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In a front-office reorganization, the U.S. Olympic Committee has put national governing body compliance/auditing and athlete services under a single division called Athlete and Sport Services. The new division is led by veteran executive Rick Adams, who becomes chief of athlete and sport services after a stint as chief of sport operations and Paralympics.
The moves are intended to help the USOC respond more effectively to issues in specific sports and make it clearer how the USOC can help athletes, CEO Sarah Hirshland said. The reorganization also puts the issues that have caused the USOC and athletes the most headaches over the years under a single division.
Under the new structure, the USOC’s compliance and audit division will report to Adams, with dotted lines to legal and the ombudsman office, board member Susanne Lyons said. Compliance/audit is led by Bridget Toelle, who gets a promotion from senior director to vice president.
Adams’ direct subordinates now also include a newly created position, vice president of athlete services, who will oversee the Athlete Career and Education program and the Olympians and Paralympians Association, a retired athletes group. A search is underway. The career/education program previously was part of human resources, and the retired athletes group previously reported to the USOC’s development arm.
Adams’ other reports include Wendy Guthrie, senior director of athlete safety, who gets a title bump to vice president; Sarah Wilhelmi, director of collegiate partnerships; Denise Parker, vice president of NGB services; and Julie Dussliere, chief of Paralympic Sport, who was promoted from vice president.
