WORLD SQUASH NEWS

WSF Appoints Christian Leighton As New CEO

The World Squash Federation (WSF) has announced the appointment of Christian Leighton as Chief Executive of the Federation, starting 10 January 2005.

Leighton, 34, was born in Chile but has resided in Caracas since the age of four, having joint Chilean and Venezuelan nationality.  From the age of ten to fourteen, he lived in Cambridge, England, where his parents were studying for Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy degrees.  There he added fluent English to his native Spanish.

Leighton has a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters Degree, cum laude, in Oil Refining, Gas and Petrochemistry.  After teaching thermodynamics at the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, he joined Procter and Gamble as a Research and Development Engineer in 1995.  Following a successful career in R&D, which included assignments in Colombia, USA and Japan, Leighton switched to the marketing function in 2000.  He is now working as Senior Brand Manager for the Feminine Care Global Business Unit.

Although practising many sports, Leighton claims to be addicted to Squash, Tennis and Skiing. His reaction to the appointment was totally positive:  "Squash is one of the great sports of the world and there is a tremendous job to be done in making it even more widespread and successful.  The potential is enormous," said the new appointee.

"I consider this job as a classic marketing challenge.  To develop the sport of squash, the top priority has to be to create a business model from which all parties benefit.  The public should know and enjoy following the sport; the players need to earn more money from playing tournaments; the media need to benefit from more coverage (especially on television); the national federations need to have more resources to successfully implement development strategies; and squash equipment companies need to view the sport as a key growth opportunity," Leighton explained.

"To get into this ascending spiral, in which everyone benefits, we need the top squash organisations to work together with a common goal in mind.  We need to work as a team - and we need to challenge what the game is today.  Evolving the game will almost certainly be required to make it more marketable.

"There are two reasons why I have accepted the challenge to head the WSF:  First of all, fundamentally, the job consists of making a great sport a larger part of people's lives.  I could not think of a more constructive objective in one's work.  There is a true sense of social responsibility - of doing something positive for society.  And that is vitally important to me," Leighton emphasised.

"Secondly, squash has been a large part of my life ever since first coming across a court, some 11 years ago.  At first, it was simply another sport to throw into the mix.  Nowadays, it is my main source of release, stamina and recreation.  It is so much more than a hobby.   Playing squash is a fun way to develop key abilities such as concentration, perseverance and patience.  Socialisation and friendship are at the heart of the game.  I want to help deliver these benefits to people around the world," concluded the WSF's CEO-in-waiting.

Leighton will take up the new job one month before the retirement of the current Chief Executive, Ted Wallbutton, who has been in the post for fourteen years.  The WSF is currently based in Hastings, East Sussex, and will remain in the UK.  Leighton will initially operate from Hastings, while evaluating future locational options.