With her additional mandate, effective as of October 1, 2018, former director of communications MacLean will oversee development and implementation of new programmes and foster increased interest in existing education programmes worldwide.

MacLean joined WADA in 2014 following 25 years with global leaders in metals and mining, Alcan and Rio Tinto, and then, as an independent consultant for the same industry.

She continues to be located at WADA's head office in Montreal.

In his role, effective as of January 1, 2019, May will work closely with NADOs and RADOs to enhance anti-doping capacity worldwide through a strengthened programme development strategy that is consistent with WADA's overall strategic direction and priorities.

He joined WADA in 2004 as the manager of doping control policy and development.

In 2010, May was appointed senior manager for programme development and, in 2014, was appointed deputy director of NADO and RADO relations.

He brings more than 20 years of anti-doping experience to his new position.

May is also based in Montreal.

"I am thrilled that Catherine MacLean and Tom May have agreed to take on these new mandates for education and programme development and NADO and RADO relations respectively," WADA's director general Olivier Niggli said.

"WADA's success depends on its 100-plus team of committed and skilled individuals.

"I believe that these appointments and the new structure reinforce WADA's management team and will help the Agency to deliver on its mission for athletes and other stakeholders in 2019 and beyond."

Last month, a delegation led by May conducted an audit of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) as part of the reinstatement criteria following the controversial decision to lift the suspension on the country in September.

The audit, the second carried out on RUSADA in the past two years, came amid uncertainty as to whether Russian authorities would meet the December 31 deadline to grant WADA access to data and samples stored at the sealed-off Moscow Laboratory.

The deadline was in fact missed and this has led to the occurrence of an ongoing exchange between Swedish biathlete Sebastian Samuelsson and WADA's Compliance Review Committee (CRC) chair Jonathan Taylor, who has consistently defended the process taken regarding RUSADA following further criticism.

Samuelsson, a 4×7.5 kilometres relay biathlon gold medallist at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, initially published an open letter urging the CRC to call an immediate meeting to declare RUSADA non-compliant.

He also asked if RUSADA had been given a two-week "extension" because of the CRC's plan to discuss the issue in Montreal on January 14 and 15.

The letter prompted a response from Taylor, who insisted that the CRC process did not "lack urgency" as Samuelsson had claimed.

He asserted that "due process" needed to be followed to allow Russia the opportunity to make a submission to the CRC and ensure any decision made was robust legally.

The increasingly terse exchange escalated on Monday (January 7) when Samuelsson published another letter, prior to WADA's announcement that their expert team would return to the Moscow Laboratory today for their second attempt to retrieve the data.