Poul-Erik Høyer
President  

Poul-Erik Høyer was elected in May 2013 and is Chair of Council and the Executive Board. Poul-Erik was re-elected unopposed in 2017 and 2021 and is serving the current term until 2025.  

An IOC Member from 2014 to 2022 and a member of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission during that period, Poul-Erik Høyer is an Olympic Champion, the gold medallist in men’s singles at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.  

Poul-Erik was a top international badminton player (1985-2000) and was athlete representative of the Danish National Olympic Committee from 2005 to 2013.  

Poul-Erik was until his election as BWF President in May 2013, the President of Badminton Europe (2010- 2013). He was Deputy Chair of Badminton Denmark (2005-2010) and a board member of the International and Danish Players Federations. Poul-Erik was inducted into the Danish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and has held various positions in Denmark in the sports of football and handball.  

On 22 April 2015, Poul-Erik was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog (knighthood) by Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II on the occasion of the 75th birthday honours.  


BWF Committees  
Chair – Council and Executive Board
Ex-officio member of all BWF Committees 

Tukebana Michel Bau
Vice President Africa  

Michel Bau was elected to Council in May 2018 as BWF Vice President Africa with the current term till 2023. Michel has been involved in sport and badminton for more than 25 years at an international, continental and national level. Michel was elected President of the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in May 2018 and has been a BCA Council member since 2002.

Michel Bau has been President of the Seychelles Badminton Association since 1994 and since 1995, Michel has been a member of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association Executive Committee. He served as the Chef de Mission of the Seychelles delegation at three Olympic Games – Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 and has served as Team Manager for the Seychelles Team at two Commonwealth Games – Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010.  

BWF Committees
Member – Governance and Ethics Committee
Member - Development & Sport for All Committee
Member – Communications and Media Committee

Richard Vaughan was elected BWF Vice President Europe in May 2023 for a four-year term to 2027.

Richard has a wide range of experience in badminton as a player, athletes commission representative, coach, director and CEO in a range of sports organisations.   As a player, Richard was world number seven in men’s singles, winning European and Commonwealth Games bronze medals.   Richard was the Chief Executive Officer for Badminton Ireland (2011 – 2015), a member of the British Olympic Associations Athlete Commission (2002 – 2008) and is a Non-Executive Director for Badminton Europe (2014 to present) where he has Chaired the Communication, Marketing and High-Performance Commissions.

Richard has multi-sport executive experience in a range of national federations. He was Chief Executive Officer for Squash Australia (2015 – 2021), Non-Executive Director for Equestrian Australia (2021 – present) and is currently the Performance Director for Artistic Swimming at Swimming Australia (2021 – present).   Richard has an MA Coach Education and Development from Bath University, MBA from Leicester University, and is currently completing a PhD in Sport Governance from Canberra University.

Vishwanauth Tolan
Vice President - Pan Am  

Vishwanauth (Vishu) was elected to Council in 2013 as BWF Vice President Pan Am and was re-elected in 2018 with a term to 2023. Since his election to Council, he has served as Chair of the Governance and Ethics Committee (formally the Administration Committee).  

In 2007, Vishu became General Secretary of Badminton Pan Am Confederation and in 2015 he was elected President, a position which he has held to-date. In 2010 he was elected President of the Central America and Caribbean Badminton Confederation.  

Vishu served first as Treasurer (2002 - 2004) and then President (2005 - 2013) of the Jamaica Badminton Association (JBA) and under his leadership, JBA successfully staged the 2011 Pan American Junior Badminton Championships in Kingston. Vishu was elected First Vice President of the Jamaica Olympic Association in 2013.  

BWF Committees  
Chair – Governance and Ethics Committee
Deputy Chair – HR Commission Member – Finance Committee
Member – Events Committee

Zhang Jun
Chair – Events Committee  

Elected to the Council in May 2021 for a four-year term to 2025, Zhang Jun has had an extraordinary career as a player and coach at the highest levels.  

In 2019, Zhang Jun was elected President of the Chinese Badminton Association.  

Zhang Jun is an Olympic Champion. As a doubles specialist he won many international men’s doubles titles including the mixed doubles gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and Athens 2004 Olympic Games consecutively. He was World Champion six-times in men’s singles and mixed doubles.  

Following his retirement as a player, Zhang Jun joined the Chinese Badminton National Team as a coach and in 2017, her was promoted as the Head Coach.  

As a coach, he led his players to the podium for the men’s doubles and mixed doubles gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games and men’s doubles at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games men’s team gold medal.      

