Facebook Instagram Linkedin Youtube
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Youtube

STRUCTURE

Gianni Minervini

ITA
Acting Executive Director

Apostolos Tsagkarakis

GRE
Sports Director

Renato Živković

CRO
Sport Director
Water Polo

Nick
Davies

GBR
Communications Director

Kirill Haller-Goncharov

SUI
Marketing Director

Farouk Ben Jeddi

FRA
Sport Manager Aquatics

Lia Mountricha

GRE
Water Polo
Manager

Dejan
Perisic

SRB
Technical Officials Manager Water Polo

Sílvia da Costa

POR
Aquatics Social Responsibility Project Manager

Daniel Marinho

POR
European Aquatics Academy
Manager

Anna
Serova

RUS
Sports Coordinator

Lorenzo
Rulent

FRA
Accounting and Administrative Coordinator

Petra
Bukic

CRO
Water Polo Assistant

Belén
Martin León

ESP
Sports Assistant

Marcin
Kulczycki

POL
Sports & Development
Assistant

Eliana
Lopes

POR
Design & Communications Team

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS:

European Aquatics has also engaged the services of a number of agencies with top level sport experience in Marketing, Digital, Social Media, Commercial Sales, Integrity and governance. You will find the agency contacts here:

SONICK Media

Quest

UNI4M

Renato Živković

Sport Director – Water Polo

Water polo is a lifelong passion for Renato, at first as a player of POŠK from Split (Croatia), with whom he won two European championship titles, the European Aquatics Cup Winners' Cup and the European Aquatics Supercup, as well as a hat-trick in victories in the Mediterranean Cup. Later in his career, he moved to Tourcoing, France, where he played for 12 years as a player and then as a coach.

He has held the position of Secretary General of the Croatian Water Polo Association since 2007. As team leader of the national selection he has overseen a gold and silver medals – at London 2012 and Rio 2016 respectively. Two World championship titles and two further European Championship successes are just a selection of his other impressive achievements.

Renato was the executive director of the European Aquatics Water Polo Championship in Zagreb in 2010 and in Split in 2022. Additionally, he is also a long-time member of the Anti-Doping Appeals Council as well as a member of the Ethics Committee of the Croatian Olympic Committee

Gianni Minervini

Acting Executive Director

Gianni is a three-time Italian Olympic swimmer who competed at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Games during a period which also saw the breaststroke specialist claim two World Championships and five European Championships medals, as well as two Mediterranean Games titles and two NCAA titles. He also broke the European record in the 100 meters breaststroke and held the Italian record in the event for 14 years.

During his time studying at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) he attained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry / Materials Science and a Master’s degree in Materials Science Engineering.

He developed his professional profile through strategic and operational roles – at local and global levels – during 21 years at Procter & Gamble and was the Associate Director of the Rome 2009 World Aquatics Championship Organising Committee.

Gianni joined European Aquatics in 2015 initially as the Financial Manager before going on to hold Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director roles.

Nick Davies

Communications Director

Nick Davies has close to 30 years professional experience in Olympic sport, including senior roles as Communications Director, Spokesman, Deputy CEO and Chief of Staff at the International Association of Athletics Federations (now World Athletics) from 1992 to 2017. Originally a sport journalist, Nick has worked with clients from a wide range of sports including MMA, Boxing, Sailing, Ice Hockey, F1, Tennis, Cricket, and sport shooting offering strategic advice, campaign support and project management.

As European Aquatics Communications’ Director, Nick is responsible for managing a European Aquatics team to deliver:

  • External PR for European Aquatics corporate and competition-based activities.
  • Internal PR with stakeholders including National Federations and sponsor/broadcast partners.
  • European Aquatics Digital Platforms (European Aquatics website and social media)
  • European Aquatics copyright content for digital platforms.
  • Brand building via international media.
  • Ongoing media relations with key aquatics and Olympic media.
  • Ongoing monitoring of European Aquatics related stories and issues.
  • Ongoing support for European Aquatics event, commercial, marketing and broadcast divisions.
  • Working relationships with World Aquatics, EOC, IOC and other stakeholders.

    • Apostolos Tsagkarakis

    Sports Director

    Apostolos Tsagkarakis is an experienced sports business industry professional with demonstrated history in event organization, sports marketing & management.

    He graduated from The University of Alabama Business School and later received an MBA from Vytautas Magnus University & Euroleague Basketball Institute.

    Apostolos started his career in Sports Marketing, taking on a national role of the leading brand in the swimwear industry, following with the setup of sports events and management companies, and directing professional sports groups. His latest involvement was with the International Swimming League as the Sports Director.

    His main European Aquatics responsibilities include, but are not limited to, overseeing operations of all aquatics (excluding water polo), driving a coherent calendar, preparing and overviewing rules and regulations, implementing and adapting contractual agreements and providing leadership & coaching.

    Kirill Haller-Goncharov

    Marketing Director

    Kirill Haller-Goncharov, from Switzerland, has been appointed as the new Marketing Director at European Aquatics. He is a seasoned sports marketing and communication professional with extensive experience in event organization, commercial partnership management, and sports business strategy.

