Johan Eliasch (born February 1962) is a Swedish-British businessman, investor, and environmentalist.[1] He was the chief executive of Head, a sporting goods company, from 1995 to 2021, and is now its chairman. In 2006, he co-founded Cool Earth, a charity dedicated to rainforest conservation.[2] Under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Eliasch served as the Prime Minister's special representative for deforestation and clean energy. Since June 2021, he is the president of the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3] Since 24 July 2024 he is a member of the International Olympic Committee and, in September 2024, was announced as one of seven candidates in the running for its presidency.[4]

Early life

Johan Eliasch was born in February 1962,[5] in Djursholm, Sweden.[6] His grandfather, G. A. Svensson, was a leading Swedish industrialist.[7] He graduated in Stockholm with a Master of Science from the Royal Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Stockholm University. Eliasch served in a specialist unit at the Life-Guard Dragoons, K1, Stockholm, Sweden (1980-81.)[8][9]

Career

Eliasch began his career in turning around companies in 1985, when he joined the London-based private equity firm Tufton Group.[7] In 1991, he established his own private investment group, Equity Partners.[7]

In 1995, Eliasch took over Head Tyrolia Mares,[7] the sporting goods company now known as Head; he was the Chief Executive Officer of Head from 1995 to 2021.[10]

In June 2021, Eliasch was elected as president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) at the 52nd International Ski Congress, succeeding Gian-Franco Kasper, who had run the organisation for 23 years.[11] Eliasch stepped down as CEO of Head after his election.[10] At the 53rd International Ski Congress in May 2022, Eliasch ran unopposed and was re-elected as FIS president through 2026 winning 70 out of 100 votes.[12][13]

He is chairman of Equity Partners,[7] and has been on the board of directors of Aman Resorts[14] and Longleat.[8] He is the chairman of the Saatchi Gallery.[15]

He was an advisory board member of the Shimon Peres Peace Centre, World Peace Foundation, the Centre for Social Justice, Societe du Louvre and the British Olympic Association, a member of the Mayor of London's (Boris Johnson), Jerusalem's and Rome's International Business Advisory Councils.[8] He was chairman of Starr Managing Agents, Investcorp Europe[16] and the Aman Resorts Group.[17] He was a director of London Films Productions Limited from August 2016 to January 2017.[18]

The Sunday Times Rich List puts him in number 46 of UK's richest in 2024 with a net worth estimated at £4 billion.[19]

In September 2024, he was announced as one of seven candidates in the running to succeed Thomas Bach as International Olympic Committee president.[20]

Environmental causes

In 2005, Eliasch created the Rainforest Trust and purchased for preservation purposes a 400,000-acre (1,600 km2) rainforest area in the heart of the Amazon rainforest near the Madeira River.[21] He then reportedly closed down the rainforest logging operations in that area.[22]

In 2006, he co-founded Cool Earth, a charity he co-chairs, which sponsors local NGOs to conserve endangered rainforest and has over 120,000 registered members.[23]

Under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Eliasch served as the Prime Minister's special representative for deforestation and clean energy.[24] In 2007 he was commissioned by HM Government to undertake an independent review on the role of international finance mechanisms to preserve the global forests in tackling climate change, The Eliasch Review, which was launched in October 2008.[25][26] The Eliasch Review has served as a guideline for REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) as part of the international climate change convention. [27]

In June 2008, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources began an investigation into a company acquired by Eliasch for alleged illegal deforestation prior to his ownership.[28][29] The company responded that its logging "had been certified to have been done under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines since 2000."[30] The investigation ended in 2013 with the conclusion that there was no basis for legal or administrative action.[31][32]

Eliasch is currently a director of the Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment, a non-profit, international organisation,[33] an advisory board member for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Polar Regions, and Brasilinvest.[8][34] He is an advisory board member of the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative[35] and previously served on the International Advisory Board of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.[36]

He chaired the 2021–22 HM Treasury net zero review technology and innovation advisory group,[16][37] RUSI's Food, Energy and Water security program, and was a member of the DEFRA Council for Sustainable Business.[16]

Political activity

Starting in 1997, Eliasch served the Conservative Party in different roles, including as Deputy Treasurer, Advisor to the Leader and Advisor to the Shadow Foreign Secretary.[38] He was appointed as a non-political special representative of Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown on deforestation and clean energy.[39][40]

Eliasch was a member of the Austrian president's delegation of State for Trade and Industry (1996–2006). He was chairman of the Young Conservatives Party in Djursholm, Sweden, from 1979–1982.[41]

Eliasch met Prince Andrew, Duke of York in the 1990s and organised a charity tennis match at Buckingham Palace between John McEnroe and Björn Borg.[42] He was a director along with the Duke of a company called Naples Gold.[43][44]

In 2006, Eliasch co-founded the Global Strategy Forum with the late Rt Hon Michael Ancram, the Marquess of Lothian,[45] and became the foundation's first president.[46]

