at the international level, eyp is governed by an international board, a six-member governing body elected by national committees and by alumni. a representative of the heinz-schwarzkopf foundation also serves on the governing body. the board is largely responsible for quality assurance at international sessions, but also takes responsibility for the overall direction of the organisation and its long term sustainability and protection. day-to-day business is administered by a hired manager. philipp j. scharff served from 2004 until 2008. jan-phillipp beck (de), the president of the 56th international session in kiev, headed the organization from 2008 until april 2011. at that time ville vasaramäki (fi) took over this role. krista lagus (simberg) (fi) was an executive director from june 2014 until january 2017, when lukas fendel (de) took over.