USOC Narrows CEO Candidates To Six; Decision By January The Goal

The field for the USOC's next CEO "has been cut to a half-dozen candidates," according to sources cited by Philip Hersh of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The five known finalists are believed to be: former Padres CEO Sandy Alderson; former USOC General Counsel Scott Blackmun; USOC COO Norm Bellingham; Jet Set Sports President Mark Lewis; and USA Swimming CEO Chuck Wielgus. The sixth candidate, whose name was not identified, "comes from a brokerage and would be the only one from a corporate background with no link at all to the USOC or the Olympic movement." The USOC's search committee has "set interviews with the finalists in San Francisco" for the middle of this week, and the organization is "expected to name a new CEO by early January." The person who is hired will become the "10th person to be permanent or acting" USOC CEO since '88. Hersh wrote the frequent turnover has "made it difficult for the USOC to build the international relationships important for a U.S. city to become an Olympic host" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/12).

OLYMPIC TRIALS: Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, hired by the USOC to lead a review panel to "figure out what works and what doesn't" for the Olympic organization, said, "The Olympic movement is a complicated array of grass roots, volunteerism and highly sophisticated global competition. My impression is, there's not enough clarity in who plays what role in each part of the process." Tagliabue is hoping to finish his report by March, though he "already has identified one key area for change: More board committees with more input from experts" (AP, 12/11).