USOC New Marketing Chief Faces Challenges

(ATR) The U.S. Olympic Committee's new chief marketing officer, Lisa Baird, will have to hit the ground running when she takes over on Jan. 20.

Baird must fill two major sponsorship categories, automotive and home improvement, since longtime USOC partners General Motors and Home Depot let their deals expire.

Those two top-tier sponsorships represent a combined shortfall of about $40 million in the USOC's 2009-12 budget.

Baird will also jump into renewal discussions with AT&T and Bank of America, two other top-tier sponsors who are expected to remain on board.

So far, the USOC has 17 sponsors under contract for the 2009-12 quadrennium - nine TOP sponsors and eight domestic partners. The USOC, under Baird's leadership, will also explore the addition of new product categories for sponsorship.

Baird, 47, formerly a senior marketing executive with the National Football League and IBM, was appointed to the post Monday. She replaces Rick Burton, who resigned in November after 13 months in the job.

In the last decade, there has been a significant turnover of people occupying the position of chief marketing officer at the USOC . The job requirements include building the Olympic brand while protecting the Olympic rings from ambush marketers, finding new sources of income and sometimes battling the IOC over use of the TOP program.

Baird has 25 years of experience in marketing, sales, licensing, brand development, consumer products and digital marketing, according to the USOC.

At the NFL, Baird was responsible for a portfolio of more than 150 licensees that delivered $3 billion in retail sales.

During a speech at the "Women on the World" symposium in 2007, Baird said she tried to be prepared for any opportunity while she was with the NFL. When Devin Hester scored a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the 2007 Super Bowl, Baird said, "I was already on my Blackberry ordering more Devin Hester uniforms right then and there."

"Lisa recognizes the importance of delivering not only service and support, but innovative thinking and creative solutions to our family of corporate partners," Jim Scherr, CEO of the USOC, said in a statement. "She also recognizes the value and strength of the U.S. Olympic Team brand."

The USOC did not make Baird available for comment.

She will be one of four senior-level female executives at the organization, joining Rana Dershowitz, general counsel; Debra Yoshimura, auditor and Alicia Mandel, human resources director.

Baird lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children and may not relocate to Colorado Springs, Colo., the USOC's headquarters.

"Initially she'll be spending quite a bit of time here in Colorado Springs, and she'll be on the road meeting our corporate partners in Chicago as well as the rest of the country," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel tells Around the Rings. "Long-term, she'll be based wherever she needs to be to be most effective. That's a determination she'll make with Jim (Scherr) and Larry (Probst, the USOC chairman)."

Most recently, Baird worked with Brand Value Advisors, a consultancy advising private equity, merger and acquisition and venture capital clients.

From 2005-2007, she was senior vice president, marketing and consumer products for the NFL, where she directed the league's consumer products, direct marketing, e-commerce, entertainment marketing and advertising programs.

Baird implemented the League's first consumer-generated ads for the 2006 Super Bowl, launched the League's first youth and Hispanic Web sites and helped develop the online shopping site, NFLShop.com. She also launched the first virtual sports world for kids, NFLRushZone.com.

From 1999-2005, Baird worked at IBM, rising to senior vice president, worldwide marketing communications. She oversaw global sports marketing, which included the Olympics, tennis, golf and the NFL. She has also worked at General Motors, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

The USOC must fill three other high-level positions: chief of sport performance, chief of athlete and NGB services (which will be filled after the chief of sport performance), and director of governmental relations.

USOC to Reshape Olympic Job Opportunities Program

Home Depot's decision not to renew its sponsorship means a temporary halt to the Olympic Job Opportunities Program, for which it was the sole partner.

Seibel said the USOC would use 2009 to reshape the program. One design change would involve expanding the number of partners instead of giving one corporation exclusivity as it did with Home Depot in 2000.

"One very important reason is to provide a more diverse range of work experiences for athletes," Seibel said.

He said some companies have already expressed interest. "It's a real source of pride to have Olympians and Paralympians in your workforce, something that becomes a source of motivation and inspiration to employees."

When the program ends on March 2, the 86 athletes will be guaranteed jobs at the Home Depot stores in which they work, but they will be paid for the actual hours they put in instead of receiving full-time wages for part-time work.

Whether or not the athletes continue to work at Home Depot, the USOC will provide them with additional training stipends beyond what they currently receive from their NGBs and the USOC.

The amount will vary according to their sport and national rankings. They'll also receive health insurance if they don't otherwise have it.

"We want to help minimize any disruption they might otherwise experience," Seibel said.

For Winter Olympic athletes, the stipends will continue for as long as they remain in training and in contention to qualify for the 2010 U.S. Olympic team. Summer Olympic athletes will receive a lump sum payment.

With reporting from Karen Rosen.