USA Cycling plans to hire Rob DeMartini, who is stepping down as New Balance’s president and CEO at the close of the year, as its new CEO, according to Cycling News. He replaces outgoing CEO Derek Bouchard-Hall.
The report indicated USA Cycling declined to comment for this article. An official announcement is expected in January.
USA Cycling declined to comment for this article, saying through a spokesman that the CEO search remains confidential.
In October, ASSOS of Switzerland said that Bouchard-Hall would become its next CEO, replacing Phil Duff. Duff will stay on as chairman. Bouchard-Hall led the organization for three years.
In early November, New Balance announced that Joe Preston, currently chief commercial officer, would succeeds DeMartini at the close of the year. He began his New Balance career in 1995 as vice president, international, Asia/Pacific in 2002 and vice president, international in 2005 and was promoted to executive vice president, International in January 2008. He was later named to lead the brand’s global product, R&D and sports marketing.
DeMartini led New Balance for 12 years and oversaw global growth of the athletic brand from $1.5 billion in 2007 to $4.2 billion in 2018. During that time, New Balance regained its leadership in the specialty running category; expanded international sales to 65 percent from 30 percent and made significant strides in its apparel, retail and e-commerce business. The company also had one of the highest growth rates in the industry in recent years, averaging an 11 percent compound annual growth rate. DeMartini championed the brand’s long-standing commitment to owned manufacturing and played a key role in working with U.S. government and industry officials to secure implementation of Berry Amendment legislation for athletic footwear.
DeMartini joined New Balance as CEO in 2007, moving to the company from Tyson Foods, where he oversaw all aspects of the company’s $6 billion consumer products business. Prior to Tyson’s, he was with Procter & Gamble for 18 years.
Bouchard-Hall took over at USA Cycling in June 2015 as the sport was still recovering from the doping scandal from the Lance Armstrong era that tarnished USA Cycling’s reputation. He was credited with overhauling its leadership structure, hiring a number of coaches and administrators for its world championship and Olympic teams, building relationships with grass-roots organizations and established new sponsorship streams to support growth. There was a major schism between USA Cycling’s goals of fostering the sport at the amateur level while also pushing its high-performance program.
USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability levels.
