Paul J. Foster
Paul J. Foster is a global executive, strategist, and thought leader with a distinguished career spanning esports, the Olympic movement, and international consultancy.
He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Esports Federation (GEF), an international organisation for esports that promotes competition, community, and connection. Launched in 2019, the GEF now counts more than 180 Member Federations and well over 100 partnerships. He is the Executive Chairman of World Technology Games.
Previously, Paul has spent over two decades in the Olympics, including the Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and has led teams at more than 10 Olympic Games.
Beginning with the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where he served as Venue Manager for International Relations.He was the General Manager for International Relations during the Salt Lake 2002 Games and Advisor for the Athens 2004 Games.He was also the Head of Protocol, Events, and Hospitality at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Paul founded PJF Group LLC, a strategic consultancy firm based in London and Los Angeles. Through this venture, he has worked directly with Sovereigns, Heads of State and Government, Members of Royal and Ruling Families as well as Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries.
Paul was also the Vice President of Protocol, Events, Ceremonies, and Hospitality at World Expo 2020 Dubai, and held key leadership roles for the Baku 2015 European Games, the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, and as Executive Director of the Operations Secretariat for Expo 2025 Baku Azerbaijan Candidature.
Paul is also the Executive Chairman of the Board for the World Technology Games, and the External Advisor to McKinsey & Company, contributing strategic insights to a global consulting firm.
He contributes to academia as an Associate Professor in International Relations, teaching in Rome and New York, fluent in English, Italian, French, and Spanish. He has also taught as a Guest Professor at New York University and the SIOI – UN Association of Italy.
Paul holds:
a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) from Macquarie University,a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Technology Sydney,Master of Arts (MA) in Protocol and Diplomacy, specialising in international relations, from the Universidad Camilo José CelaMaster of Arts (MA) in ISPD Protocol & Diplomacy, BrusselsArtificial Intelligence (AI) at the MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory CSAIL)
Paul is a certified advanced yoga instructor by YogaWorks (USA) and Byron Yoga Centre (Australia).
