LA 2028 Olympic committee names retired Army Lt. Gen. Reynold Hoover its new CEO
The organizers of the 2028 Summer Olympics have reached far outside the sports world for their new chief executive, hiring a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who served in the White House and as chief of staff for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Reynold Hoover arrives at a crucial juncture for LA28, which will also stage the Paralympics. After this summer’s Paris Games, the organization must shift from seven years of planning and marketing to focus on the more difficult task of operations.
That means delivering on its promises to stage a massive competition featuring thousands of athletes competing at dozens of venues throughout Southern California, and doing so without use of taxpayer dollars.
“Reynold is one of the few people in the nation who possesses the operational and logistics expertise that the Olympic and Paralympic Games require,” LA28 Chairman and president Casey Wasserman said in a news release. “He’s been tasked with some of our nation’s most complex challenges, and we are fortunate to have him on our team as we prepare to welcome the world in 2028.”
Los Angeles officials are trying to figure out how to pay more than $1 billion to run buses that will probably disappear after the Games.
Hoover, who was approved by the private organizing committee’s board of directors on Wednesday afternoon, has long specialized in operations and logistics. He will manage LA28’s day-to-day operations.
“I met with Reynold last week to discuss our shared priorities, including preparing our entire region to host the Games and to ensure this event leaves lasting benefits for our community,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “I look forward to forging a close, collaborative relationship as we work together to prepare for the 2028 Games.”
The West Point graduate worked for FEMA in the early 2000s and was a special assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security. He also oversaw logistics for the U.S. military’s war in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 and was a logistics support officer for the CIA.
L.A.’s 2028 Olympics committee suffers a blow in its efforts to raise $2.5 billion in sponsorships by losing Salesforce, one of its top corporate sponsors.
Most recently, Hoover served as deputy commander for the U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., before retiring in 2018.
“Sport is a powerful convening force and it is the opportunity of a lifetime to bring the Los Angeles community, the nation and the world together through the Games,” he said in a news release.
Wednesday marks the third time since 2017 that LA28 has named a new chief executive as it navigated from bidding to planning to delivery. Hoover replaces Kathy Carter, who stepped down in December.
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