Executive Committee

Our 16-member Executive Committee is delegated by WADA’s Foundation Board (Board) to manage the running of the Agency, including the performance of activities and the administration of assets. This also includes taking all decisions that are not reserved by WADA’s Statutes to the Board. Representatives of the Olympic Movement and of the Public Authorities are appointed by their respective constituency groups.

[Currently, over one-third (7/16) of the Executive Committee is made up of active or former international-level athletes.]

Independent President and Vice-President

Mr. Witold Bańka

President

Mr. Witold Bańka

President

Effective January 2020, Witold Bańka commenced in his role as President of WADA. Prior to this, since May 2017, Mr. Bańka served as the European representative on WADA’s Executive Committee in his capacity as Minister of Sport and Tourism, Poland.

In November 2015, Mr. Bańka was appointed Minister of Sport and Tourism, Poland, to the cabinet of Prime Minister Beata Szydło; and, in December 2017, he was reappointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. In this role, Mr. Bańka initiated the amendment of the Act on Sport that’s main objective was to increase transparency of the work of Polish sports associations; and, to eradicate corruption and nepotism from sport. He is the author of the bill on the Fight Against Doping in Sport, which comprehensively regulates all matters relating to combating doping in Poland.

Prior to entering politics, Mr. Bańka worked in the public relations sector, delivering training courses in media relations and reputation management. In this capacity, he also created advertising campaigns and built PR strategies with leading Polish companies.

As a 400-meter runner, Mr. Bańka represented Poland internationally from 2005 – 2012, with career highlights that included: silver medals in 2005 and 2006 at the Polish Athletics Junior Championships; a relay gold in 2005 at the European Athletics Junior Championships in Erfurt, Germany; a gold and a silver medal in 2007 and 2009 respectively at the Summer Universiade in Bangkok, Thailand and those in Belgrade, Serbia; and, a bronze medal in 2007 at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan.

Mr. Bańka was born in October 1984 in Tychy, Poland; and, graduated with a degree in political science from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. While he retired from elite sport in 2012, he is still very active in sport, including running marathons.
Ms. Yang Yang

Vice-President
Ms. Yang Yang

Vice-President
China

Three-time Olympian in short track speed skating (2006, 2002, 1998);

China’s first-ever Winter Olympic Games Gold Medalist (2x) (2002); Silver Medalist (2002, 1998); Bronze Medalist (2006)

Six-time overall World Champion (1997-2002)

Founder, Champion Foundation

Founder, Feiyang Skating Academy

Independent Members

Ms Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni

Italy

Former Deputy Secretary General, Council of Europe (2012-2021)
Former Director General of Programmes, Council of Europe (2011-2012)
Former Director General of Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport, Council of Europe (2004-2011)
Recipient, Order of Merit, Italy; Knight, Legion of Honour, France; Order of Saint Agatha, Republic of San Marino; Order of the Rising Sun, Japan

Ms. Venetia Bennett

Australia

Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Member, National Sports Tribunal
Past-President, Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association
Panel Member, Immediation (on-line dispute resolution platform)

Dr. Patricia Sangenis

Argentina

Director of Sport and Health of Buenos Aires
Fellow Member of the American College of Sports Medicine
Former Executive Committee Member, International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS)
Former Member, IOC Medical and Scientific Commission
Former Chair, Women in Sport Commission of the Argentina Olympic Committee

Athlete Council Chair

Mr. Ryan Pini

Papua New Guinea

Four-time Olympian in swimming (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist (2006); Silver Medalist (2010)
Executive Board Member, Papua New Guinea National Olympic Committee
Chair, Papua New Guinea Athletes Commission
Executive Board Member, Pacific Games Council
Athletes Committee Member, World Aquatics

Olympic Movement

(In alphabetical order by organization)

ANOC Representative

Mr. Jiri Kejval
IOC Member
President, Czech Olympic Committee
Czech Republic

Former international-level rower
Member of ANOC Medical Commission
Member, IOC Commissions (Chair, Marketing; IOC Television and Marketing Services; Coordination for the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

ASOIF Representative

Mr. Ingmar De Vos
IOC Member
FEI President
Belgium

Executive Committee Member, SportAccord
Council Member, ASOIF, GAISF
Member, ASOIF Governance Taskforce
Member, IOC Commissions (Legal Affairs; Coordination of the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad Los Angeles 2028; Women in Sport)
President, International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC)
Member, Board of Directors of the National Olympic Committee of Belgium

IOC Representatives

Prof. Ugur Erdener
IOC Member
World Archery President
Turkey

Member, IOC Commissions (Chair, Medical and Scientific Commission; Commission for the Coordination of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024)
President, Turkish Olympic Committee

Mr. Nenad Lalovic
IOC Member
UWW President
Serbia

IOC Executive Board Member, Member of IOC Olympic Solidarity Commission, Member of Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions
Executive Board Member, ASOIF
Executive Board Member, Olympic Committee of Serbia

IOC Athletes' Commission Representative

Mr. Humphrey Kayange Emonyi
IOC Member
IOC Athletes' Commission Member
Kenya

Olympian in rubgy (rugby sevens) (2016)
Champions (Kenya) of the 2016 Singapore Sevens of the 2015-16 World Rugby Sevens Series

Public Authorities

(In alphabetical order by region)

Africa Representative

Ms Minata Samate Cessouma
Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development
African Union

Former State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, in charge of Regional Cooperation, Burkina Faso

Americas Representative

Dr. Rahul Gupta
Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
United States

Asia Representative

Dr. Koji Murofushi
Commissioner, Japan Sports Agency
Japan

Four-time Olympian in hammer throw (2012, 2008, 2004, 2000); Gold Medalist (2004); Bronze Medalist (2012)
World Championships in Athletics Gold Medalist (2011); Silver Medalist (2001); Bronze Medalist (2003);
Asian Games Gold Medalist (2002, 1998); Silver Medalist (1994)
Senior Specially Appointed Professor at Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Europe Representative

Ms Roxana Maracineanu
France

Former Minister of Sport
Former international-level swimmer (backstroke)
Olympian Silver Medalist, 200m backstroke (2000)
Gold Medalist, 200m backstroke, World Aquatics Championships (1998)
Officer of the National Order of Merit (France)

Oceania Representative

Ms. Anika Wells
Minister for Sport
Australia

Executive Committee

Independent President and Vice-President

Related resources