    Kirill began his career in sports marketing research and consultancy, advising major brands such as the Premier League, PGA, and FIFA. He later spent many years in the commercial sector of European club football, collaborating with UEFA Champions League and Europa League partners. Kirill officially joined European Aquatics on 15 August 2024.

    Farouk Ben Jeddi

    Sport Manager

    Farouk joined European Aquatics in 2015, initially as an Operations Assistant, before taking up the ‘Sports Manager’ position in April 2022. He is in charge of Artistic Swimming, Diving, High Diving, Open Water & Masters Disciplines.

    He is a French citizen who swam at the Elite French Level with multiple participations in the Elite French Championships.

    He has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance as well as a Masters for International Project Management.

    Lia Mountricha

    Sport Manager for Water Polo

    Lia is of Greek Nationality, residing in Barcelona, Spain. Fluent in English, Greek and Spanish, Lia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education & Sport Science and a Master’s Degree in Economics & Business Organization "Financial Management of Sports Organization."

    Her professional career has developed in communications, IT and fintech but she is passionate about sports and in particular water polo.

    A track & field athlete in her youth, Lia has been extensively involved as a volunteer at World Aquatics and European Aquatics events in water polo and swimming. She also worked for Paris 2024.

    Lia is a dynamic person with experience in managing cross-functional teams, coordinating complex logistics, and maintaining high-level stakeholder relationships.

    Dejan Perisic

    Technical Officials Manager Water Polo

    Dejan Perisic is graduated Manager of Strategic Management with experience in operations and activities of the sport organizations and organization of Water Polo competitions and events through his work in a Club, Federation and EA TWPC including education process of Water Polo Technical Officials.

    His Water Polo career started as Water Polo player and then continue through his work in WPC Partizan Belgrade as responsible for logistics, Serbian Water Polo Federation as Secretary general (2001 – 2008) and Competitions Executive (2008 – 2024) as responsible for all organization and regulations for national competitions.
    He joined EA TWPC in 2004 as member. After 12 years he becomes, on 2016, EA TWPC Secretary and until 2024 he remained on this position.

    Since 2007 Dejan have a role of Lecturer in EA Water Polo Referees School with important role in education of the EA Water Polo Referees and Delegates.
    Respecting these achievements in the education and work with the Referees and Delegates, as Technical Officials Manager - Water Polo, Dejan will collaborate with EA DRC and EA TWPC in all parts related to the Water Polo Technical Officials.

    Sílvia da Costa

    Aquatics Social Responsibility
    Project Manager

    Sílvia da Costa is the Aquatics Social Responsibility (ASR) Project Manager for European Aquatics, responsible for implementing strategic actions related to Learn to Swim/Prevent Drowning; Health and wellbeing lifestyle and clean environment and water safety.

    Sílvia da Costa has a robust and diverse career in sports management, with several areas of expertise: Sports and Association Coordinator, Technical Director at a City Council, swimming instructor, and adapted sports coach. She also has a strong track record in sustainable development projects and has actively contributed to several of the European Commission’s initiatives and projects related to Learning to swim, sports transparency and integrity topics. She holds a degree in Physical Education and Sport, and is currently finalizing her PhD in Sports Management.

    Daniel Marinho

    European Aquatics Academy
    Manager

    Daniel Marinho, from Portugal, will be the Manager of the European Aquatics Academy. He is an experienced sport science researcher and lecturer with demonstrated history in sports education related to swimming.

    Marinho works at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal) and has great experience in managing education and community projects under the scope of swimming and aquatics, coupled with his profound understanding of the swimming organizations.

    As a former competitive swimmer and certified swimming coach, he possesses an understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the aquatics’ community. He is committed to leveraging my expertise to enhance the development of athletes, coaches, managers, judges, and programs within the European Aquatics Academy, thereby elevating the standard of excellence in aquatic sports across Europe.

    Anna Serova

    Sports Coordinator

    Anna Serova joined European Aquatics in 2023 as Sports Assistant for Water Polo and Aquatics.

    Anna is a professional Communications Manager. Her last employer was The Coca-Cola Company in Russia and in France, where she was responsible for supporting its social projects and sports assets (FIFA World CupTM, FIFA World CupTM Trophy Tour, Paris 2024, Special Olympics). She also worked in Communications agencies (Ketchum, Eventica Communications) as a PR manager. Among her projects were: EXPO Milano 2015, EURO-2016, 2018 FIFA World CupTM, UFC Fight Nights. Before that, she used to volunteer for a water polo club “Shturm-2002”.

    Anna is also a student of AISTS in Sport Management in Lausanne. She already has 2 Master’s degrees in PR and Event Coordination from France and Russia.
    She speaks English, French and Russian. Anna is a former professional fencer with sabre.

    Lorenzo Rulent

    Accounting and Administrative Coordinator

    Lorenzo was born in Paris and has Italian heritage, with additional family roots in Poland, Russia, and the United Kingdom, which have contributed to his strong international perspective.

