USFSA CEO Resigns

[sk9tingfan]

USFSA CEO Tracey Marek has resigned to pursue other options. I guess that she wanted to give the organization leeway ahead of the 2026 Olympics.

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[ice coverage]

... I guess that she wanted to give the organization leeway ahead of the 2026 Olympics.

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I would not jump to conclusions one way or the other as to what happened behind the scenes.

FWIW, Hersh's take:

https://x.com/olyphil/status/1844867511172432298​

 

[Rukia]

For anyone who doesn't want to click through to twitter, Hersh appears to imply she was fired (or at least asked to leave in some manner).

 

[marbri]

nevermind... just googled and I was remembering someone else

 

[Sylvia]

June 2022 GSD news thread:

Tracy Marek succeeds Ramsey Baker as USFS' CEO

This is interesting. Baker has been with USFS since 2005 but has only been in this job for about a year officially and unofficially for 7 months before that. isn't it normal for Executive Directors to stay longer than that? Also, it seems like he spent a lot of time in Marketing and I think USFS...

www.fsuniverse.net

(BTW, "USFSA" is now USFS.)

 

[sk9tingfan]

I would not jump to conclusions one way or the other as to what happened behind the scenes.

FWIW, Hersh's take:

https://x.com/olyphil/status/1844867511172432298​

I didn't see Phil's entry in my Twitter feed at that time...

 

[Karen-W]

I didn't see Phil's article in my Twitter feed at that time...

Not an article, just a comment. He said she "resigned" and that his use of quotes there was intentional.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Not an article, just a comment. He said she "resigned" and that his use of quotes there was intentional.

Yes. I already corrected that to entry.

 

[peibeck]

Coming from a basketball background to figure skating seemed like an odd fit, so perhaps not a surprise. But I don't believe anyone could easily turn a lot of USFS problems around in a scant 24 (or so) months.

 

[skatfan]

I would not jump to conclusions one way or the other as to what happened behind the scenes.

FWIW, Hersh's take:

https://x.com/olyphil/status/1844867511172432298​

The statement is the classic one that implies a resignation for some lack of performance, "pursuing new opportunities" (no job in hand), "full confidence in the current staff (we didn't need to keep her on), "[the board] is working diligently to determine the best path forward for future leadership" (need someone soon since the Olympics is not far away).

Did this CEO do anything of note? The organization still seems conflicted over abuse allegations. I only remember that she sat down with Gracie Gold at some point to hear her point of view.

Contrast with US Gymnastics - their CEO is re-building from an ashen heap of crap and getting back endorsements and sponsors.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

The cynical side of me thinks she has seen what scandals have come up and what might be coming in the future and she decided she doesn't need this archaic outdated attitude crap.

 

[tony]

Contrast with US Gymnastics - their CEO is re-building from an ashen heap of crap and getting back endorsements and sponsors.

US Gymnastics also has one of the greatest athletes of all-time, so it's not really the same 'playing field' IMO.

That said, USFS needs a whole rework for sure, starting all the way down with the people who manage the social media and all the way up to the very top. How many times in recent years have very high-ups not even known rules or changing procedures?

 

[Karen-W]

I'm betting it's a lot different reporting to a Board of Directors/Governors than it is reporting to a Team Owner or a small ownership group for a professional sports franchise. Especially one with as entrenched political factions as the USFS.

 

[Coco]

Interest in women's basketball and the WNBA has exploded, so I wouldn't be surprised if she really does have a line on new opportunities.

 

[skatfan]

US Gymnastics also has one of the greatest athletes of all-time, so it's not really the same 'playing field' IMO.

Well they had to get Biles back and the rest of the team too and show things were changing because Simone could afford to be honest with the press. The fact that Simone and other survivors pushed for change and they changed is a key part of the success.

 

[Debbie S]

The cynical side of me thinks she has seen what scandals have come up and what might be coming in the future and she decided she doesn't need this archaic outdated attitude crap.

