Team

Jérôme Pero
Secretary General
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Jérôme is Secretary General of FESI. He represents the sporting goods sector in Europe and speaks for EU companies, national federations and retailers.
Jérôme joined FESI in 2007. He became Public Policy Director in 2015 and Board Member of the European Commission European Week of Sports Advisory Group in the same year. Jérôme is also Member of the European Commission Advisory Board to improve economic and policy knowledge in the field of sport-related industries, as well as observer at the Commission’s expert groups on Green Sports and COVID recovery. He is also member of the Advisory Board of ISPO.
In 2017, he was appointed Secretary General of FESI, overseeing all the activities related to the Federation, including advocacy, planning and strategy.
Jérôme is also coordinating the work and activities related to the following committees: Digital (innovation and wearable technology), Product compliance (REACH and other chemicals legislations, consumer information), Corporate responsibility (goods practices, industry leadership, members states initiatives), and Sport (football, winter sports and promotion of physial activity).
He holds a Master’s degree in political science and European Studies from the Université libre de Bruxelles.
Jérôme is a Luxembourgish national. He is fluent in English, French, German, and Luxembourgish.

Youri Mercier
Deputy Secretary General
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Youri is Deputy Secretary General of FESI. He assists the Secretary General in the representation of the Federation.
Youri joined FESI in September 2016 as Public Policy Manager. One year later, he has been appointed Deputy Secretary General, assisting in the coordination and advocacy planning of the Federation.
Youri is also coordinating the work and activities related to the following committees: Digital (e-commerce), Trade (customs and trade preferences), and Product compliance (product safety and standards).
Before joining FESI, Youri has been policy officer at the European Branded Clothing Alliance (EBCA) and consultant at Hanover Communications.
He holds two Masters Degrees in European Studies and European Economic Law, respectively from the College of Europe (Natolin) and Science Po Paris.
He is a French national and is fluent in English. He also has some knowledge of Spanish.

Ariane Gatti
Communication & Policy Manager
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Ariane joined FESI in October 2018. As Communication and Policy Manager, she is in charge of FESI’s internal and external communication strategy. She is also responsible for coordinating the policy work of the Intellectual Property Rights and Physical Activity task forces.
In 2021, she was elected Chair of the Communication working group of the All policies for a healthy Europe Alliance Coalition.
Before joining FESI, Ariane worked for two years in a European public affairs consultancy in Brussels, where she specialised in intellectual property right and communication.
She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Ariane is a French national. She is fluent in English and has a good command of German and Spanish.

Katarzyna Sulisz
Sustainability Policy Officer
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Katarzyna joined FESI in March 2022 as Sustainability Policy Officer. As such, she is responsible for organising and coordinating the activities related to FESI’s Corporate Responsibility Committee. She oversees the following areas: Sustainable development, circular economy, supply chain, transparency, and due diligence.
Before joining FESI, she worked in the textile industry in the buying department and on project management for European projects. Katarzyna studied International Economic Relations at the University of Gdańsk. She also holds a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities from Warsaw University, with specialisation in International Trade Relations and in Fashion Product and Production Management from Istituto Marangoni.
A Polish national, Katarzyna is fluent in English and possesses a good command of Spanish.

Pauline Paganon
Office & Projects coordinator
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Pauline joined FESI in November 2019 as Office and Project Coordinator. As such, she is reponsible of assisting the team by ensuring the efficient administration of FESI’s office and logistical needs. Her reponsibilities also include finding new opportunities for European projects partnerships.
Before joining FESI, Pauline worked as a policy officer for a public affairs consultancy in Brussels.
She graduated in European affairs from Sciences Po Lyon (France) and studied for one year at the Free University of Berlin.
Pauline is a French national. She speaks English, German and Italian.

Lorenzo Salaorni
Communication & Policy Intern
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Lorenzo joined FESI in March 2023 as Policy & Communication Intern. He is therefore in charge of assisting FESI’s efforts in several steering committees as well as in communications.
Lorenzo holds a Master’s degree in Comparative International Relations from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Before joining FESI, Lorenzo had prior professional experience with both EU and regional institutions as well as diplomatic representations.
He is an Italian national, and is fluent in English and Spanish, and has a good command of German.