Over the last 8 months, the new LEN Bureau has embraced its mission to bring sustainable reform and positive change to European Aquatics.
At the last Congress in Antalya, delegates from the LEN member federation, were informed about the impressive progress of action related to the 4 pillars of the LEN Strategic Action Plan, with Pillar 1 “Integrity, Transparency and Governance” impressing with 8 out of 8 priority actions already complete.
While none of this would be possible without the hard work and expert knowledge of LEN Bureau members, they are strongly supported by representatives of LEN Member Federations, who are ready to commit their time and their own experience for the good of the sport.
A perfect example of the “unsung heroes” working hard behind the scenes is Jouni Karvo, Vice-President of the Finnish Federation.
A key member of the LEN Pillar 1 reform team, Jouni was nominated in June as a member of the Supervisory Council of the new FINA Independent Integrity Unit (which will be officially operational on 1 January 2023 after the FINA congress in Melbourne).
Jouni is also, like all key players in the Aquatics community, passionate and knowledgeable about the sport, with long experience in Finland as a competition manager and international level referee. But in addition, he also brings unrivalled expertise from the world of business.
He has worked as a business analyst, management consultant, corporate financier and advisor with start-up’s, growth companies, small and medium sized corporations, as well as local, multi local and global companies. At present he is working as a board professional with 9 companies, mostly as the chairperson.
LEN (and the Finnish federation) can now benefit from Jouni’s 40 years’ experience in advising customers in strategy design and execution, business planning, development and performance enhancement.
And there’s no doubt that these skills are inherently transferable. One of LEN’s priorities under the new bureau management was to become more business-like in approach.
As President Antonio Silva says:
“As this new LEN era unfolds, in alignment with FINA reform, it is vital that we can count on the support of dedicated volunteers like Jouni, who are not only passionate about sport but who have the background and skill set to help us achieve our ambitious plans. With Jouni already a key part of the FINA Reform process, it made perfect sense for LEN to invite Jouni to contribute to the final structure and mandate of LEN’s own independent Integrity Unit.”
There’s no doubt that Jouni Karvo’s knowledge and input will continue to be crucial and underline the importance of close co-operation between LEN and elected officials from National Federations.