I'm betting it's a lot different reporting to a Board of Directors/Governors than it is reporting to a Team Owner or a small ownership group for a professional sports franchise. Especially one with as entrenched political factions as the USFS.

Yes on both of these. Honestly, I didn't think she would last long. For-profit is a whole different world than non-profit (I've worked in both, although not in sports). FWIW, I got the impression that she was trying hard to get the org on a new course. She was outspoken in support of the 2022 team/medals and seemed more visible at Nats than previous leadership. I think I read that the hashtag/campaign "Skating is for Everyone" was her idea. My guess is she had a more 'modern' approach, bringing promotional and leadership ideas from her experiences in pro sports and USFS leadership had no interest.

 

[jackson]

I mean I have been seeing this weirdness within the sport since I was a child and it's no wonder that one of the most objectively most incredible sports that pulls one of the highest Olympic ratings and has nary a person in the stands. At this point, it's nuts!

 

[peibeck]

My guess is she had a more 'modern' approach, bringing promotional and leadership ideas from her experiences in pro sports and USFS leadership had no interest.

It's sad if trying to take a more "modern" approach and being rebuffed for it was the fault line which couldn't be breached. Or perhaps there was willingness for change but simply not, or disagreement about, the financial architecture needed to implement it?

 

[overedge]

Yes on both of these. Honestly, I didn't think she would last long. For-profit is a whole different world than non-profit (I've worked in both, although not in sports). FWIW, I got the impression that she was trying hard to get the org on a new course. She was outspoken in support of the 2022 team/medals and seemed more visible at Nats than previous leadership. I think I read that the hashtag/campaign "Skating is for Everyone" was her idea. My guess is she had a more 'modern' approach, bringing promotional and leadership ideas from her experiences in pro sports and USFS leadership had no interest.

I have no inside knowledge of the situation but this is the impression I got too. So now the old conservatives that Gracie Gold described in her book as holding the power in USFS will be in charge again. Sigh.

 

[Private Citizen]

Caveat: I don't know Marek and haven't been paying attention to what she has been doing or not doing.

I agree that the statement makes it clear something went wrong here, and the timing (just before the season starts in full swing) is weird. That said, I wouldn't be so quick to assume that she has been fired v. she and the USFS Board were at loggerheads with "irreconcilable differences" that made a mutual exit the most appealing path for both or even that she decided she had enough and just quit in frustration. If I had to place my bets, I'd be more with Debbie S than Phil Hersh.

CEOs are ambitious people. If you hire one with a mandate of change and then don't allow them to enact that change, they usually leave. With or without another job.

 

[On My Own]

Phil Hersh really deserves more haters than Christine Brennan tbh, at least she's made good contributions towards women's sports and women in sports. I'd bet Debbie S is being accurate there.

 

[Debbie S]

she and the USFS Board were at loggerheads with "irreconcilable differences" that made a mutual exit the most appealing path for both

I think this scenario is most likely. On the outside, it appeared that the Board was looking for a change agent, hiring someone from pro sports and the first woman CEO, but given what we've heard/read/seen about USFS, I suspect when Marek actually made proposals and told them what changes they needed, the "old conservatives" pulled rank and said "this is how we've always done it" and tied her hands. And then what can anyone accomplish?

RE finances....Auxier did talk about "belt tightening" quite a bit during Gov Council, but coming from a corporate background, Marek should be able to manage that. More likely she and the Board disagreed with what exactly needed to be tightened.

 

[PRlady]

The hardest organizational challenge is changing a culture while understanding it and making allowances for elements of symbolic importance. I’m sure this was not an easy job given the traditionalists’ hold on skating.

 

[barbk]

The hardest organizational challenge is changing a culture while understanding it and making allowances for elements of symbolic importance. I’m sure this was not an easy job given the traditionalists’ hold on skating.

