L.A. 2024 has dipped into Wasserman Media Group to hire two additional execs. WMG Senior VP/Consulting John Harper has become the bid’s COO & Treasurer, while WMG Senior VP/Global Consulting Danny Koblin has accepted the job of Chief Bid Officer/Marketing. The positions are full-time and paid. Their chief boss, WMG Chair & CEO Casey Wasserman, is the driving private-sector force behind L.A.'s attempt to host the Games and remains bid committee Chair. Two additional hires have come on board in recent weeks -- L.A. County Chief Deputy CEO Brence Culp has been tapped as Exec Dir of Development & Housing for the bid, while Carla Garcia, a longtime Exec Assistant at AEG and Bruckheimer Films, has been named Dir of Administration. All four appointments were included in an organization chart submitted to the L.A. City Council ahead of an oversight committee hearing scheduled for 9:00am PT today. According to a memo, L.A. 2024 expects to employ just 20 full-time workers but will soon expand its BOD to 60 people. Bid planners also have begun to look for alternative sites for the $1B-plus Olympic Village, which is currently slated for Piggyback Yards, a major train hub owned by Union Pacific Railroad. The bid committee still envisions that site ultimately working, city officials said. They expect to commit to a plan for the village by February. The documents were made public prior to today's hearing with the City Council’s ad hoc Olympics oversight committee. No action is expected, but the city and the bid group are working on a memorandum of understanding to clearly define their working relationship.
