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The New CEO's Biggest Challenges

Sarah Hirshland, shown in 2016, takes over an organization that made big gains internationally under former CEO Scott Blackmun but was left with challenges domestically.getty images

The biggest storylines under Scott Blackmun’s tenure as CEO revolved around the IOC: namely, the effort to win a Summer Games and solving long-simmering U.S.-IOC disagreements. With those issues in the rearview mirror, Sarah Hirshland’s time will be spent on the USOC’s relationships at home: Congress, governing bodies, athletes and the general public.

Congressional relations

The USOC is a creature of the federal government, but for most of the last eight years that was true on paper more than in reality. That won’t be the case now. Lawmakers could rewrite the entire USOC framework if they want. With that possibility at least in play due to the Nassar scandal, Hirshland will have to be an elite lobbyist, quickly learning what motivates key members of both parties and what they’re likely to do next.

NGB relations

Arguably the single most important task is to figure out how the USOC can more effectively control sports governing bodies while still allowing them to manage their sports. It’s an unglamorous, insiders’ challenge that will require a delicate hand to balance many different interests at the grassroots of the Olympics. The new CEO will have to play bad cop, selling new policies that will curtail their independence and cost them money in the name of preventing another sex abuse case.

Athlete trust

The USOC has reeled from damning accusations by women gymnasts who just a few years ago were its biggest, brightest stars, like Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, both now suing the organization for its alleged failure to stop Larry Nassar. Further from the limelight, athletes in many sports continue to criticize the USOC for not supporting them more financially. “I think that is a challenge for the CEO to rebuild the trust in the USOC brand, and perhaps more with the athletes than with the public,” acting CEO Susanne Lyons said.

New revenue streams

When Blackmun was hired in 2010, the USOC needed to rebuild its recession-battered domestic sponsorship portfolio and decide whether to keep pursuing a controversial TV channel. Deals and revenue growth were major priorities. Now, the balance of power on the commercial side shifts to the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee and Chair Casey Wasserman. But with sponsorship revenue mostly funding the 2028 Olympics over the next decade, instead of filling the USOC’s coffers, Hirshland, the former USGA chief commercial officer, will have to be more creative in finding revenue.

Expectations

Blackmun arrived after a period of tumult and turnover at the USOC, and there was a fair bit of low-hanging fruit in terms of simply stabilizing the organization. He left as a widely respected executive within the movement, if not on the outside. The new CEO will encounter much higher standards.

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