by Larry EderAnd the journey begins once again. The press release by USA Track & Field notes some positive signs: a search committee has been established, a professional search firm has been found and no current USATF board members will be candidates.
What has become evident is that our sport needs a thoughtful leader who can sell, encourage and listen. It also should be evident that, after the most recent experience, that the person should understand and appreciate the vagaries of this sport.
This vetting process will probably be a fairly brutal process, so, as Stanley Tucci‘s character noted in The Devil Wears Prada, ” Gird your loins.”
From USATF
USATF begins CEO search
INDIANAPOLIS – USA Track & Field’s board of directors has officially
begun its search for a new CEO after forming a search committee and
engaging the services of an executive search firm.
Agassi Foundation CEO Steve Miller chairs the board’s CEO search
committee, which also consists of fellow board members Dr. Evie Dennis,
Jeff Darman, Elizabeth Phillips, Deena Kastor and Steve Holman.
Since mid-September, the search committee evaluated no fewer than six
search firms and extensively interviewed three nationally known firms in
person. The board voted during its meeting last weekend in Indianapolis
to engage the services of California-based executive search firm Bialla
& Associates.
“Our search committee represents and has experience with all segments of
the USATF family, and many are veterans of high-level executive
searches in their professional lives,” USATF President and Chairman of
the Board Stephanie Hightower said. “We are extremely confident that
this process will yield the best available candidate for our
organization’s top professional leadership position.”
The search committee and Bialla will work in concert to solicit input
from USATF stakeholders in assessing the organization’s leadership
needs, then will develop a comprehensive job description. Creating an
initial pool of candidates will begin immediately, with interviews
likely to start after January 1. The search committee anticipates
submitting two to three finalists to the full board for consideration in
early 2011. No current USATF board members are candidates for the
position.
Bialla is a nationally recognized, retained executive search and
management consulting firm with a proven ability to identify and deliver
A-list leaders across a variety of industries and functions. Recent
clients include Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. Olympic Committee and
the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.
For full biographies of CEO search committee members and the USATF board of directors, visit http://www.usatf.org/about/committees/BoardOfDirectors/.
For questions about USATF’s CEO search, or to provide information or feedback, email president@usatf.org.
For more on Bialla, visit http://www.bialla.com/.
