USOC narrows field for new CEO to two
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USA Swimming Chief Executive Chuck Wielgus and former U.S. Olympic Committee Acting Chief Executive Scott Blackmun are the two remaining candidates for the USOC’s CEO position, according to sources.
The USOC board of directors will choose the new CEO in early January. The decision is expected to be announced the week of Jan. 11.
It was revealed here on Dec. 11 that the USOC had selected six finalists — and identified five — for the position that has been open since the USOC board dumped Jim Scherr last March. Stephanie Streeter has been acting CEO since then, but she elected not to be a candidate for the permanent job.
A USOC search committee interviewed the finalists Dec. 15-16. Sources say four were eliminated after that: Sandy Alderson, former Major League baseball vice president; Norm Bellingham, current chief operating officer of the USOC; Mark Lewis, president of Jet Set Sports, a global hospitality company with extensive Olympic business; and Joe Moglia, chairman of TD Ameritrade, identified as the sixth candidate by the Associated Press.
Wielgus, 59, has been USA Swimming’s CEO during one of the most successful periods in the sport’s history. Capitalizing on the success of superstar Michael Phelps, the federation has enjoyed unprecedented media exposure, TV deals and marketing success.
Blackmun, 52, held several positions in three years at the USOC before becoming chief operating officer of the sports and entertainment giant, Anschutz Entertainment Group. He was the USOC’s general counsel, managing director of sports resources and acting CEO after one of the USOC’s frequent top-management purges.
After four years at AEG, Blackman returned as a partner to the Colorado law firm Holme Roberts & Owens, where he began his legal career in 1982.
-- Philip Hersh
