As part of its strategic planning, the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games announces an internal restructuring process whose goal is to increase its capacities in different areas of the project, as well as improving internal procedures and coordination between all areas. Sidney Levy will become the organisation’s CEO and Leonardo Gryner will become the Chief Operations Officer (COO).

Levy has a degree in Production Engineering from the Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ), a Master in Engineering from COPPE (Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Engineering) at UFRJ and specialised in Administration at the Institute of Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland. He was President of Valid SA between 1994 and 2011, and since then has been President of the company’s Board of Directors. Previously he was President of DLR Lerchundi, in Spain, from 1992 to 1994. He also worked at Thomas de La Rue in Brazil and England in different leadership positions between 1981 and 1991. He was President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Rio de Janeiro from 2005 to 2007, and has been a member of the Board of the Rio de Janeiro State Water and Sewage Company (CEDAE) since 2007, the Ediouro Publishing Company since 2006, and Ancar Shoppings since 2010.

The Rio 2016™ Corporate Affairs, Human Resources, Procurement, Legal, Planning and Institutional Relations departments will respond to the new CEO, as well as the Chief Operations Officer. The COO will have under his responsibility the Commercial, Operations, Sport and new Communications and Sustainability departments.

Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the Rio 2016™ President, said: “All initiatives are part of the restructuring that begun in June, as the new stage of preparation after the London 2012 Games. This will contribute to planning and delivery with excellence for the Rio 2016™ Games. Leonardo Gryner has long Olympic experience, having been involved in all Olympic Summer Games since 1976, and having been part of the Rio 2016™ bid, and therefore has all the credentials to lead all operational areas of the Games.”

Sidney Levy said: “I would like to thank Carlos Nuzman for the opportunity he has given and Leonardo Gryner for the warm welcome. I am sure that I will have lots to learn from their long experience in the Olympic Movement and I will bring my experience from the corporate world, which I hope will contribute to the success of one of the most important projects in the history of this country. Participating in this Olympic journey will no doubt be a unique opportunity in my working life.”

Levy will officially start at Rio 2016™ on 1 January  2013, but will participate in the International Olympic Committee Debriefing of the London 2012 Games that will be held from November 17 in Rio de Janeiro.