IPC ATHLETE CAREER PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

Meet the people behind the IPC Athlete Career Programme.

INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

MONICA BASCIO - Member

Monica Bascio, born in New York - USA, was elected to the IPC Athletes' Council in 2016. An occupational therapist, Monica works with adults with mental health and severe chronic illness, as well as supporting those with physical disabilities through rehabilitation. As well has graduating with a degree in BS Occupational Science in 1998, Monica is also Vice President of Colorado and Olympic and Paralympic Alumni.

KIRIAH CRANE - Member

Kiriah Crane joined the IPC Broadcast, Commercial and Partnership team in 2015, and manages the relationships with IPC partners, including Adecco. In this role, she has attended the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Before joining the IPC, Kiriah worked in Colorado coaching able-bodied and adaptive skiing and snowboarding. Kiriah has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Business from Indiana University, where she also competed a NCAA Division I athlete, and master’s degree from George Washington University in Sport Management and Sport Philanthropy.

PRIMROSE MHUNDURU - Member

Primrose's professional career includes:

Athletes Engagement Manager - International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Germany (2017 - present)
Head of Olympic Solidarity Programmes - Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC), Zimbabwe (2012 - 2015)
Anti-Doping Coordinator - Regional Anti-Doping Organisation RADO Zone V1, Zimbabwe (2011 - 2015)
Development Officer - Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC), Zimbabwe (2009 - 2011)

Education:
FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport - England, Italy and Switzerland
Bachelor Degree in Sports Science, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) - Zimbabwe
Pot graduate Diploma Marketing Management, Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) - South Africa

THE ADECCO GROUP

STEPHEN HOWEG - Head of Group Communications

Since 2007, Stephan Howeg heads the Adecco Group's Corporate Communications department and is also responsible for the field of CSR for the Adecco Group.

Stephan Howeg worked at UBS WDR (Equity Research) and at the Edition Howeg. Following his graduation, he held the position of Press Officer at NCR (Switzerland), responsible for internal and external communication. In 1997, he changed to Sunrise Communications AG (Zurich), where he built up the Corporate Communications department. In 2000, he took over the management of Corporate & Marketing Communications. With the merger of Sunrise/diAx, Stephan Howeg was appointed to manage the entire communications sphere. In 2001, he took over Ascom's worldwide Communication and Investor Relations department. Between May 2003 and January 2007, he led the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs department of Cablecom. Stephan Howeg finished an apprenticeship as a mechanic before he completed his college degree in 1991. He has a degree in History, Philosophy and Sociology from the University of Zurich.

CYNTHIA HAUSEN - Adecco Foundation

Following a career in the private, and non-profit sectors, Cynthia Hansen joined the Adecco Group in August 2017 to head the new Adecco Group Foundation. Cynthia’s areas of expertise include corporate governance, social responsibility, partnerships and impact. Prior to joining the Adecco Group, she spent nine years at the World Economic Forum, in leadership roles across Civil Society, Strategic Partnerships, Professional Services industry and Content Strategy. Previous roles include Director of Management Consultancy at boutique consulting firm Action Planning, Director of the US State Department’s International Visitor program for the State of Washington under the World Affairs Council, and Head of Admissions for Amity Institute, an international teacher exchange program. Cynthia has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organisations, including the Centre for Women and Democracy, EU Consult, and The Internationalist magazine.

In addition, she was an official delegate of a Washington State women’s mission to Cuba (2003) and an election monitor in Jordan (2003) under the auspices of the National Democratic Institute. Cynthia holds an MSc in Management of NGOs from the London School of Economics, and a double BA (Hons) in Asian Studies and English/Literature from the University of Puget Sound.

MAYI CRUZ BLANCO - Global Head of Athletes Programmes

Mayi Cruz Blanco is a Cuban born, holding Cuban and Swiss Nationalities. Her journey through sports has afforded her to develop from a competitive athlete to an international executive.

Her experience and business acumen includes: developing global strategies and campaigns, managing global teams and communities, implementing growth portfolios impact initiatives; as well as collaborating with leaders, governments and NGOs.

Mayi is the only Cuban that has done the FIFA Master, afforded by two scholarships from FIFA and the IOC / Olympic Solidarity.

Passionate about sharing knowledge and developing others; Mayi is a featured speaker at international conferences and events. She is also a regular mentor, facilitator and lecturer within educational initiatives.

Her work in the sports industry includes organisations, such as the IOC, World Archery; to FIFA where she has worked for the prior decade; as Global Head of women’s football development.

During her time at FIFA, the growth of the women’s game increased exponentially becoming a core pillar of FIFA's strategy. She oversaw a portfolio of development programmes reaching 190 nations and 000’s of individuals. Key highlights of her achievements at FIFA are: the development of the first FIFA Global Women’s Football survey in 2014; the implementation of the FIFA Live Your Goals campaign reaching 73 countries between 2012-2017. The first ever global FIFA leadership programme for women in football & the organization the FIFA WWC, Live Your Goals Tour Canada 2015.

Besides her role as Global Head of Athletes Programmes she is a founder of Sport Equity International Foundation, based in The Netherlands and collaborates in projects with THNK – School of Creative Leadership, the Football Business Academy and the ST Gallen University.

An advocate for diversity and inclusion, Mayi believes that gender equality is not the end; but a mean to advance development and business.