World Sailing welcomes new sustainability experts to strengthen sport's positive impact

World Sailing welcomes new sustainability experts to strengthen sport's positive impact © World Sailing

World Sailing is pleased to announce two key appointments to its Sustainability team, with Anne-Cécile Turner joining as Head of Sustainability and Alejandro Bacot Tamayo becoming Sustainability Manager.

Both appointments represent a commitment to accelerate the federation's drive towards achieving its environmental and social sustainability targets.

Anne-Cécile Turner is an award-winning sustainability expert with over two decades of global experience across marketing, sponsorship, and environmental leadership. Trained through Harvard, The Tavistock Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, she has led high-profile initiatives for the Race for Water Foundation, The Ocean Race, and Sails of Change. Across these roles, she has engaged global leaders, philanthropists, and major sports events to champion plastic waste reduction, biodiversity regeneration, and ocean health restoration.

In the role of Head of Sustainability, her remit includes shaping long-term strategy, setting organisational priorities, cultivating key partnerships, and guiding the overall direction of sustainability across the global sport.

Working alongside Turner, Alejandro Bacot Tamayo will oversee the operational delivery and day-to-day implementation of the Sustainability programme, ensuring strategic objectives are seamlessly translated into practical outcomes on and off the water.

Alejandro Bacot Tamayo is a sports management and sustainability specialist with extensive experience across major international athletic events and academic research. He has previously served as Deputy Director of Legacy and Sustainability for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games and worked with the Santiago 2027 Special Olympics World Games.

Koray Ezer, Director of Sport at World Sailing, said: "We are delighted to welcome Anne-Cécile and Alejandro to World Sailing. These appointments reinforce World Sailing's commitment to delivering a clear strategic direction for its sustainability efforts while ensuring strong operational delivery across all global initiatives. Anne-Cécile's strategic vision and proven expertise in international sustainability leadership, combined with Alejandro's strong track record in operational execution, create a formidable team. Together, they will play a vital role in ensuring World Sailing continues to set the benchmark for sustainable sport and ocean stewardship worldwide."

The strengthening of the Sustainability team marks another important step in World Sailing's evolution, aligning strategic oversight with robust day-to-day delivery to strengthen the long-term health, resilience and sustainability of our sport, creating shared value for the sailing community and ensuring it remains fit for the future.