Personal life

He was married to Amanda Eliasch, a photographer and filmmaker, from 1988 to 2006; they have two sons.[47] Their son Charles Eliasch is an opera singer.[48]

References

  1. ^ Eliasch, Johan. "About". Johan Eliasch. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ^ Clarke, David. "UK's Brown names opposition donor as green adviser". Reuters. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  3. ^ "FIS Presidents". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  4. ^ "IOC presidential candidates pitch to Olympic voters in quirky closed-door event". AP News. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  5. ^ "Johan ELIASCH - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  6. ^ Opitz, Caspar (10 May 2006). "Svensk räddar skog för 100 miljoner". DN.SE. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e Wherry, Rob (20 March 2000). "Head's up". Forbes. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d "Johan Eliasch". cps.org.uk. Centre for Policy Research. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  9. ^ Taylor, Matthew; White, Michael (2 September 2007). "Big Tory donor quits citing party's move to the right". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b Houston, Michael (14 June 2021). "New FIS President Eliasch steps down as chief executive of HEAD". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Johan Eliasch". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  12. ^ "FIS prez aims to unite after bruising election win". ESPN.com. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  13. ^ "CAS appeal against FIS President's re-election withdrawn by protesting countries". 13 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  14. ^ Rizzo, Lillian (14 March 2016). "Aman Resorts Owner Doronin Scores Legal Wins in Long-Running Dispute". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Big Changes at Britain's Saatchi Gallery, as Visitor Numbers Slide". The New York Times. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  16. ^ a b c "Johan Eliasch". World Economic Forum.
  17. ^ "Johan Eliasch has been appointed Chairman at Aman Group". Hospitality Net.
  18. ^ "LONDON FILM PRODUCTIONS LIMITED people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
  19. ^ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2024". www.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Seven candidates announced for IOC presidency". olympics.com. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  21. ^ Chittenden, Maurice (13 September 2006). "It's my rainforest now. No logging". The Sunday Times.[dead link‍]
  22. ^ "The Man Who Bought a Forest". The Guardian. 4 April 2006.
  23. ^ O’Neill, Sean (7 September 2007). "Green campaigner and businessman who despaired of ineffective politics". The Times. p. T7. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  24. ^ Russell, Ben. "Johan Eliasch: A multimillionaire with a conscience". The Independent. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  25. ^ Peel, Lilly (16 October 2008). "Business big shot". The Times. London. p. T43. Factiva T000000020081016e4ag0003r. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  26. ^ "Eliasch Review on International deforestation published |". www.wired-gov.net.
  27. ^ Hayden, Lisa (2010). Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) (PDF). Arlington, Virginia: The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and Wildlife Conservation Society.
  28. ^ "Johan Eliasch, Gordon Brown consultant, fined for illegal Amazon logging". 7 June 2008. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  29. ^ "Ibama multa madeireira de milionário sueco em R$ 450 mi no Amazonas - 06/06/2008 - Poder". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  30. ^ "Em nota, madeireira Gethal nega práticas ilegais na Amazônia - 07/06/2008 - Últimas Notícias". noticias.uol.com.br. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Fairness bei BLICK". Blick (in German). 9 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  32. ^ "Cancellation of Fines by IBAMA - 2013". False Media Reports on Deforestation Claims. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  33. ^ "Board of Directors". freefutures.org. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  34. ^ "The Brasilinvest Group, created in 1975 by the businessman Mario Garnero, is the first private development agency installed in Brazil (...)", Brazilivest[permanent dead link‍]
  35. ^ "Advisory Board - Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative". www.schwarzeneggerclimateinitiative.com.
  36. ^ "International advisory board". www.stockholmresilience.org.
  37. ^ Net Zero Review Analysis exploring the key issues (PDF). UK: HM Treasury. 2021. p. 128. ISBN 9781911686316.
  38. ^ White, Michael; Taylor, Matthew (2 September 2007). "Big Tory donor quits citing party's move to the right". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  39. ^ "A valuable collection of talents". the Guardian. 7 September 2007.
  40. ^ "Johan Eliasch: Don't let politics prevent us from saving the planet". The Independent. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  41. ^ "Johan Eliasch Political activity". www.famous-people.net.
  42. ^ Hellen, Nicholas; Ungoed-Thomas, Jon (16 February 2003). "Swedish sports tycoon backs Tories with £1m". The Times. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  43. ^ Ziegler, Martyn (7 March 2020). "Prince Andrew associate in line for skiing presidency". The Times. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  44. ^ "Naples Gold Limited". Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  45. ^ "About Global Strategy Forum | Global Strategy Forum".
  46. ^ "Staff & Advisory Board member Biographies". globalstrategyforum.org. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  47. ^ "All Tamara's parties". the Guardian. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  48. ^ "20-Year-Old Charles Eliasch Makes His Opera Debut at Carnegie Hall". HuffPost. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Eliasch
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