LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

DAVID ARIAS LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

People elected or appointed to a board of directors act as servant leaders. We work together with our professional staff, committees, partner agencies and members of the fencing community to establish plans for the future and ensure accountability. Most of my work as board chair can best be described as an air traffic controller as we consider issues that affect us all. I really can’t do anything on my own. People smarter than I am put a structure in place that includes checks on authority and requires approval from the board before any significant steps or actions are taken, largely based on the expertise and dedication of volunteers who serve on a total of 23 committees, resource groups and task forces.

There are times where leadership becomes especially important. If I never make another decision as board chair, or if the board decides to appoint another person to serve in my place, I am grateful for the opportunity to have helped make decisions that had a significant impact on the lives of everyone touched by USA Fencing. Two decisions stand out in particular:

The first was essentially mine, but I sought counsel from a wide variety of people within the fencing community and the entire Olympic movement. I hired Jack Gierhart as interim CEO for USA Fencing. The former CEO of USA Sailing, Jack lived with his family in the Boston area and was one of seven people considered for the role. It quickly became clear that he was best person for the job of interim CEO. Jack spent the last nine months genuinely getting to know the fencing community, supporting our staff and hiring many of the positions lost as a result of COVID-19, making sound business decisions and helping establish new initiatives in fundraising and coaching education and development.

The second decision involved a lot more people and viewpoints, taking six months to complete and including at least a dozen candidates before the board unanimously named Phil Andrews our permanent CEO. You can read the details of his exceptional qualifications and background on the USA Fencing website and on social media. Phil has already spent his first weeks visiting with clubs of all sizes as well as connecting with hundreds of people throughout the fencing community by phone. Phil is the perfect leader to build on the work done before him. I’m excited and grateful that he will be our CEO through at least Los Angeles 2028.

I hope to have more opportunities to serve – working with so many others to prepare USA Fencing for the future – but I take great comfort in being part of at least these two decisions.

David Arias Chair, Board of Directors