Background and career
Johan Eliasch (born February 1962) is a Swedish-British businessman, investor, sports administrator and environmentalist. He was the chief executive of Head, a sporting goods company, from 1995 to 2021, and is now its chairman. The Sunday Times Rich List puts him in number 42 of UK's richest in May 2025 with a net worth estimated at £4 billion. In 2006, he co-founded Cool Earth, a charity dedicated to rainforest conservation. Under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Eliasch was the Prime Minister's special representative for deforestation and clean energy. Since June 2021, he has been the president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), the largest international federation within the Olympic movement representing over 53% of Olympic Winter Games medal events. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee, a council member of the Association of International Winter Olympic Federations, and board member of the British Olympic Association.
Johan Eliasch was born in February 1962, in Djursholm, Sweden. His grandfather, G. A. Svensson, was a leading Swedish industrialist. He graduated in Stockholm with a Master of Science from the Royal Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Stockholm University. Eliasch served in a specialist unit at the Life-Guard Dragoons, Military Police, K1, Stockholm, Sweden (1980–81). Eliasch was an active athlete, competing in skiing, golf, tennis, curling, sailing, football, ice hockey and motor racing.
Eliasch began his career in company turnarounds in 1985, when he joined Tufton Group, the London-based investment firm. In 1991, he established his own private investment group, Equity Partners. When Head Tyrolia Mares was up for auction in 1995, Eliasch spotted an opportunity. The beleaguered sporting goods company was $370million in debt, but through financial restructuring, acquisitions and investment in new technology, Eliasch turned the company, renamed Head, into a global success as CEO from 1995 to 2021.
Eliasch has also been non-executive chairman of Investcorp Europe (2010–2014), a non-executive director of IMG (2006–13), non-executive chairman and director of Starr Managing Agents (2008–2015), and chairman of Aman Resorts (2014–18). He is chairman of Equity Partners and London Films, as well as an advisory board member of Brasilinvest.Eliasch has used his business experience to advise politicians and policymakers, including as a member of the International Business Advisory Councils for the Mayors of London, Jerusalem, and Rome.
In June 2021, Eliasch was elected as president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) at the 52nd International Ski Congress, succeeding Gian-Franco Kasper, who had run the organisation for 23 years. Eliasch stepped down as CEO of Head after his election to avoid any conflict of interest. At the 53rd International Ski Congress in May 2022, Eliasch ran unopposed and was re-elected as FIS president through 2026 winning 70 out of 100 votes. Eliasch is a member of the International Olympic Committee's Sustainability and Legacy Commission and President of the Marc Hodler Foundation.
Eliasch has a longstanding interest in arts and culture, and is chairman of the Saatchi Gallery in London, which since 1985 has presented contemporary art exhibitions showcasing the work of emerging artists. He is also a patron of his alma mater, Stockholm University. Eliasch has been an advisory board member of the Shimon Peres Peace Centre, World Peace Foundation, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Kew Foundation, Royal Botanical Society. He has credits in film production including Scarlet Pimpernel, Lady Chatterley, Best of Friends and Resort to Murder.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
