The former British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive was appointed last week, becoming yet another British figure to take on a leadership role in international sports administration.

While his new employer is currently a haven of calm compared to some prominent international Sports Federations, it has nonetheless had an interesting year, with Hunt’s predecessor, Peter Sowrey, stepping down after just five months and a recent re-brand changing the name of what until December was the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

President Carlo Croce’s November report to what was then the ISAF Council in Sanya, China, provides a number of clues regarding Hunt’s likely early priorities.

Sponsorship will certainly be one of them.

“Looking ahead, Peter [Sowrey] will tell you we are working on deals with new sponsors," Croce said.

"We hope we will have good news soon."

The governing body had a success last January when it signed Gazprom to a five-year partnership agreement.

The Russian energy group has hence joined World Sailor of the Year award backer, watchmaker Rolex, as a key sailing sponsor.

Scrutiny of World Sailing’s recent financial accounts, however, suggests that further diversification of the body’s revenue streams would be most desirable.

While the accounts do not split out sponsorship or broadcasting earnings, they do show that the payment World Sailing receives as a consequence of the sport’s presence on the Summer Olympic programme comfortably outstrips other sources of income.

Assuming 2015 revenue reached a similar level to the previous year, insidethegames calculates that the body’s cumulative income over the 2012-2015 quadrennium should come in at around £18 million ($26 million/€23 million).

The £9.69 million ($13.7 million/€12.5 million) handed over to World Sailing in Olympic receipts in 2012 and 2013 is thus on course to account for well over 50 per cent of quadrennial income.

This is probably higher than is ideal, particularly given the changes Lausanne is trying to introduce in the way that the Olympic sports programme is determined.

Indeed, for all the activity’s association with the well-heeled, leisured classes, World Sailing is, in strictly financial terms, one of the smaller Summer Olympic International Federations.

A table insidethegames compiled recently based on 2013 income had sailing 11th of 12 such International Federations, marginally below weightlifting and above archery.

Costs – likely to come in somewhere around the £15 million ($21 million/€19 million) mark in that 2012-15 period – are at manageable levels, particularly as the organisation began the quadrennium with more than £4 million ($5.5 million/€5 million) of reserves.

Prize money was, however, introduced in 2013 for the Sailing World Cup, the body’s pinnacle event; while strategically, it would make a lot of sense for the sport to acquire more control over its destiny by making itself less dependent on the Olympic money.

Croce’s remarks make clear, meanwhile, that the World Cup is likely to be another prime focus of Hunt’s attention.

“Looking ahead, we need to protect our pinnacle event,” the World Sailing President said, adding: “How?

"By keeping a bubble around each event and preventing important regattas overlapping.”

He went on: “Logistical organisation needs to be vastly improved by securing a deal with a world logistic organisation as a top priority.

“A lot can be achieved there; just look at Formula One.”

Croce also spoke of the importance of becoming “much closer” to both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) – a task with which Hunt is clearly well-equipped to assist.

“Our new office in Lausanne is being used more frequently,” Croce said.

“We need to get closer and move someone to Lausanne as this is important for our relationship and what we can get from the IOC.”