Benjamin Cohen

SUI

Role

Director General

Organization

International Testing Agency

Born in 1983 in Lausanne, Switzerland, Benjamin Cohen has dedicated his entire professional career to sport.

Before being unanimously appointed Director General of the International Testing Agency (ITA) by the ITA Board in 2018, Cohen held the position of Director of the European Office & International Federation Relations at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Prior to joining WADA, Cohen held various roles in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the United Nations Office of Sport for Development and Peace in New York, the Council of Europe, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). He is regularly appointed as a guest speaker and legal and governance expert in task forces and commissions at the United Nations, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the IOC and International Sports Federations.

Cohen teaches dispute resolution and international sports governance at various universities worldwide and is also President of the Legal Commission for the International League against Racism in Switzerland.

He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s of law with a specialisation in arbitration and sports law, as well as a master’s of advanced studies in sports administration and technology.

The speakers

Using the unique power of sport to bring people together, the Olympism in Action Forum saw a range of global players, including Olympic Movement stakeholders, athletes, private and public sector leaders, NGO representatives, academics, artists and the media come together to talk on topical contemporary issues. Chosen because of their ability to effect change and their wide range of sometimes differing opinions, the speakers led lively debates and seeked to challenge received wisdom to inspire new ways of thinking.