We hired a former private school headmaster as principal of our charter school, and the cultural transition was rocky. It was an interesting learning experience on both sides with quite a few stumbles along the way. As a board, we learned that we had many unspoken and unwritten values/expectations. He learned that charter schools really are public schools and that regulations related to special education cannot simply be ignored. It was a rough couple of years.

 

[Carolla5501]

We still seem to be living in this world where USFA believes figure skate is the most popular sport ever. I expect anyone that wanted to make significant changes would be fighting an uphill battle. I don’t feel like the organization has actually accepted that significant change is needed.


I was offered a job once for it became apparent during the interview process that if I changed anything, people would fight me because “we are perfect” the truth is everything was totally wrong there so I turned it down and they couldn’t understand why. they finally hired somebody who would go along with their system and then they got in trouble with the government and wound up paying $9 million oops.

 

[overedge]

I think this scenario is most likely. On the outside, it appeared that the Board was looking for a change agent, hiring someone from pro sports and the first woman CEO, but given what we've heard/read/seen about USFS, I suspect when Marek actually made proposals and told them what changes they needed, the "old conservatives" pulled rank and said "this is how we've always done it" and tied her hands. And then what can anyone accomplish?

And perhaps this is also another example of the "glass cliff" - a variation on the "glass ceiling". When the organization is in trouble, it hires a woman executive to show how progressive and enlightened it is. And then when things continue to go badly, or when the situations are beyond fixing, the woman executive is the person who gets fired.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

They should bring ANL on, I will get in there and shake things up

First up… The kiss and cry

At the end of my reign, some of them may still be working there, and some of them may not. I’m tough, I’m talented, and I’m taking over.

 

[Debbie S]

USFS just sent this email to members (tl;dr: Sam Auxier is now interim CEO, Amanda Evora (Will) is interim Board chair):

Board President Samuel Auxier Named U.S. Figure Skating Interim CEO
Olympian and Vice President Amanda Evora Will to Lead Board​

The U.S. Figure Skating Board of Directors has named President Samuel Auxier as interim CEO as it conducts a search for the 103-year-old organization’s next chief executive officer. Vice President Amanda Evora Will shall assume the duties of the president.

“We are extremely fortunate that Sam has accepted the board’s request to step into the role of interim CEO,” Evora Will said. “Sam’s professional experience and longtime leadership history with U.S. Figure Skating provide a unique skill set that will continue to move the organization forward during his interim position until the board hires the next CEO.”

Auxier joined the board as an at-large member in 2005 and has served in various roles continuously since 2009. A non-consecutive two-term president, he led U.S. Figure Skating from 2014 to 2018 and was elected in 2022 as the organization’s 33rd president. An ISU singles/pairs judge, Auxier has been an official for 30-plus years and judged at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and two ISU World Championships. Auxier is a former partner at Deloitte, the world’s largest professional services network.

Evora Will, a 2010 Olympian in pairs, is the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s athlete representative for figure skating and a World coach. She is the first Filipino American figure skater to compete in the Olympics.

U.S. Figure Skating announced Oct. 11 that CEO Tracy Marek resigned to pursue other opportunities. Marek led the organization for 22 months.

No matter the reason for Marek's departure, a CEO leaving after less than 2 years is not a good look to potential candidates. Before USFS begins their search, they need to sit down with a trained facilitator/organizational consultant and determine what their needs are and how they can improve Board-CEO interaction and collaboration. Not that they will.

 

[overedge]

Naming the board president as acting CEO isn't a good look either. It suggests that the board doesn't consider any of the staff competent enough to quickly fill that role. That then raises questions about why there apparently aren't any staff with the appropriate qualifications or skills. Surely there is a succession plan in place in case any of the C-level executives become unable to do their jobs (which could happen because of illness, family emergency, etc, not only because of resignation).

With the interim CEO also having a long history of other roles in the organization, this also reinforces the perception of the "old guard" wanting to run things their way.