Brussels, 4 December 2019
Today, the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Narriman as its new President. The vote took place during FESI’s annual General Assembly at the Brussels’ headquarters of the Federation. General Counsel of Intellectual Property at Puma since 2012, Neil Narriman has also served as FESI Vice-President and Chair of FESI IPR task force for several years.
Neil Narriman joined Puma in 2006 and heads up Puma’s Intellectual Property function for seven years. Elected FESI President for a three-year term, Neil Narriman succeeds Frank A. Dassler, the heir of the founding family of adidas and Puma, who played a key role in the evolution of the Federation. Being successively President in 2010 and 2017, Frank A. Dassler leaves an indelible mark on the history of FESI and the sporting goods industry.
“I am very honored and proud to have been chosen by the members of our General Assembly as the new President of FESI”, declared Neil Narriman. “I would also like to congratulate and thank my predecessor Frank A. Dassler for all the work he has done over the past years and I hope to be up to the major projects that lie ahead of us in the future”, he added.
As new President, one of his key tasks will be to accomplish the Federation’s priorities for the next three years, including the promotion of free fair and sustainable trade between the EU and its key trading partners, the development and acceleration of circularity principles in the sporting goods sector and the creation of an adequate legal framework for the digital transformation in Europe.
“As General Counsel Intellectual Property at Puma, I’m also committed to continue working towards a more effective fight against counterfeiting, a scourge that threatens consumers, jobs, the environment and costs our industry in Europe €300 million each year. In this regard, future discussions on the Digital Services Act will be crucial and I am confident that our team in Brussels will ensure that our sector remains a key part of the debate”, he declared.
In fact, the central topic of digitalisation will be addressed the following day during a high-level conference organised by FESI, focusing on the digital transformation of sports companies.
“The election of Neil the day before our conference and at the start of the new Commission’s term of office is an excellent timing. We are delighted to see that the topic chosen for our conference, digitalisation, is also one of President Von der Leyen’s top priorities”, commented Jérôme Pero, FESI Secretary General. “The entire team looks forward to working with our new President to ensure that the priorities of our industry are at the heart of the political debates of this new mandate,” he concluded.
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About FESI: Founded in 1960 FESI – the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry represents the interests of approximately 1.800 sporting goods manufacturers (85% of the European market) through its National Sporting Goods Industry Federations and its directly affiliated member companies. 70-75% of FESI’s membership is made up of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. In total, the European Sporting Goods Industry employs over 700.000 EU citizens and has an annual turnover of some 81 billion euro.
Contact: Ariane Gatti, FESI Communication Officer / [email protected] /+32 274 08 94
