ATR First: American Comms Director For IOC

(ATR) The first-ever Director of Strategic Communications for the IOC is on the job in Lausanne.

Rebecca Lowell Edwards started June 1 and made a brief introduction to media Friday morning ahead of the IOC Executive Board meeting taking place at IOC headquarters.

Lowell Edwards tells Around the Rings that she is ready to embrace the challenge of her new position during what she believes is an exciting time for the IOC and Olympic movement.

"I’ve been a sports enthusiast my entire life, but I’ve never been inside the sports world with the ambitions of the IOC and the Olympic movement trying to improve humanity and bring the love of sport and all the impact that it can have to the world," Lowell Edwards tells ATR.

Born in the U.S., her career trajectory began in journalism followed by a series of high-level corporate communications posts. including with GE, a worldwide Olympic sponsor.

In the recent decades of IOC staff, Lowell Edwards is the first American hired as a director at the IOC. The IOC has recruited for the new position for nearly two years. She was hired in April.

"Communications can be a great contributor to that now, especially with the power of social media and traditional media, it can help people that don’t get to events to experience that in some other engaging way and I hope to be a part of that."

"Nowadays people want to know more about the institutions that bring them great things like the Olympic movement, so I’m hoping to help people understand more about the IOC and the network of stakeholders that work with the them do their work," she added.

"I’ve seen in great numbers the passion and commitment that these people have over the past couple days since I’ve been here."

With the likely possibility of a dual award of the 2024 and 2028 Games to Paris and Los Angeles expected to be announced by IOC president Thomas Bach on Friday, the new strategic communications director said she is looking forward to being involved with the potential changes.

"I almost don’t know enough to be scared and everything I learn is exciting so it’s sort of validating my decision to come here," she said. "There are a lot of decisions that can be made that are in total sync with my values, so I’m really excited to be part of this wave to come."

Lowell Edwards comes to the IOC from General Electric Oil & Gas, where she was the Chief Communications Officer, working in London.

A former competitive rower, she hopes to find time to enjoy her sport on the waters of Lac Léman.

"I’m really looking forward to getting on Lac Léman because I began rowing on the ocean off Cape Cod and then I moved to New York and rowed on the Sound and then I moved to the Thames which is treacherous.

"So I’m excited to get to Lac Léman because it looks lovely and calm."

Reported and written in Lausanne by Brian Pinelli

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