As Chief Marketing, Communications and Development Officer at Special Olympics, Zehra Sayin leads the team responsible for corporate, foundation, individual, and digital giving; direct marketing initiatives; and the organization’s global branding, communications, and celebrity ambassadors.
Sayin spent seven years as CEO of Special Olympics Belgium where she established a sustainable long-term financial and operational strategy. Prior to that, she served in several roles within the Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Regional office. As the Marketing, Communications, and Sponsoring Director of the 2014 European Summer Games featuring 58 countries, she launched the first awareness campaign that raised a record sum of € 11 million in less than a year.
Before joining Special Olympics in Belgium, Sayin was a Business Development Executive in the Luxembourg market for Xerox and was the Marketing, Communications & Sponsoring Director of the International Polar Foundation. Additionally, she is a Board Member of BOZAR, Vice-Chair of the Urban Youth Games, Vice-Chair of Team ESA Partners, one of 12 global delegates for the 2022 Global Sports Mentoring Program led by the U.S. Department of State and an Advisory Board member on inclusion and diversity to the Belgian public broadcasting network SPORZA.
She is particularly proud of her involvement in the creation of an orphanage in Benin, Africa. Sayin has a degree in International Marketing, a specialization in Intercultural Management and Psychology of Persuasion; and is fluent in French, Dutch, English, and Turkish. Sayin is invited as inspirational speaker to many forums, panels, conferences to share her vision of social entrepreneurship, social impact, positive change of attitudes, fundraising & sponsoring strategies.
Global Leadership Team
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Timothy Shriver, Ph.D
Chairman of the Board -
Mary Davis
Chief Executive Officer -
Jim Barbee
Chief Financial Officer -
Steve Borrelli
Chief Human Resources Officer -
Loretta Claiborne
Chief Inspiration Officer; Vice Chair, Board of Directors -
John Dow, Ph.D
Chief, Regional & Program Operations -
Shawn Ferguson
Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Chief of Staff to the Office of the Chairman -
Brandon M. Fitzgerald
Chief Legal Officer; Secretary, Board of Directors -
Jacqueline Jodl, Ph.D
Chief, Global Youth and Education -
Emily Klinger
Senior Vice President, Leadership & Organizational Development -
Louis Lauria
Chief of Sport and Competition -
Prianka Nandy
Chief Information and Technology Officer
