“Actions matter” in attempts to move forward
USA Curling’s Board of Directors has named Interim Chief Executive Officer Dean Gemmell as the new official CEO.
Gemmell had served as the USA Curling Interim CEO since November 1, following a controversy-wracked period for the official governing body.
The Curling News spoke to Gemmell three months into his interim tenure.
“I’m encouraged by the willingness of the curling community to come together and work towards positive change,” Gemmell said at the time. “I’ve had all kinds of candid and constructive conversations, we have formed working groups with curlers from across the country, and everyone at USA Curling is working hard to be the national organization our members deserve.
“I’ll continue to communicate regularly—town halls, club visits, one-on-one conversations—but I realize we’ll need to show real progress on the issues that are important to the nation’s curlers. Actions matter.”
Rich Harmer-USA Curling“Over the last six months, Dean Gemmell has exceeded expectations in his performance as Interim CEO” noted Bret Jackson, Chair of the USA Curling Board. “His passion and energy for curling has no bounds. But beyond that, Dean has offered a vision for the organization that is member-centric and prioritizes growing and improving our game.”
Gemmell’s pledge for regular communications has been proven, as he’s hosted multiple town hall meetings on numerous subjects. From the media perspective, the USA Curling social media channels have sprung to life and next season’s event dates and locations have already been confirmed—the earliest such announcements in years.
“The Board went through an extensive hiring process and considered dozens of highly qualified candidates including three C-Level finalists” said Colin Hufman, Vice Chair of the Board and John Shuster’s alternate at Beijing 2022. “Dean stood above them all and we are proud to unanimously select him as our Chief Executive Officer.”
Gemmell had served in a USA Curling development role prior to his move to interim CEO, and is leading the organization to a new membership model and governance structure.