WASHINGTON – The inaugural USA Cricket Board of Directors was finalizedtoday with the announcement of three Independent Directors in a historicallandmark for cricket in the United States.
Following a recommendation from the independent Nominating and GovernanceCommittee, the three positions were approved by the seven ConstituentDirectors. The three Independent Directors have a wealth of knowledge andexperience which will bring great value to the USA Cricket Board and are asfollows:
– Catherine Carlson, Senior Vice President Corporate Partnerships and Premium Activation, Orlando Magic – Paraag Marathe, President of 49ers Enterprises and Executive Vice President of Football Operations, San Francisco 49ers. – Rohan Sajdeh, Senior Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group
The appointment of the three Independent Directors is the next step in anextensive, thorough and transparent process designed to assemble a Board ofDirectors that can unite the U.S. cricket community and achieve cricket’sundoubted potential in the world’s most competitive sports market. Thefirst Chair of the Board will be elected at the inaugural Board meetingnext month and will be announced shortly thereafter. Attention will nowfocus on an application by USA Cricket for membership to the ICC.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson welcomed the latest development as amajor milestone not only for cricket in the United States, but also thegame globally. “USA Cricket now has a governance structure and a highcaliber Board that we believe positions the organization well to achieveits enormous potential. A successful U.S. cricket administration is greatfor world cricket and we are delighted with the quality of board candidateswho have been selected from an incredibly impressive field and we think theglobal game will benefit from their expertise.”
Catherine Carlson who will serve a three-year term is a sponsorship sales,strategic partnerships and business development expert. Prior to her workwith the Orlando Magic NBA team, Ms. Carlson spent over 10 years atDisney’s Wide World of Sports which included modified junior sportsprograms and sports tourism initiatives.
“Having grown up with cricket as a child in Australia, I strongly believecricket is a game that the United States will increasingly grow to love.Data from the ICC’s recent global research indicates that there is alreadya significant base of cricket fans in the United States. However,sustainable growth and development of cricket here requires revenue from adiverse inventory of commercial platforms and I am looking forward toapplying my knowledge and experience in this area as a member of the USACricket Board,” said Carlson.