The man in charge of preparing the city of Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics was never an elite athlete. I had never worked in the sports field before.
So when Reynold Huber talks about his new role as CEO of LA28, the private organization responsible for organizing the Olympic and subsequent Paralympic Games, he can’t help but mention his service as a brigadier general in the Afghanistan war. many.
“This is the most complex logistics operation since World War II,” he says.
During the massive troop increase in 2010, Hoover scrambled to keep the U.S. military supplied. That means finding a way to deliver 6 million meals, 2 million gallons of fuel, and 1 million cases of bottled water each month to hundreds of bases and outposts, some of which can only be reached by airdrop. I meant it.
Veterans suggest hosting the world’s biggest sporting event won’t be much different.
“It’s all about planning, operations and logistics,” he says. “If you get those three things right, everything else will fall into place.”
This fall marks a turning point for Olympic organizers, moving from planning to the nuts and bolts of getting things done. Southern California has big bets on their success or failure over the next four years.
If the tournament goes awry, it can result in incorrect tickets and bumper-to-bumper jams. If LA28 spends too much or doesn’t get enough corporate sponsorships or other revenue, city and state taxpayers will be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Reynold is one of the few people in the country with the operational and logistics expertise needed for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said LA28 President Casey Wasserman. “He is entrusted with some of the most complex challenges in our country.”
LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman (center left) and CEO Reynold Huber (center right) attend a presentation during the Paris Olympics.
(Wally Scully/Los Angeles Times)
Hoover took command of the Joint Sustainment Force, headquartered in Kandahar, in late 2009. A former explosive ordnance disposal specialist and recipient of the Bronze Star during Operation Enduring Freedom, he had developed into a quiet but capable leader.
The force he inherited needed an overhaul to cope with the influx of thousands more troops. Hoover quickly established a new management structure and assembled a core of executives experienced in various aspects of supply.
“He knows he needs to surround himself with people who have expertise that he doesn’t have,” says the retired brigadier general. General Skip O’Neill, one of the former officers. “He has no ego about it.”
Their mission was difficult and dangerous. Retired Colonel Anthony Kyles recalls: “We were building a city in a war zone.”
Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, while not particularly complex or dangerous, involves preparing dozens of stadiums and arenas, accommodating thousands of athletes, and coordinating transportation across the region over two hectic months. will appear. You also have to guide your millions of fans.
Hoover accepted the challenge in June, replacing marketing veteran Kathy Carter as LA28’s chief executive officer. He was hired not only for his military experience but also because he retired as a lieutenant general.
He has also served in the National Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, CIA, and the White House, and served as a homeland security expert under the George W. Bush administration.
Borrowing from his own Afghanistan strategy, Mr. Hoover identified three priorities, starting with the reorganization of LA28 and creating separate departments for planning, operations, and logistics. Previously, almost all of this work fell to just one man: John Harper, the company’s longtime chief operating officer.
“That’s too much control,” Huber said. “If the people who should be focusing on organizing the Games are worrying about the bed sheets in the Olympic Village, they’re not focusing on the right things.”
The second item on his to-do list includes continuing negotiations with the city of LA, which needs to provide traffic control, trash collection and other services at the venue.
Huber, who is new to Southern California, has made it a point to meet with city council members in his district as a way to hear their ideas and explore his new hometown. “We go out for breakfast,” says the Connecticut native.
Councilor Monica Rodriguez said she felt he was “keenly aware of the concerns raised by the government.” [council] members. After a series of weekly meetings and their time together at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Mayor Karen Bass said she came to believe that “the experience he brings will be extremely important.”
The final part of Hoover’s plan focuses on interacting with community leaders and local organizations. After The Times wrote about beautifying Los Angeles with environmentally friendly landscaping, he contacted the experts cited in the article.
“We were pleasantly surprised,” says Katie Tilford, interim executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to growing and educating about California’s native plants.
Foundation leaders visited LA28’s offices and gave a presentation on the re-landscaping of the venue and other Olympic sites. “Any small patch of soil can become a habitat for wildlife,” Tilford says. “I’m not saying he’s made any promises, but…we’ll be reaching out to them with more ideas.”
So far, Hoover’s reach has not extended to NOlympics LA, an opposition group that describes LA28 as a “black box” operating out of public view. Concerned about the possibility of homeless encampments being cleared or an oppressive police presence during the convention, the group focused on Hoover’s background.
“We have a lot of concerns about the violence and fear this man will bring to the people of LA,” says Eric Sheehan, a member of NOlympics LA. “We are concerned about what this signals to Angelenos.”
There have been other issues over the past five months. Pasadena recently approved a deal with LA28 to join Inglewood, Long Beach and other nearby cities as venues, but Santa Monica City Council members are balking at hosting beach volleyball. The decision to hold softball and canoe slalom in Oklahoma City, which has the best facilities for those sports, has faced public backlash.
“We probably weren’t as transparent as we could be,” Hoover said of the venue changes that were made before the hire. “As a result, we have to return to the city [of L.A.] And explain to the city why that makes sense. ”
Wasserman was the subject of tabloid coverage during the Paris Games several months ago, leading some outsiders to suggest he resign. Huber described the incident as “a bit of a distraction,” but insisted: “We remain focused on what we’re doing.”
The relationship between the CEO and the Chairman is notable in that it essentially divides LA28’s main workload.
Mr. Wasserman will continue to lead revenue generation, while Mr. Huber will oversee day-to-day operations. As the grandson of Hollywood mogul Lou Wasserman and owner of a prestigious entertainment agency, he is seen as key in persuading patrons and corporate sponsors.
“Look, he has his skill set and I have mine,” Huber says. “I think that’s why we make such a great pair.”
The fate of the 2028 Summer Olympics depends on their every move over the next few years. As an unexpected choice for this job, Hoover understands that some people, both inside and outside the Olympic movement, will question his approach.
The former military man sticks to what he knows best.
It’s a method tested in “the most rigorous and complex environments where people are shooting and people are dying,” he says. “The model that I want this organization to aspire to works.”
