At the CHL’s ordinary General Assembly on Tuesday, the shareholders approved a new governance structure, leading to a reduction of the Board. Additionally, new elections were held.

As part of a strategic process initiated two years ago, 'organisation & governance' became a key area of focus for the CHL. Consequently, the current governance structure was reviewed, resulting in a new proposal developed by the CHL Board. This general direction was approved by the extraordinary General Assembly in March. Afterwards, the concept was finalised and brought to the ordinary General Assembly, held in Prague on Tuesday, for final approval.

The core of the new governance structure is the reduction of the CHL Board from nine down to up to five members, aiming to create a more agile organisation to lead the Champions Hockey League into the future.

As the new governance concept was approved, the shareholders also elected the new CHL Board. Four candidates were proposed by the newly installed nomination committee, which represents the shareholder structure.

To establish a stable new governance structure, rolling elections were held with varying terms. Moving forward, Board members shall be elected for 3-year terms.

The following Board members were elected by the shareholders:

• Jörgen Lindgren (SWE), re-elected, CHL President, elected to a short term (1 year)
• Henrik Bach Nielsen (DEN), re-elected, IIHF Vice President Europe & Africa and President of the Danish Ice Hockey Association, elected to a short term (1 year)
• Patrick Lengwiler (SUI), re-elected, CEO of EV Zug, elected to a normal term (3 years)
• Miha Butara (SLO), new, Deputy Director General of Slovenian Railways Group, Supervisory Board Member (JHL, Nomago, SŽ ŽIP), President of Hockey Club Olimpija Ljubljana and Vice President of the Slovenian Ice Hockey Federation, elected to a normal term (3 years)

Furthermore, the shareholders elected the members of the Nomination Committee as well as the members of the three Board Committees (Growth, Sport and Compliance & Regulatory).

Nomination Committee: Christian Feichtinger (AUT), Petr Syrovatko Jr. (CZE), Timo Everi (FIN), Maximilian Horber (GER), Johan Hemlin (SWE), John Gobbi (SUI), Matti Nurminen (IIHF)

Growth Committee: Ivan Čonka (CZE), Kristian Gotsch (DEN), Jon Andrea Schocher (SUI) – the Committee is led by Board member Miha Butara

Sport Committee: Jussi Markkanen (FIN), Christian Winkler (GER), Viktor Szélig (HUN), Christian Lechtaler (SWE), Kim Pedersen (IIHF) – the Committee is led by Board Member Patrick Lengwiler

Compliance & Regulatory: Gernot Tripcke (GER), Lennart Ernstson (SWE), Andreas Münch (IIHF) – the Committee is led by Board Member Henrik Bach Nielsen

To accommodate the new governance structure, members of the former CHL Board are either transitioning into new roles or stepping down. Christian Feichtinger, Petr Syrovatko Jr., and Timo Everi are moving from the CHL Board to the Nomination Committee, while Gernot Tripcke’s expertise will benefit the Compliance & Regulatory Committee in the future.

Rupert Zamorsky and Kaarel Lehiste are stepping down from official roles with the CHL. The Champions Hockey League would like to thank the members of the former Board for their commitment and dedication during their terms. All of you have significantly contributed to the development of the Champions Hockey League, and the CHL is proud to have had such dedicated Board members.