USOC hopes to be interviewing candidates for CEO by end of year

Job hunt _ USOC to begin search for new CEO

CHICAGO — The U.S. Olympic Committee will begin interviewing search firms to assist in the hiring of a new chief executive officer next month, and hopes to be talking with prospective candidates by the end of the year.

Larry Probst, chairman of the USOC, said Thursday the board hopes to move “rapidly and productively.” Stephanie Streeter has been acting CEO since March, when Jim Scherr was dumped in a messy departure widely criticized in Olympic circles.

It’s been a rocky start for Streeter and Probst, who took over as chairman almost a year ago. But problems are being set aside one by one, allowing the new leaders to focus on big-picture objectives.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Olympic Committee has a plan for the future that doesn’t include upheaval, infighting or missteps.

Internal disputes and tension with the International Olympic Committee have dogged the USOC since the Beijing Games. But the federation has temporarily tabled problems that threatened to harm Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Games, and is making progress on improving relationships with disgruntled national governing bodies.

That’s allowed them to also refocus on other big-picture objectives — things like wooing new sponsors and preparing athletes. At a news conference Thursday, chairman Larry Probst said the new leadership is preparing the USOC for its long-term future, one of the main reasons given for the unexpected decision to make Stephanie Streeter the new CEO earlier this year.

“We have been consumed with resolving some issues and focusing on some shorter-term objectives like the bid, like the Vancouver Games,” Probst said at the Vancouver Olympics media summit. “Yes, there is some work and some thought going on within the USOC about the long-term strategic vision, what do we need to look like, what do we need to be doing 10, 15 years from now.”

The Streeter transition was messy and widely criticized in Olympic circles. It prompted grumbling about the USOC’s direction from some national governing bodies. News that Streeter’s pay package could be worth more than $1 million a year didn’t help, particularly in tough economic times. The USOC laid off about 13 percent of its staff earlier this year, and is still trying to renew multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals with some key companies.

The USOC was forced to drop its long-percolating plans for a television network after a harsh reception by the IOC, which worried about offending NBC. The network provides the IOC’s largest chunk of revenue with a $2.2 billion deal to broadcast the 2010 and 2012 Olympics, and is committed to bidding for the 2014 and 2016 TV rights.

Earlier, Probst and Streeter diffused a long-simmering feud about revenue-sharing. Some IOC members want the United States to take less money, despite U.S. companies providing the IOC with a large portion of its budget.

But one by one, the problems are being set aside.

Probst said he’s confident the USOC has removed any roadblocks to Chicago’s 2016 bid with IOC members. And Streeter offered an olive branch to the national governing bodies in her keynote address to the Olympic assembly on Wednesday, saying she respected the work they do and promising the USOC would be a better partner.

“Change is hard. From their perception, there have been a fair amount of changes, and they weren’t necessarily involved in some of the discussions around that change,” Streeter said. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and we’ll continue to make it.”

They’ll also focus on moving the organization forward.

The USOC recently lost longtime partners General Motors and The Home Depot, and is still trying to renew deals with Bank of America and AT&T. But it announced a major sponsorship agreement with the Proctor & Gamble Co. last week, and Probst said he expects others to follow.

“There are more potential sponsorships in the pipeline that we’ll have more announcements about in the not too distant future,” he said.

Streeter also has been working on a long-term strategic plan and will present it to the board at its December meeting.

“The organization is doing really, really well,” Probst said. “In the six-plus months since Stephanie has become acting CEO, she and her team have reorganized and restructured the organization to make it more cost-effective, efficient and focused on the future.

“… I think we’re moving in a constructive and productive way.”