Two prominent businessmen and the premier's deputy minister have been appointed directors of the organizing committee for Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics.
The province was allowed to pick three of the 20 people who will sit on the committee's board and Premier Gordon Campbell announced Wednesday that those seats will be filled by Rusty Goepel, Richard Turner and Ken Dobell.
Dobell has worked with Campbell since the premier's days at Vancouver city hall, Turner is chair of the B.C. Lottery Corporation and Goepel is a senior executive with the eighth-largest brokerage firm in the United States and is a director for the Canadian Olympic Committee.
"Mr. Goepel and Mr. Turner are outstanding British Columbians who have made exceptional contributions to the betterment of British Columbia, and bring their wealth of experience to the table," Campbell said in a written statement.
"As the province's senior deputy minister, Mr. Dobell will also ensure that the province's interests and opportunities are maximized and that the Games have the support they require from the highest level of government."
The 20 people who sit on the committee's board of directors are responsible for choosing a chief executive officer and approving budgets and business plans for the Games.
The province's announcement Wednesday brings to 18 the number of
directors who have been appointed. The band councils of the Lil'wat and Squamish Nations still must announce their appointment, who will be the 19th.
The final member and the board's chair will be chosen jointly by the directors. The chair must be approved by at least 75 per cent of the board. Campbell said Wednesday that Jack Poole -- president and CEO of the 2010 Bid Corporation -- is the natural choice and has been recommended to the board.
"The Vancouver 2010 team is pleased that Jack Poole has agreed to join the board and serve as its chair," Campbell said. "We needed the best person leading the Games and now we have him."
But Mike Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and an appointed director of Vancouver's organizing committee, warned that no one is guaranteed the job until the board votes at its first meeting.
"No one is a shoe-in until they get the job. There should be no mistake about this," Chambers said Wednesday from his Ottawa law office.
"It is a decision that is to be made by the board of directors. The board of directors are 19 individuals who are free to vote as they wish."
Directors could choose to reject Poole as the 20th member and chair of the board, but there isn't currently an alternative who could be elected instead, Chambers said.
"I can only say that no one has suggested to me any other name as of today's date," he said.
Of the 20 directors, the City of Vancouver and the municipality of Whistler were each permitted to appoint two people. The federal and provincial governments each appointed three. The Canadian Paralympic Committee chose one person and the Canadian Olympic Committee was permitted to appoint four, plus the three Canadian members of the International Olympic Committee. The band councils of the Lil'wat and Squamish Nations will make one appointment, and the directors will jointly choose the final and 20th member.
"Generally, the board has a nice mix of perspectives and I think it's going to do a great job in overseeing the management of the organization of the Games," Chambers said. "I'm very pleased with the final result of the board list."
Although Chambers and the Vancouver 2010 Transition team describe the list as diverse, there is a noticeable lack of people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
In response to that observation, Chambers emphasized that the board is only a small part of the over-all organizing process and that there are several jobs still waiting to be filled.
"The people that are going to be actually driving the engines, as opposed to this oversight board here, are going to be many and various," Chambers said.
One of the first jobs that has to be filled is that of chief executive officer. Chambers said there will be a thorough search across Canada before a choice is made in December or January.
As for who is going to fill that job, Chambers didn't want to guess. "Anyone who would be guessing who will be the CEO would be buying a lottery ticket really," he said.
"We want to appoint to the CEO position the best person in Canada for the CEO position and right now, that is a completely open field."
aobrian@png.canwest.com
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