Ma Guoli, the former COO of Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, was appointed the new CEO and Managing Director of Infront China.
Robert Louis-Dreyfus, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Infront Group, said: “This is a highly significant appointment that will have considerable resonance among the sports world, in China and beyond. We are delighted that Ma has agreed to lend his considerable endorsement to our vision for the development of sport in China.”
Guoli, known for his role as founder of CCTV-5, the first sports TV channel in China, has over 20 years experience in the sports industry. He was responsible for China’s television broadcast of the 1990 and 1994 Asian Games and has worked on six Summer Games and four Winter Games in total before becoming the Chief Operating Officer of BOB. In 2000 he has been named as one of the top 50 “Most Influential People in Sport” in a survey by the Guardian newspaper in the UK.
The appointment, which will officially commence on 1 January 2009, marks the start of a new phase of development for Infront China. The company already represents China’s two top sports –football and basketball – at League and National Team level and is now embarking on its second phase of expansion, implementing a number of key strategic initiatives that will contribute to the Olympic legacy through the further development of Chinese sport.
