World Table Tennis (WTT), the organization that manages the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) commercial rights, has elevated Chris Tam to managing director.
Tam, who has served as the ITTF’s chief operations officer (COO) for the past 10 months, will now lead WTT as its senior executive.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
He will succeed Steve Dainton, who stepped down as WTT chief executive earlier this year.
Dainton, who also relinquished his role as WTT board director, ended his long-standing involvement in table tennis on May 1 but continued to support the organisation in an advisory capacity during the process to appoint a successor.
This concluded 21 years of service to the sport for Dainton, including eight years as CEO of the ITTF and subsequently the ITTF Group, during which he led the creation and development of WTT.
He transitioned to become WTT’s CEO in January this year after the ITTF governing body made several major administrative personnel changes as it ushered in a new executive board.
A Singaporean chartered accountant, Tam held senior finance roles with international and listed groups before joining the ITTF in 2024, initially as director of operations before taking on the COO role in January this year.
He has served as WTT’s acting COO since May and continues as ITTF’s COO.
Tam will be supported by Bart Vermoesen and Tristan Lavier, appointed WTT executive director for event operations and executive director for corporate and public affairs, respectively. They will also continue in their ITTF roles. The WTT board has also appointed an independent member.
Petra Sorling, ITTF president and WTT board chair, said: “Chris has led WTT’s operations through a strong 2026 season with rigour, and he has the board’s full confidence.
“Building on what works was the natural choice. WTT now has the leadership, the partners, and the momentum to enter its next phase of growth.”
Since its launch, WTT has developed into the ITTF Group’s flagship commercial and events platform, establishing a unified global structure for professional table tennis.
Over the past six years, the organisation has built a year-round calendar spanning Grand Smash, WTT Champions, Star Contender, Contender, Feeder, and Youth events.
In terms of recent activity, the ITTF announced an eight-year marketing rights deal with heavyweight sports agency Infront last month.
The deal sees the Switzerland-based Infront become the worldwide lead agency for WTT's commercial development.
