The WTA Tour named its longtime outside legal counsel
and business advisor, Bart McGuire, as its new CEO. McGuire
begins his two-year appointment tomorrow with a trip to the
Australian Open. McGuire is currently a professor at the
Northwestern School of Law of Clark College in Portland, OR.
His legal specialties are litigation and dispute resolution.
He has served as outside counsel to the WTA Tour for more
than 10 years (WTA Tour).
READY, SET, CHARGE: In N.Y., Robin Finn reports the WTA
Tour Board "reacted swiftly" in naming McGuire after PGA
Tour exec Ric Clarson opted out of his agreement as CEO last
week. McGuire: "I don't need tenure; I just need the
authority to do the job, and I believe I have it. I told
the board that if I came in here, I expected to make some
structural changes at the board level, and they seemed
receptive to those changes." More McGuire: "The product is
terrific, but there is a need to enhance the tour's
credibility as an effective, businesslike professional
organization that other companies want to do business with"
(N.Y. TIMES, 1/13). McGuire also said he was not
intimidated by pending litigation by top WTA players against
WTA Players Association President Patricia Hy-Boulais and a
group of lower-ranked players. McGuire: "I teach litigation
and dispute resolution courses. I think that's really my
bag" (Doug Smith, USA TODAY, 1/13).
ONE VIEW: In TENNIS WEEK, Richard Evans wrote, before
McGuire's acceptance, "For a sport standing on the threshold
of such high promise ... it seems incredible that the WTA
should have had so much difficulty finding someone to fill
[Anne Person Worcester's] shoes. This is a well-paid, high-
profile post that offers someone total involvement in
shaping the destiny of possibly the most readily accepted of
all female sporting endeavors" (TENNIS WEEK, 1/15 issue).
