The United States Olympic Committee's (USOC) loss of the bid for the 2016 Olympics to Brazil has restirred questions over the compensation of USOC Acting CEO Stephanie Streeter, according to the New York Times.
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After the Beijing Olympics, there were several changes at the USOC that proved controversial. Larry Probst, chairman of video game company Electronic Arts (EA), replaced Peter Ueberroth, mastermind of the successful Los Angeles Olympics, as chairman of the board.
Probst then replaced USOC CEO James Scherr and named Stephanie Streeter, CEO of Banta Corporation and board member for the Green Bay Packers, Kohls, and Goodyear, as Acting CEO. Both Probst and Streeter had no direct experience with international Olympics affairs, although both had served on the USOC board. Probst also replaced the USOC Human Resources director.
Shortly after the USOC laid off over 50 employees, it was announced that Streeter would receive a compensation package that was about 30 percent over Sherr's--if certain goals were met, according to ABC News, which estimated the package could be worth over $1 million.
When this initiated a number of negative statements in the press from USOC affiliates and associations governing specific sports, Probst issued a statement saying that "Stephanie's compensation is commensurate with the duties and responsibilities associated with the acting CEO position … and she is fully deserving of the compensation she is receiving," says the ABC News report.
The loss of Chicago's bid, the loss of several major sponsors due to the recession, and the postponement of a potential Olympic sports cable network may all play into whether the goals of Streeter's compensation package were met. It also throws into question if she will be top candidate in the search for a permanent CEO that was planned for fourth quarter 2009. Update (10/7/2009): After this article was posted, Streeter withdrew her name from consideration for the position.
Sources: New York Times and ABC News