Jean-Marie Kenny
43, French
Director Member Associations Services at FIFA
Jean-Marie’s passion for sports and teamwork dates back when he was an amateur volleyball player in Guadeloupe, a multicultural French West Indies island where he comes from.
He successfully completed training in the French Naval Academy, starting in 1998 as an engineer and navy officer. Later, he completed a Master’s of Public Management at Sciences Po Strasbourg and from there, entered the National School for Administration (ENA – French high civil servants academy). Thus, serving the French State for many years as a Naval Officer, then as a Sub-prefect, then in the cabinets of several sports ministers and ultimately as a sports senior advisor to the Prime Minister, he has accumulated the toolbox necessary to manage complex organizations. With that background, MESGO appeared as the best way to validate his wish to work within the sports industry.
Skills
- Dedication & endurance
- Interpersonal and knowledge-sharing skills
- Understanding of international & cross-cultural dimensions
- Quick learner and a pragmatic scientist with strong language skills which would prove to be lifelong competencies
- Jean-Marie says team sports, academics and military service shaped who he is today: open-minded with a sense of civic engagement and a passion for learning.
Looking for
- Sports and Governance were key topics to study in order to be part of the construction of Sports of tomorrow
- Luckily they naturally coalesced in the MESGO program. MESGO allowed him to get a top-class education in sports organizations and administration while collaborating with people who would later become leaders in their federations throughout Europe
- It also proved to be a natural progression to the creation of his sports strategy consulting firm (KJM CONSEIL) and finally to his current position at the French Football Federation