[FelixQY]

A bit of info in the ATP CEO search




Nov 21: ATP BOD To Meet This Weekend To Possibly Choose A Successor To Adam Helfant




The ATP BOD begins meeting this weekend in London to possibly choose a successor to outgoing Exec Chair & President Adam Helfant. The board may choose Richard Krajicek, a former Wimbledon champion and current director of the Rotterdam tournament, whom top players including Rafael Nadal back, sources said. Tournament reps, however, favor elevating ATP Chief Legal Officer Mark Young or ATP CEO of the Asia-Pacific region Brad Drewett. There has been some talk of a dual role, given that Krajicek's business background is limited. In fact, sources said Roger Federer opposes the former player’s ascension for that reason. If the board is unable to select a winner, it may need to hire a headhunting firm to find new candidates, ensuring the tour goes into '12 without a new leader. The ATP is an unusual grouping of management and labor interests, and it has existed uneasily side-by-side under the same roof since the inception of the modern ATP in '90. However, recent leaders have found it hard to not be seen as aligning with one side. Helfant’s predecessor, Etienne de Villiers lasted four years and was seen as pro-tournament. Helfant has the opposite reputation and he will have lasted three campaigns. If Krajicek and Young were to have a power-sharing venture, the question would then be which one gets the vote on the seven-member board. There are three players reps, three tournament reps, and the leader of the ATP. One source said the only given this weekend is to expect fireworks in the meeting room.












Nov 28: ATP BOD Meeting Ends Without A Successor For Adam Helfant Named

The ATP World Tour’s BOD meetings ended over the weekend after 10 days without electing a new leader, raising the chance the circuit could go into '12 without someone at the top. The tour board, which is divided between tournament and player reps, while in London for the year-end championships debated over three candidates: former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek; ATP CEO of the Asia-Pacific region Brad Drewett and ATP Chief Legal Officer Mark Young. ATP VP/Corporate Communications Kate Gordon said the board will continue talking this week, and that the candidates the board had been considering would remain the focus. “There is no hard deadline this week,” she said. “Still, the main (goal) is to have someone in place by the end of the year. That is still a possibility.” The board has not decided, at least not yet, to hire a search firm, she said. The board has been looking for a new leader since Adam Helfant said earlier this year he would step down after three years on the job. He was unable to reach a new contract, sources said, though he has publicly said that was not a consideration in his decision. His departure exposed a rift between player and tournament interests on the board, with the tourneys wanting either Young or Drewett, while players want one of their own running the tour. Discussion also emerged during the London finals of a potential push to change the ranking systems from an annual system, to one that covers two years, as in golf. One source said Rafael Nadal had been pushing the change. But Roger Federer, who is also the president of the Players Council, asked about it last week, forcefully opposed the idea. “I know it could be a good thing for me or for Rafa or for other good players because we would stay at the top for a very long time,” he said during a press conference last week. “For us to move down in the rankings would take something extraordinary. But for the lower-ranked players, I don't think it's a good thing and that's why I can't support it.”
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/D...=krajicek&sc=0