BWF Committees  
Chair – Events Committee
Member – Development and Sports for All Committee
Member – IOC and International Relations Committee

Etienne Thobois 
Chair – Marketing Committee  

BWF Council and Executive Board member since 2009, Etienne Thobois was Chair of the Marketing and Communications Committee (2009 – 2013), Chair of IOC & International Relations Committee (2013-2017) and resumed the role of Chair of Marketing Committee on his re-election to Council in May 2017 and again on re-elected to Council in 2021. His current term is until 2025.  

Etienne has been actively involved in badminton in various roles and levels of the sport for more than the last 25 years. A member of the French national team for almost ten years, he was three times National Champion, played four European and World Championships and represented France in badminton at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.  

Etienne has been President of the Association of the Francophone de Badminton since 2013 and was for many years from 1989, a board member of the French Badminton Federation. He was also advisor to the French NOC on international relations and Olympic affairs.  

Etienne Thobois has held a wide range of positions in international sport, notably Etienne served as finance director of the 2003 IAAF World Championships, CEO of the 2007 Rugby World Cup held in France and technical expert for Tokyo 2020.  

He was the CEO of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid, a member of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2016 Olympic Games and a member of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Coordination team and  

In 2017, Etienne Thobois was appointed CEO of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee.  

Etienne received the BWF Meritorious Service Award in 2004.     

BWF Committees  
Chair – Marketing Committee
Member – Communications and Media Committee Member – Finance Committee

Odette Assembe Engoulou
Chair – IOC & International Relations Committee  

Elected to the Council in May 2021, Odette is a lawyer by profession and has served at the Airport Authority of Cameroon for several years. She is currently self-employed in various businesses and services and is also proprietor of an orphanage in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon.  

Odette is an active sports administration at national, continental and world level. She is President of the Badminton Federation of Cameroon (since 2012), Vice President of the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee (since 2013), Chairperson of the Sport and Women Commission of the Association of National Olympic Committee of Africa (ANOC – since 2018), President of the Women’s Commission of the “Association Francophone de Badminton (since 2017) and Member of the Executive Board of Badminton Confederation of Africa (since 2015).  

In 2019, Odette was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee and in 2020 she was co-opted as a member of the IOC Public Affairs and Social Development Commission.    

BWF Committees  
Chair – IOC & International Relations Committee
Member – Marketing Committee Member – Finance Committee

Kinji Zeniya
Deputy Chair – Development and Sport for All Committee  

Kinji Zeniya was elected to Council in May 2019 and re-elected in 2021 for a four year term to 2025. He is the Secretary General of Nippon Badminton Association (since 2015) and has been a Council Member of the Nippon Badminton Association since 2007.  

A badminton administrator, elected official and team director, Kinji Zeniya has considerable experience in high performance. He was Japanese National Team Director from 2007 to 2014 and Team Manager of the National team on many occasions including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.  

A men’s singles player with seven national titles (1974 to 1984), Kinji won a number of international titles and was part of four Japanese Thomas Cup teams helping the team to win a bronze medal. He was also selected as a member of the Asian Games Japanese team three times.  

Kinji is Chair of Corporate Sports Centre in Sanyo Electric / Panasonic Corporation, Front General Manager for the Panasonic Rugby and Badminton teams and has held various posts in for the Panasonic Corporation’s social contribution activities.  

BWF Committees  
Deputy Chair – Development & Sport for All Committee
Member – Events Committee

Kenny Goh Chee Keong
Deputy Chair – Communications & Media Committee  

Dato’ Kenny Goh Chee Keong was elected to Council in 2021. Kenny has been actively involved in sports since his school days, representing his home state of Pahang in badminton, athletics, softball and handball.  

As a sports administrator, he has held the post of General Manager of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) (2005-2015), Chief Operating Officer of Badminton Asia (2016-2019) and currently Kenny is the General Secretary of BAM and holding the portfolio of Chair of the Coaching and Training Committee.  

During his tenure with the Badminton Association of Malaysia, Kenny has successfully organized several major tournaments including the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals (2010), the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals (2013) and the BWF World Championships (2007).  

For his contribution to the development of badminton in Malaysia, he was conferred the title of “Dato” by His Royal Highness the Sultan of Pahang in 2019.  

BWF Committees  
Deputy Chair – Communications & Media Committee
Member – Marketing Committee Member – Events Committee

José Gabriel del Busto Fernández  

José Gabriel was elected to the Council in May 2021 and is serving a four-year term to May 2025.  

