USA Volleyball has gone outside the sport for its new leader.
The national governing body announced Tuesday morning that Jamie Davis, sports media, marketing and business executive, as its new CEO of USA Volleyball.
“I am really pleased to welcome Jamie Davis to USA Volleyball. He is a tremendous asset for us moving forward and he’s going to take us into new areas of business on a global level in sports,” USA Volleyball board of directors chair Lori Okimura said.
Davis was traveling to Los Angeles Tuesday to meet with Okimura and others in USA Volleyball before heading to the organization’s headquarters in Colorado Springs.
“We used a CEO search committee comprised of many board members and outside notables and then worked directly with an executive search firm. Jamie stood out from all the candidates primarily because of the depth of his business experience,” Okimura said.
“He’s someone who’s already been a chief executive on many levels. He’s someone who’s done business globally, primarily in key markets, Asia, Europe, the United States, all markets that the sport of volleyball is looking to be more saturated in.
“And his personality, quite frankly. High energy, very efficient thinker and he showed a lot of passion for volleyball for someone who comes from outside our small community and our world.”
According to USA Volleyball, Davis becomes the seventh CEO of USA Volleyball and the first to come from outside the existing USA Volleyball lay leadership.
Davis founded his own company, Jomadrew Sports and Entertainment, LLC, after leading Fanatics, Inc., the world’s largest online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise.
He previously was the president of the TV network Versus (now the NBC Sports Network), along with several roles within News Corporation such as president of China and managing director of ESPN STAR Sports.
“He is from the professional world of sports on many levels, e-commerce, technology, primarily with broadcast media,” Okimura said. “While he is not a former volleyball player or coach, he is very familiar with the sport from the commercial side of things. So he sees us with a very different lens and sees a lot of potential in USA Volleyball in particular. He sees a lot of areas in which we can expand our reach.
“He’s very interested in working with the 40 regions to strengthen some business opportunities that we have collectively at the national level but also to to try some opportunities that might be relevant locally. He’s a big thinker.”
VolleyballMag.com will interview Davis later Tuesday.
“Having worked in sports for over 25 years, I have participated in and watched the industry grow and transform dramatically,” Davis said in a USA Volleyball news release. “Today, with the pace of change in digital technology, I believe that we have the ability to revolutionize how USA Volleyball interacts with our athletes, regions, sponsors and partners.
“I am looking forward to working with the staff and teams to insure that USA Volleyball is a major presence in every form of media consumed by our constituents, which in turn will grow the popularity of this great sport.”