    He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Bangor University in the UK and a master’s degree in accounting and finance. He is currently pursuing the ACCA qualification.

    Lorenzo began his professional career in the United Kingdom as an Assistant Accountant before moving to Switzerland, where he worked for an accounting firm and later joined European Aquatics (EA) as an Accounting and Administrative Coordinator.

    Petra Bukic

    Water Polo Assistant

    Former professional water polo player from Croatia. She was the captain of both her club and the national team and was named the Best Croatian Female Water Polo Player two years in a row.

    She studied Sports Management and holds a degree in Economics and Business. In 2023, she worked as Team Manager for the Croatian U16 team at the World Championships. This role gave her valuable experience in organizing and supporting teams at international events.

    Now is working with European Aquatics as a Water Polo Assistant. With many years of experience in water polo as a player, she now uses her knowledge and background to support the development and organization of the sport.

    Belén Martin León

    Sports Assistant

    Originally from Barcelona (Spain), Belén is a former artistic swimmer and coach at Club Natació Kallipolis. After retiring from competition, she discovered a passion for open water swimming and continues to enjoy a wide range of outdoor sports, including surfing, running, skiing, and hiking. Her first steps in sports volunteering came during the FINA World Championships in Barcelona 2013.

    Belén holds a double degree in Law and Public Administration from the University of Barcelona, a Master’s in International Sports Law, and has passed the Spanish Bar Exam. She is currently part of the 2025 SIGAWomen Mentorship Programme. Combining her legal background with her passion for sport, she has developed a career in international sports governance and event management.

    Professionally, Belén has worked as Coordinator for World Aquatics and Technical Officials Services during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and as Project Manager and Federation Services Manager at Hurricane Group, supporting projects with the IOC and international federations. She has also contributed to ENGSO Youth’s sport and human rights initiatives and to three editions of the Young Sports Makers program at Global Sports Week.

    Marcin Kulczycki

    Sports & Development Assistant

    Marcin is a Polish former diver with a background in Mechanical Engineering. He graduated from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, where he obtained his master's degree.

    He gained diverse professional experience both as an aircraft engine mechanic and as a software developer, while at the same time developing his career in sports management. In 2023, Marcin served as Competition Manager during the European Games and as Project Manager for the Junior Diving Championships in 2024, where he coordinated the delivery of international events.

    With his multidisciplinary background and hands-on experience in event management, Marcin brings strong organizational, technical, and problem-solving skills to the sports industry.

    Eliana Lopes

    Design & Communications Team

    A Portuguese national, she holds a background in Communication Design, complemented by a postgraduate qualification in Design and Advertising. She has been active in the field since 2014, combining freelance work with experience across a range of professional environments, where she has developed strong communication, organisational and teamwork skills.

    During her time at the Portuguese Swimming Federation, she was responsible for graphic design and branding across a number of events held in Portugal, while also supporting protocol-related activities. This provided her with valuable experience in event coordination and the delivery of official ceremonies.

    She is now part of the Design and Communication team at European Aquatics, where she contributes across branding, editorial and digital content. Having recently joined the team on a full-time basis, she brings creativity, adaptability and a strong commitment to her work.
    SONICK Media is a digital content creation and consultancy business founded by @NickHopeTV.

    Nick established his reputation through high-impact, award-winning storytelling during a decade as the BBC’s Olympic and Paralympic Correspondent. During that time he covered over 20 major Games and became an industry-leader for bespoke multi-platform content across TV, radio, online and social media outlets.

    Since going freelance and establishing his own company, Nick - and his similarly skilled, experienced and well-connected associates - now provide editorial guidance, direct content creation and digital media ‘best-practice’ advice to a host of major companies, as well as international federations.

    The International Olympic Committee, Team GB, World Aquatics, European Aquatics, BBC Sport, the Women’s Sports Alliance and SportsAid are among SONICK Media's major clients.

    Quest

    Quest is a specialist sports investigations, security and integrity advisory company. We work with a number of the world’s leading sports organisations, running standalone integrity units, operating whistleblowing hotlines and offering integrity investigations and governance advisory services. Covering areas such as corruption, competition manipulation, doping and abuse, we deliver robust enforcement mechanisms for sports organisations to prevent wrongdoing in sport and to manage integrity threats.
    Chaired by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Quest is staffed by a carefully selected team of experts with international experience in sports investigations, law enforcement, intelligence, law and security.

    www.quest.co.uk

    www.integrityunit.com

    UNI4M

    Founded in 2019, Uni4m Media is a media company based in the United Kingdom offering services in digital marketing, social media, branding and media strategy. We offer services helping brands in live sports, sports governance, property development, retail and more to reach and engage with their audience.

    Uni4m proudly services a global portfolio of clients, such as NEOM, BELLATOR MMA, International Mixed Martial Arts Federation and European Aquatics (LEN), Uni4m’s highly experienced team of media professionals have delivered outstanding results across digital strategy, content creation, media outreach and branding.

    We are the Kings of Content. We will unlock your brand’s potential.

    https://www.uni4mbrand.com/

    https://www.instagram.com/uni4mbrand/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/uni4mbrand/