Ottavio Cinquanta

Who is Ottavio Cinquanta?

Ottavio Cinquanta, is President of the International Skating Union and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

He has held the ISU position since 1994 and the IOC position since 1996.

In 2000 he was elected member of the IOC Executive Committee, position that he has held until 2008.

Prior to becoming ISU President he was ISU Vice President and before the Chair of its Technical Committee for Short Track Speed Skating.

Cinquanta grew up in Milan, Italy, where he practiced as an ice hockey player, in athletics and as an ice speed skater. Cinquanta attended university and he was mainly active in business administration. He was awarded many important national and international recognitions. At the time of his election to the ISU Presidency, at the age of 56, he retired from his position as a manager of an international chemical company.

When Cinquanta was first elected to the ISU Presidency, he was initially regarded as a progressive who introduced prize money at ISU Events after positively negotiating several commercial contracts, which put the ISU on much firmer ground with respect to competitions, from the unsanctioned professional skating competitions. The television money also allowed the ISU to sustain a variety of development programs in both Figure Skating and Speed Skating branches, including, for example, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.