Sergey Fursenko

Nationality: Russian
Date of birth: 11 March 1954
Executive Committee member since: 2011

Current UEFA roles
Executive Committee (member)
Marketing Advisory Committee (chairman)
Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee (deputy chairman)

• Born and raised in the former Leningrad – now St Petersburg – Sergey Fursenko worked as a scientist, then moved into business, heading up a TV production company from 1998 and then moving on to the board of a major natural gas company in 2003.

• President of FC Zenit St Petersburg from 2006-08, he was elected as president of the Russian Football Union (RFS) on 3 February 2010, playing a leading role in the decision to switch the Russian season to the autumn-spring format favoured in Europe's top leagues. He served in the post until June 2012.

• A crucial success came as Russia earned the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup under his presidency. Fursenko said of his footballing philisophy: "I feel my responsibility in football is to develop our beautiful game and bring hope to those less fortunate than ourselves. This is what I believe to be the essence of fair play and solidarity throughout the world."