Please select your home edition
Edition
Rolly Tasker Sails 2023 LEADERBOARD

US Sailing CEO Alan Ostfield to transition to advisory role, leaving legacy of transformation

by US Sailing 24 Aug 2024 00:52 AEST

US Sailing, the sport's National Governing Body (NGB), today announced that Chief Executive Officer Alan Ostfield, who has been instrumental in driving the organization's recent transformation, will step down from his role and transition to an advisory position for the Association.

Under Ostfield's leadership, and the strategic vision of the US Sailing Board of Directors, US Sailing has undergone a significant transformation, elevating the organization's professionalism and aligning it more closely with its obligations as the NGB to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the broader sailing community.

Over the past four years, Ostfield and his team have implemented critical improvements, including professionalizing the staff with a talented new leadership team and many key staff members, ensuring financial accuracy and transparency, hiring Marcus Lynch as the new High Performance Director to rebuild the Olympic operations, ensuring that the sailor athletes have their important and required voice, building trust and confidence with the USOPC, and developing a corporate partnerships department that has since created more than a dozen new partnerships.

"The Association is substantially better off today than it was when the transformation began, as a result of the hard and good work of Alan and his team," said Richard Jepsen, President of US Sailing's Board of Directors. "Changes of the magnitude needed in the Association and expected by the Board are never easy, and the staff worked hand-in-hand with the Board to make the desired progress. The Board greatly appreciates the incredible work and accomplishments of Alan and his team and knows that the foundation that has been created will lead to even better things ahead."

"With the improved performances at the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as at the 2024 Youth World Championships and Youth European and World Fleet Championships, it is clear that the US Sailing Team is on the right path," said Brian Keane, Interim Chair of the US Sailing Foundation and a member of the search committee that led to the hiring of Marcus Lynch. "I was pleased to partner with Alan to get Marcus on board and know that, with Marcus at the helm and other improvements the Association has made, the US Sailing Team is poised for good things for years to come."

With the foundation of the desired transformation complete, and the common time for national governing body leadership changes to occur after Olympic Games, this transition is well-timed.

Ostfield will continue to serve as an advisor to the Association, including providing guidance on key strategic and operational matters and serving on the search committee for the new CEO, and remain involved to ensure that the transition to new leadership is seamless.

As Alan formally steps down on August 30, he leaves behind a legacy of excellence, with US Sailing positioned for continued success under new leadership.

Related Articles

US Sailing Team set for the Paris 2024 Olympics
13 American athletes in nine classes will take to the Bay of Marseille Over the course of 12 days, 13 American athletes in nine classes will take to the Bay of Marseille for competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, following a shortened runway of three years due to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games. Posted on 27 Jul 2024
Some thoughts on U.S. Olympic sailing
If you're a fan of US Sailing you're best advised to stop reading this editorial Caveat Emptor: If you're a fan of US Sailing, and specifically how the organization runs the U.S. Olympic sailing program, you're best advised to stop reading this editorial. Posted on 13 Mar 2023
Open letter from Paul Cayard
The Executive Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing writes from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing venue I am departing Japan today after absorbing the Olympic environment, observing our team in action and getting pointers from old friends who have been running teams in this game for decades. Posted on 5 Aug 2021
Fun is the key
We can create growth in sailing by helping people have more fun playing with sailboats The lessons of the past are still relevant today! This article excerpt was originally published in the July/August 1996 edition of the American Sailor. Posted on 29 Jul 2020
US Finn sailors set for 2019 Finn Gold Cup at RBYC
Three of the total 63 competitors will be representing the United States. On Monday, December 16, the last event of the 2019 Olympic class World Championships will begin with the 2019 Finn Gold Cup at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, in Melbourne, Australia. Posted on 15 Dec 2019
Hempel Worlds: New Doublehanded Offshore event
Mixed two-person offshore keelboat event will be on the program at the Paris 2024 Olympics For the first time in Olympic history, a Mixed Two-Person Offshore Keelboat event will be on the program at the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition. Posted on 7 Dec 2019
US Sailing team leadership statement
A statement from US Sailing regarding the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program US Sailing and Malcolm Page, Chief of Olympic Sailing, announced that they have agreed to part ways. Page will be leaving US Sailing and returning to his home in Australia. Posted on 20 Sep 2019
2019 Hempel World Cup Series Miami preview
30th anniversary of elite-level Olympic class sailing on Biscayne Bay Racing will soon begin at the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series Miami (HWCSM). This year marks the 30th anniversary of elite-level Olympic class sailing on Biscayne Bay. Posted on 25 Jan 2019
US Sailing team takes on Olympic Qualifier
At World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark The official start of the 2018 Hempel Sailing World Championships is Thursday, (August 2) in beautiful Aarhus, Denmark. Over the course of 11 days of racing, 10 Olympic classes and kites will coexist on the waters outside of Denmark's second largest city. Posted on 1 Aug 2018
Forming, storming, norming and performing
All kinds of teams go through stages of development There are many kinds of sailing teams – junior summer travel teams, Opti teams, high school teams, college teams, doublehanded teams, team race teams, keelboat teams, big boat teams, Olympic teams, America's Cup teams, and so on. Posted on 17 Jun 2018
Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERHenri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeTrofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca 2025