ANAHEIM, Calif. (Jan. 6, 2017) – New USA Volleyball Chief Executive Officer Jamie Davis spent his first three days on the job at the national governing body’s two offices in Southern California while also meeting the organization’s top staff leadership, all to break the ice and learn some of the challenges and opportunities from various perspectives.
“I had a fantastic first week spending time with Karch Kiraly, Matt Fuerbringer, Sean Scott and their teams in California and am very excited to meet John Speraw on my next trip to Los Angeles and Bill Hamiter later this month in Colorado,” Davis said. “These are the people who are critical in developing our athletes and driving USA Volleyball’s success on the international stage. I believe that there are many ways that we, as an organization, can support them through new marketing, sponsorship and business initiatives and provide them the tools to further thrive. I look forward to working with them to make it happen.”
After discussions with USAV Board of Directors Chair Lori Okimura, USAV Chief Operating Officer Chris Vadala and USAV Secretary General Kerry Klostermann on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Davis had the opportunity to talk to several members of the USAV staff based in Anaheim, the official host city for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams, on Wednesday afternoon. Kiraly and Fuerbringer, coaches within the U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Team programs respectively, provided Davis with an overview of the national team center and top-level challenges and opportunities that they see affecting their programs. Gary Moy, USA Volleyball director of indoor national teams, guided Davis through a tour of the American Sports Centers where the team trains in Anaheim and talked about the synergy between the two indoor programs.
“We are all really excited, and I love that he is excited to dive in,” Kiraly said after meeting with Davis. “Anybody who is from outside of the organization has some learning to do – learn to manage relationships with the National Team programs, high performance pipeline, 40 different regions across the country and all the various constituencies. His background is so much in terms of television, digital and social media, licensing and lots of categories that seem like they could be exciting and great opportunities for USA Volleyball to pursue.”
Davis spent his third day on the job meeting with available USAV beach volleyball staff at its location in Torrance, California, on Thursday. He also took a tour of the Torrance beach office that includes its own strength and training facility.
With national team athletes being a priority, Davis also had the opportunity to meet with three-time Olympic Games gold-medalist Misty May-Treanor and two-time Olympic silver medalist Tayyiba Haneef-Park. Both Haneef-Park, a member of the USA Volleyball Board of Directors, and May-Treanor served on the CEO search committee. Both athletes have offered their full support to help guide and support Davis in his immersion into the volleyball world.
Davis will visit with other staff at the USAV headquarters in Colorado Springs on Jan. 17. He will relocate to the Colorado Springs office full-time starting the fourth week of January.
Davis’ travel schedule will be busy over his first 50 days on the job starting with a Board strategic planning session with key NBC and USOC partners, followed by the January USAV board meeting. He has trips planned with Okimura to visit the training center for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Sitting Volleyball programs in Edmond, Oklahoma, and meeting all of the 40 USAV Regional Volleyball Association leaders across the country with regional representatives of the Board. Okimura and Davis will meet international leaders of the sport, including the FIVB and NORCECA, then with USAV’s sponsors and partners before beginning the process of meeting with other constituent groups.
“Our main priority these first few weeks is to introduce Jamie to the USAV Staff, Board and Regional Volleyball Associations and we will make a special visit to meet with the FIVB and NORCECA to discuss the changes coming for USA Volleyball,” Okimura said. “Jamie has my full support and anything he needs from me to establish his foundation in the business of volleyball. He has the support of the Board with every resource available to make necessary changes to strengthen our business outlook and change our dynamic. His leadership vision will increase our ability to provide more benefit to the regions, members, athletes and commercial partners in beach, indoor and sitting volleyball in the future.”
Okimura was impressed with Davis’ ability over the three days to quickly identify areas of opportunities for the organization to move forward and meet strategic goals.
“In his first few days on the job, I am impressed with how quickly Jamie has identified many ways to help USAV enter into new markets, attract new partners, build our brand and boost our profile among other sports properties,” Okimura said. “He has a very proactive style that fits in quite well with the Board’s vision for the future. And his open communication, transparency and genuine interest in learning as much as he can about USAV and volleyball in general is very refreshing.”