LOS ANGELES - United States International Olympic Committee Member and four-time Olympian Angela Ruggiero has today been named Chief Strategy Officer of Los Angeles 2024. A Los Angeles native, Ruggiero’s experience and expertise as an Olympian and leading sports administrator will strengthen the committee in its bid to bring the Games back to the US for the first time in 28 years.
As Chief Strategy Officer, Angela Ruggiero will draw upon her experience as an Olympian and her six years as an IOC member serving on numerous commissions – including five currently. Her work will help LA 2024 leverage the city's unique assets such as innovation, sustainability and the more than 1,000 Olympians and Paralympians who live in Los Angeles, to address the needs of the Olympic Movement in the post-Olympic Agenda 2020 landscape.
 |
Angela Ruggiero competed in four Olympic Games with the US Olympic Ice Hockey Team and won four medals, including a gold at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. During her pioneering 16-year career with the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team, Ruggiero wore the USA jersey in more games than any other man or woman in USA Hockey history and she was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. Ruggiero has been a Member of the International Olympic Committee since 2010, following her election by the world’s athletes to represent them on the IOC Athletes’ Commission and was later elected as Vice-Chair in 2014. Between 2011 and 2016 Ruggiero served as the Chairperson of the Coordination Commission for the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games. Importantly, Ruggiero also has experience serving on both the Evaluation and Coordination Commissions for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.
Ruggiero's role with LA 2024 follows the appointment of US IOC Executive Board Member and Olympian Anita DeFrantz as Senior Advisor for Legacy to ensure LA's Games plan would benefit the next generation of Angelenos long after 2024.
US IOC Member and LA 2024 Chief Strategy Officer Angela Ruggiero said: “It is a tremendous honor to join the LA 2024 team as Chief Strategy Officer and I look forward to putting my Olympic experience at the service of LA's candidature. I am excited about what LA has to offer the IOC; a Games plan that focuses on sustainability and innovation with Olympic Agenda 2020 at its core. As an Olympian, I dedicated myself to my team and I am now excited to join a new team, working hard to develop a bid blueprint that will contribute to the long term sustainable success of the Olympic Movement.”
Mayor Eric Garcetti said: “More than 1,000 Olympians and Paralympians choose to call the City of Angels home because of our idyllic weather, our world class sports infrastructure, and our city’s long-term, proven commitment to healthy living and sport. As a hometown hero, Angela embodies Los Angeles’ passion and dedication to sport. She is uniquely suited to help LA 2024 build the perfect Games for athletes and fans alike in 2024.”
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: “The IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms made clear that the Olympic Games need to provide athletes with the optimal Games experience while leaving a long-term legacy that benefits a city. We are convinced that LA 2024 is the embodiment of Olympic Agenda 2020 and we have no doubt that Angela’s addition to our team will help us in our aspiration to be the perfect partner for the Olympic Movement at this time. Our team will benefit tremendously from her unique perspective and wealth of experience. Her dedication to the values of the Olympic Movement will serve as an inspiration to us all as we work to bring back the Games to a city that loves them.”
LA 2024 Director of Athlete Relations Janet Evans said: “At LA 2024, we have been committed to fully integrating athletes into our bid from day one. From the additions of Anita DeFrantz and Tamara Christopherson, to the 53 Olympians and Paralympians who make up our Athletes’ Advisory Commission, to the Athlete Town Hall meetings we are holding across the United States, we have and will continue to go above and beyond when it comes to placing athletes at the center of our bid. Angela’s experience and commitment to the Olympic Movement make her the perfect fit for our bid at this time.”
Like all US IOC members, Ruggiero serves on LA 2024's board of directors and will be ineligible to cast a vote for the 2024 host city at the 130th IOC session in Lima, Peru while Los Angeles is a candidate city. Additionally, with her LA 2024 position and as a member of the USOC board of directors, she will recuse herself from all USOC board discussions and decisions concerning the Los Angeles candidature.
