A figure in the Olympic movement has disappeared. A real. Mike Lee, one of the most recognized strategists and lobbyists in the sporting world, died on Saturday September 8. He died of a heart attack at his home in Kent. He was 61 years old.
Mike Lee launched his career through football. In 1994, he accompanied the Premier League as an advisor on political strategy. He will stay there for 6 years. Then he joined UEFA to occupy the position of director of communications and public affairs for 4 years, between 2000 and 2004.
What followed took on a more Olympic dimension for the Briton. Mike Lee joins Sebastian Coe on the 2012 Games bid committee, his first victory as a lobbyist. She won't be the last.
After the victorious episode of September 2005 in Singapore, where London pushed Paris out of the way of the 2012 Games, he decided to capitalize on this success by creating his own company, Vero Communications. The initiative quickly paid off. Mike Lee pins to his buttonhole a very respectable series of winning files. Let us cite, in bulk, Rio 2016, Buenos Aires 2018, Qatar 2022. He also accompanied Bernard Lapasset, then president of the IRB, in his long and victorious campaign for the entry of rugby 7 into the Olympic program. Then he did it again alongside Fernando Aguerre, the president of the International Surfing Association (ISA), in his quest for an Olympic label.
Called by Bernard Lapasset to join the cause of Paris 2024, he played a crucial role in the French capital's campaign for the 2024 Games.
Since the 2024-2028 double vote at the IOC session in Lima last September, Mike Lee made the decision to slow down. He had taken a step back, wanting to devote time to one of his passions, cycling. He had also restarted a university project, with the ambition of obtaining a Masters.
When his death was announced on Monday September 10, there were numerous reactions in the Olympic movement. Several of his competitors in the candidacy campaigns, such as the British Jon Tibbs and the American Terrence Burns, paid tribute to his memory on social networks, praising his talent and professionalism.
In a press release published Monday, Vero Communications sought to be reassuring about the future of the agency, managed on a daily basis by John Zerafa: “ Thanks to the legacy Mike left behind, and the strength of a team that has been at the heart of the business for a decade, Vero is excellently positioned for years to come, with customers around the world. »
