Director of governance and regulation Pierre Ketterer and head of legal affairs Edward Floydd, both involved in the F1 Concorde negotiations on behalf of the FIA, have left the governing body.
Ketterer, who will take up a new role at the International Olympic Committee in April, joined the FIA in 2010 and has long been considered one of its most prominent lawyers. Over the years he has represented the governing body in disciplinary cases both in F1 and across the sporting spectrum, as well as in external matters, and has also been heavily involved in compliance matters.
Under former president Jean Todt, Ketterer had led the negotiations on behalf of the FIA for the current Concordat Agreement, valid until 2026, as well as having created the FIA's judicial and disciplinary rules in 2011. Added to this is the key role in the development of the code of conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic which allowed the resumption of the F1 championship in 2020.
The 45-year-old's departure was formally confirmed to teams at Monday's F1 Commission meeting in London. “I will miss Pierre personally and professionally,” FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told Motorsport.com. “I have known him for 14 years, long before becoming president of the FIA. I have always found him meticulous in his commitment to serving the Federation and our members.”
“He was a prominent and well-respected figure in our organisation. I would like to thank him for his invaluable contribution and his unwavering professionalism. I am sure that with the team that Pierre has put in place, the governance and regulatory affairs of the FIA are in good hands.”
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA
Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images
“He has decided to take a new direction for his career after years of faithful service, and I wish him well in his new role.”
“I'm passionate about sports and joining the IOC is kind of a dream,” Ketterer told Motorsport.com. “I spent 14 years at the FIA and I wanted to look for new challenges in another sports organisation, I really wanted to stay in sport.”
“It is a bittersweet moment for me, because I am very sorry to leave the automotive sector and leave colleagues and friends. I have a very important relationship with the President, I know it is difficult to earn his trust and in the last two years we have worked well together.”
Floydd was the principal civil and commercial legal advisor to the FIA and was the principal negotiator and legal advisor for the agreements with the promoters of the championships and, as such, also participated in the discussions on the Concorde Agreement.
Ketterer and Floydd join a growing number of people who have left the FIA in recent months for unrelated reasons, a list which notably includes former F1 sporting director Steve Nielsen and technical director Tim Goss.
Goss was recently appointed by the RB team as their future technical director, where he will join another recent exit from the FIA, former Formula E technical director Alessandra Ciliberti, who has become responsible for the Faenza team's design process.
Deborah Mayer, who was president of the Women in Motorsport Commission, chose not to renew her contract at the end of last year.
Tim Goss is among those who have recently left the FIA
Photo credit: Sutton Images
Many other lower-profile F1 staff have also left their roles, but the FIA has also made hires during a restructuring process under the leadership of Ben Sulayem.
“The FIA has undergone a large-scale transformation over the last 12 months,” a spokesperson told Motorsport.com.
“We have created 10 new departments to restructure the Federation and make it more suitable for the future. While there are people leaving for other opportunities, we have also welcomed new additions, such as the three new hires to the management team of recent months, namely the chief legal officer, the chief commercial officer and the senior director for sustainability and EDI [uguaglianza, diversità e inclusione]. We have also added numerous collaborators to key roles in sports and mobility.”
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