Good morning.
As CEO of LA28, Reynold Hoover is charged with staging the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. I spoke with the retired U.S. Army three-star lieutenant general last night about his vision and strategy to make the Games sustainable, profitable and bigger than ever. Hoover was our featured guest at a Los Angeles dinner for sustainability leaders sponsored by Deloitte, which also sponsors this newsletter.
Hoover has held senior roles in the White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the CIA, along with serving as deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM). Among other things, those experiences taught him the importance of trusted relationships and partnerships to get things done.
Bringing in 15 million visitors to watch more than 15,000 athletes compete in 36 sports also requires money, technology and an army of volunteers. While Los Angeles is not planning to build new facilities for the games, it will be retrofitting old ones—building a field for track on top of the existing one in the Los Angeles Coliseum, for example, at a cost of around $100 million. Softball and canoe slalom will take place in Oklahoma City, which already boasts world-class facilities for those sports.
As a driver of long-term economic growth, the Olympics has a mixed track record. But the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles was a triumph of planning that helped make it the first profitable games in years. It took technology to a new level—1984 was a pivotal year in tech, after all—and it turned out to be a pivotal moment for women as they could compete in the marathon and other sports for the first time that year.
There’s no doubt 2028 will be a pivotal year for the Olympics, too. When asked about the legacy he would like to leave in the 2028 Olympics, Hoover said he wants to do a good job. Whether that’s staging a 50-state torch run or leveraging AI to reimagine the attendee experience, it’s clear that Hoover sets the bar high when it comes to what’s ‘good’.
More news below.
Diane Brady
[email protected]
Follow on LinkedIn
TOP NEWS
Apple manager files privacy lawsuit
A manager at Apple filed a lawsuit Sunday accusing the tech giant of spying on employees' data through the personal Apple devices they use for work. Amar Bhakta's basic allegation? That the company requires employees to give up their right to personal privacy when they work there. Coins2Day
Gelsinger’s $140 million loss
Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger will miss out on nearly $140 million worth of stock after resigning from the struggling chipmaker because he didn’t hit certain performance goals. Gelsinger will still walk away having earned $46 million, including severance, since becoming CEO in 2021. Coins2Day
Frontier classes up
Frontier Airlines is moving partly away from a budget-friendly model by introducing first-class seating, the airline announced. This will require the airline to clear out the first two rows of its economy seating, a move other budget airlines have started to gravitate towards. Coins2Day
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
40% of job seekers say they haven’t had a single job interview this year by Chloe Berger
Super Micro whistleblower doubles down on claim he was fired for complaining about accounting practices at the $20 billion tech giant by Amanda Gerut
Tesla fumes over Delaware judge’s final ruling to block paying Elon Musk ‘what he’s worth’ by Christiaan Hetzner
Bolt CEO: This holiday shopping season, retailers’ quiet revolution against credit card fees is getting louder by Justin Grooms
The world needs more electricity—but don’t blame AI, Microsoft president Brad Smith says by Jeremy Kahn
Tony’s Chocolonely is one of the fastest growing chocolatiers. But its boss says selling chocolate isn’t the main goal—shaking up the cocoa industry is by Prarthana Prakash
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams.
