USA Volleyball CEO Jamie Davis, who introduced that he’ll go away that submit after the Paris Olympics, is the main candidate to fill the identical position for USA Water Polo.
A USA Water Polo supply confirmed for VolleyballMag that Davis is a powerful favourite to take over that governing physique. Chris Ramsey, the present CEO of USA Water Polo, introduced in December that he’ll retire after the Olympics. Davis, in flip, introduced that he’s leaving his submit this previous March after seven years. Learn that story right here:
Davis’ USA Volleyball contract runs by the top of 2024. Efforts to contact Davis had been unsuccessful.
Davis has no prior relationship with water polo, however didn’t have one with volleyball, both, when he was employed in 2017 to interchange Doug Beal. Because the CEO of a nationwide governing physique, Davis brings expertise coping with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Worldwide Olympic Committee and the politics of worldwide sports activities.
“Ramsey did play water polo in faculty, however he has all the time been perceived as an outsider amongst this nation’s passionate supporters of water polo,” four-time USA Olympian Ryan Bailey instructed Swimming World. ” Will there be a backlash if one other outsider — Jamie Davis has no prior expertise with water polo — will get the highest job overseeing the game in America?
We did an prolonged Q&A with Davis in July 2022 at Volleyball Nations League in Bossier Metropolis, Louisiana, a 12 months after the USA ladies gained gold medals in ladies’s indoors, ladies’s seaside and ladies’s sitting:
That is our full story from January 4, 2017, when Davis was employed:
USA Volleyball has gone exterior the game for its new chief.
The nationwide governing physique introduced Tuesday morning that Jamie Davis, sports activities media, advertising and enterprise govt, as its new CEO of USA Volleyball.
“I like a problem and I like rising organizations,” Davis stated Wednesday morning from Los Angeles. “I’m very entrepreneurial. I’ve launched tv networks in my profession. So I feel entrepreneurially. Which suggests being scrappy and making do with what you could have and preventing to win in any respect prices. As a result of that’s my mindset I like taking a company that I feel has huge potential and seeing tips on how to faucet that potential and actually let it develop.
“And that was essentially the most enticing factor to me.”
Davis, 50, grew up in Glencoe, In poor health., close to Chicago. He’s a graduate of Colgate College and has an MBA from New York College. His resume contains serving to launch the NFL and NHL on Fox after which spending 12 years in Asia for Information Company the place his jobs included launching new networks and working channels. He was president of Information Corp China.
“I feel that is going to be thrilling, it’s going to be difficult and I feel it’s going to be a hell of lots of enjoyable,” Davis stated.
He ran cross nation and observe in highschool and likewise wrestled and admits to being a volleyball neophyte.
“When the board approached me, I used to be the primary to say I’m not from a volleyball background,” Davis stated. “They had been very clear to elucidate to me that’s not essentially what we’re searching for on this position. We’re searching for somebody in a sports activities enterprise advertising background who can take our sport to the subsequent stage.
“And that was very intriguing to me. I noticed lots of alternatives to take a unique method or come at this with a contemporary set of eyes and take what’s already a really stable base and attempt to develop it. I’m all about making an attempt to develop participation and membership.
Davis and his spouse of twenty-two years, Annie, have three youngsters, 19-year-old Amber, 18-year-old Jonathan and Andrew, who’s 16.
“I’m actually happy to welcome Jamie Davis to USA Volleyball. He’s an amazing asset for us shifting ahead and he’s going to take us into new areas of enterprise on a world stage in sports activities,” USA Volleyball board of administrators chair Lori Okimura stated.
Davis went to L.A. Tuesday to fulfill with Okimura and others in USA Volleyball earlier than heading later this week to the group’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, the place he’ll be shifting from Philadelphia.
He was set to fulfill with USA ladies’s coach Karch Kiraly on Wednesday. USA males’s coach John Speraw is at a match at Ohio State along with his UCLA crew. Davis additionally stated he plans to ultimately meet with representatives of all USA Volleyball areas.
“I need to work carefully with them so we perceive their wants higher all with the objective of rising the participation within the sport and making it the game of alternative for our youth,” Davis stated. “Proper now, on day two, I might let you know I’m in that analysis stage. My objective is to do this fairly rapidly.”
Okimura was excited to have Davis on board.
“We used a CEO search committee comprised of many board members and outdoors notables after which labored instantly with an govt search agency. Jamie stood out from all of the candidates primarily due to the depth of his enterprise expertise,” Okimura stated.
“He’s somebody who’s already been a chief govt on many ranges. He’s somebody who’s achieved enterprise globally, primarily in key markets, Asia, Europe, america, all markets that the game of volleyball is seeking to be extra saturated in.
“And his character, fairly frankly. Excessive vitality, very environment friendly thinker and he confirmed lots of ardour for volleyball for somebody who comes from exterior our small neighborhood and our world.”
In keeping with USA Volleyball, Davis turns into the seventh CEO of USA Volleyball and the primary to come back from exterior the present USA Volleyball lay management. He replaces Doug Beal, the previous nice participant who coached the USA males to the 1984 Olympic gold medal. Beal was the CEO final 12 years.
Davis based his personal firm, Jomadrew Sports activities and Leisure, LLC, after main Fanatics, Inc., the world’s largest on-line retailer of formally licensed sports activities merchandise.
He beforehand was the president of the TV community Versus (now the NBC Sports activities Community), together with a number of roles inside Information Company corresponding to president of China and managing director of ESPN STAR Sports activities.
“He’s from the skilled world of sports activities on many ranges, e-commerce, know-how, primarily with broadcast media,” Okimura stated. “Whereas he isn’t a former volleyball participant or coach, he’s very conversant in the game from the industrial aspect of issues. So he sees us with a really totally different lens and sees lots of potential in USA Volleyball specifically. He sees lots of areas through which we will develop our attain.
“He’s very occupied with working with the 40 areas to strengthen some enterprise alternatives that we’ve got collectively on the nationwide stage but in addition to attempt some alternatives that is likely to be related regionally. He’s a giant thinker.”