has been FIS president since 2022, but he is a controversial figure and viewed by some as authoritarian and lacking in democratic principles.
Others say firm leadership is needed to force through change in an old-fashioned organisation with too many vested interests.
We have reported on the upcoming election and the bitter internal rows earlier on PlanetSKI:
Ski athletes including Marco Odermatt and Mikaela Shiffrin have voiced concerns about how FIS has been run under Eliasch.
“We have to say that not much has gone forward in recent years. I have also learned from insiders that the FIS has developed anything but positively in terms of finances. And that’s why there’s not much left but to make a change at the top of the FIS,” said overall World Cup winner Marco Odermatt.
“Many of us athletes feel that the FIS and the current leadership have shown a significant lack of transparency,” said Mikaela Shiffrin.
The head of GB Snowsport, Vikky Gosling, is in the election to run the International Ski & Snowboard Federation.
Candidate List:
- Johan Eliasch (GEO)
- Anna Harboe Falkenberg (DEN)
- Victoria Gosling (GBR)
- Alexander Ospelt (LIE)
- Dexter Paine (USA)
For further details of the upcoming election see this earlier PlanetSKI article:
All candidature documents are available here.
PlanetSKI: Number 1 for digital ski news
Your digital platform for ski news, resort information, travel, equipment rental, sport, money saving deals and everything connected with snowsports – web site, social media & more.
