USOC Launches CEO Search, Sports Leaders Demand Resignations

(ATR) In the wake of Chicago's defeat for the 2016 Olympics, U.S. sports leaders are calling for resignations while Acting CEO Stephanie Streeter says she will not seek the position.

"When the board asked that I step in they asked that I would do it on an interim basis through the Vancouver Games and I am still committed to doing that," Streeter said on Wednesday in a teleconference with the media.

She denied her decision had anything to do with the Chicago loss, saying she made the decision in August, long before the Oct. 2 vote.

USOC chair Larry Probst said he hopes to find a candidate by the end of first quarter 2010. The USOC will select a nationally recognized executive search firm at the end the month to narrow down candidates.

But a search for a new chairman may also be next if leaders of U.S. National Governing bodies get their way.

Streeter struggled to build relationships with sports federations that govern Olympic sports. In an internal survey, the sports federation leadership voted "no" by a unanimous 40-0 to the question of whether Streeter could be an effective leader.

"Events over the past six months have caused the NGBs to lose faith in the USOC’s leadership," said CEO of USA Triathlon Skip Gilbert representing the NGBs. "The U.S. Olympic family has tried faithfully to muffle its deep concerns about the decisions and strategies made by the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors, but we can no longer stand by and watch."

Prior to becoming CEO, Streeter served on the USOC board and the Chicago 2016 board.

Streeter was named acting CEO in March to replace ousted CEO Jim Scherr, a move which generated controversy because it was badly timed for the Chicago bid and Scherr was popular among the NGBs.

Streeter's annual salary is reported to be $560,000, not including bonuses that could push the figure to $1 million.

Before she was named Acting USOC CEO, Streeter spent six years at Banta, a business printing company in Wisconsin where she was president and CEO.

"I have spent most of my career in the corporate arena and I feel that I can make the greatest impact there," Streeter said. "My decision is really about returning the corporate sector and I love running large companies. It is where I have been successful and it is more about a decision to get back to that than anything else."

Wanted: Long-term leader

Probst said that the next CEO must work on a long-term strategy to build international relationships especially with the IOC and sports federations.

The next CEO must be willing to travel extensivelyfor long periods to build relationships, said Probst.

"We have plenty of good relationships but the reality is that we don't have political capital," Probst said. "We don't have leverage. We don't have representation on the Executive Committee of the IOC. We don't have any international sporting federations' presidencies (of Olympic sports). We need to do the work and take the time over the long-haul to have more of a presence in the international community with the International Olympic Committee."

Probst says he is looking for a candidate who has strong executive skills, a sports background and is multi-lingual. Whoever is chosen will be the sixth USOC CEO in ten years.

"My fervent hope is that we can find somebody that is ready to make that commitment and we can make it work because that continuity is how we are going to be successful in the long-term," he said.

USOC board member and Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby will lead the search committee. It will consist of nine members includingthree members from the USOC Board of Directors, four members from USOC member organizations - one representative selected from the National Governing Bodies Council, the Athletes Advisory Council, the Multi Sport Organization Council and the U.S. Olympians Association - and will include Paralympic representation. The committee will recommend up to three finalists. The USOC Board of Directors will choose the permanent CEO from among those finalists.

"We are going to involve all the various stakeholders that have an interest in this and make sure that we find an extremely extraordinary individual because this is an extraordinarily challenging position," Probst said.

The top position is not the only one that the USOC is searching to fill. The USOC is expected to name a new Chief Communications Officer soon to replace Darryl Seibel who resigned in May. The USOC used an executive search firm in that search too.

Probst plans to stay

Probst became chair in October of 2008 and said he has no plans to resign.

"I serve at the discretion of the USOC board," Probst said. "It is clear to me that going forward in order to be as effective as possible it really needs to be done on a full-time basis and I am prepared to make that commitment."

Written by Sam Steinberg.