A physical education teacher by profession, José Gabriel was actively involved in training and development of sports in Guatemala. He sat on the board of several districts’ school council and provided lectures on training to the Ministry of Culture & Sports Guatemala, Ministry of Education Guatemala, Autonomous Sports Confederation of Guatemala and the Guatemala National Olympics Committee.  

José Gabriel was the former President of the Badminton Federation of Guatemala (2008 – 2015), Vice President of Badminton Pan Am Confederation (2011 to-date) and former President of the Central American and Caribbean Badminton Confederation (2014 – 2018).  

He was the Deputy Chef de Mission of the Guatemalan delegation at several international events including the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.    

BWF Committees  
Member – Events Committee
Member – Para Badminton Committee
Member – Development and Sports for All Committee

Sawsan Haji Mohammed Taqawi
Chair – Gender Equity and Diversity Commission    

Elected to the Council in May 2021 for a four-year term to, Dr Sawsan is strong role model for women and girls in sport and in badminton.  

She is a member of the Bahrain Football Association and the Women’s Committee in Asian Football Confederation (2004 – 2011) and the Elite Match Commissioner in the Asian Football Confederation since 2005.  

Dr Sawsan also holds International Coaching Certificate Level 1, 2 and 3 in swimming from the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and a certified conductor in the National Management programme and National Coaching programme.  

A strong advocate for youth affairs, Dr Sawsan has been actively involved in various youth and sports organisations at national level.    

Dr Sawsan was elected as the President of the Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation (since 2017), President of the Arab Badminton Federation (since 2018) and a Vice President of Badminton Asia (since 2019).    

BWF Committees  
Chair – Gender Equity and Diversity Commission
Member – Development and Sports for All Committee
Member – Para Badminton Committee

Kim Jong Soo  

Elected to the Council in May 2021 for a four-year term to 2025, Kim Jong Soo was born into a badminton family and has been a part of the Korean National Badminton team as a player, a coach and team manager for more than 30 years.  

During his tenure as Team Manager (2001 - 2010) he led his team to the winner’s podium as gold medallist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.  

He was the Chief Executive Director (2013 – 2015) and is the Vice President of Badminton Korea Association (2015 to-date) and Vice President of Badminton Asia since 2015.

An administrator, elected official and team coach and manager, Kim Jong Soo has considerable experience in high performance evidence in the success of the Korean team in international tournaments.  

He is also passionate about development of badminton both in Korea and in less developed badminton playing countries in Asia through the support of badminton equipment.    

BWF Committees  
Member – Events Committee
Member – Development and Sports for All Committee
Member – Marketing Committee

Sven Serré
Deputy Chair – Events Committee  

Elected to the Council in May 2021, Sven Serré is Deputy Chair of the BWF Events Committee.

Sven has had more than 25 years’ experience in badminton at the national, continental and world level. He is President of the Royal Belgium Badminton Federation (since 2016), Director of the Belgian Olympic and Inter-Federal Committee (since 2013), and a member of the Board of Directors of Badminton Europe (BEC) (since 2017).

Sven has had a long history with the technical side of the sport and has been a BWF Certificated Umpire since 2006, a Member of the BWF Technical Officials Commission (since 2019), Chair of the BEC Technical Officials Committee (since 2020), BEC Umpires Assessment Panel (since 2011) and BEC Umpire Coordinator (since 2016).    

BWF Committees  
Deputy Chair – Events Committee
Member – Para Badminton Committee
Member – IOC and International Relations Committee

Pilar Carrillo la Fuente
Deputy Chair – Para Badminton Committee  

Elected to the Council in May 2021 for a four-year term to 2025, Pilar Carrillo is Deputy Chair of the Para Badminton Committee. She was the Badminton Manager at Club Regatta Lima, one of the biggest recreational clubs in Lima (1995 – 2000) and Head of the Technical Unit at the Peruvian Badminton Association (2000 – 2006).  

As the Chief Operating Officer of the Pan Am Badminton Confederation (2007 – 2020), Pilar built and led a solid management and operations team to assist and guide the members in the Pan Am region to develop the sport and to host world class tournaments.  

The love for badminton runs deep in Pilar’s blood. Pilar’s involvement in badminton for more than 25 years speaks volume of her passion and love for the sport. With the encouragement of her parents, she started playing the sport from a very young age and she had passed the tradition to her children and is the proud mother of a Badminton Olympian.    

BWF Committees  
Deputy Chair – Para Badminton Committee
Member – Events Committee
Member – Governance and Ethics Committee