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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Belskus Moving Forward With 2013 Plans
Marshall Pruett speaks with IMS and IndyCar CEO Jeff Belskus to get a clearer picture on where the series is headed and what's to come with its CEO search.
Jeff Belskus made it clear on more than one occasion that he is charge at the IndyCar Series and will lead the open-wheel series forward as it seeks new layers of management. (Photo: IMS Photo)
For those wondering where the IZOD IndyCar Series is headed, its current state of health, when a new CEO will be named and what kind of plans are in place for 2013, Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus, who has taken over the CEO role at IndyCar for the second time since 2009, answered some of those questions for SPEED.com on Thursday.
Sunday’s abrupt firing of IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard—three years into his five-year contract—caused a major panic among open-wheel’s core followers, and with the need to stabilize the proverbial ship while seeking Bernard’s replacement, Belskus clarified who is in charge and what attributes are being sought for IndyCar’s next leader.
“I am the CEO of the IndyCar Series now,” he said. “It’s a position I’ve held previously, I’m an experienced CEO and it does relate to what we’re looking for [with the next CEO]. They’ve got to have solid leadership experience; I don’t think motorsports experience is an absolute must, but it’s helpful. The ability to think strategically and implement strategy. A promotional mindset is important. And yeah, the ability to work well with others.”
Asked if he and the Hulman & Co. board were seeking another all-powerful CEO, or to modernize the series’ infrastructure by spreading the management load across a deeper base of VPs, Belskus alluded to the possibility of IndyCar receiving more than just a new CEO in the near future.
“Anyone who’s been in a CEO role like I have will tell you that you need a good team,” he said. “We’re fortunate that we have a good team in place at the IndyCar Series and a good team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and yet, having said that, different people will want to bring their own mark to those teams, so it’s understandable as well.”
Efforts have begun to find a new CEO, but with Belskus currently performing that role, there’s no urgency to name Bernard’s replacement.
“We’re still defining the process,” he explained. “The search has already started. At this point, we don’t have a short-list of names; I think it’s premature to include or exclude anyone at this point. The criteria I mentioned to you, we need to more fully refine that and execute a vision for success on this search and communicate that to our partners in a manner that gets all of our stakeholders pulling in the same direction. No specific timeline has been attached to this.”
The messiness of Bernard’s removal has been a sore subject for many, which Belskus wasn’t inclined to speak on in any detail, but he reiterated that with him stepping into the role once Bernard was fired, there was no lack of leadership experienced within the series.
“It gets back to one of my first comments: I am the CEO of the IndyCar Series now,” he declared. “We do have a CEO in place. I’m not introducing myself as the interim CEO…and while we will conduct a search, I’ve spent the last couple of days doing a deep dive at the IndyCar offices engaging the staff and understanding in more detail the plans for 2013. Some of them have started to be implemented, and some are still works in progress. And I’m energized by what I’m finding. We’ve got a lot of really good opportunities with the IndyCar Series.”
Sunday’s abrupt firing of IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard—three years into his five-year contract—caused a major panic among open-wheel’s core followers, and with the need to stabilize the proverbial ship while seeking Bernard’s replacement, Belskus clarified who is in charge and what attributes are being sought for IndyCar’s next leader.
“I am the CEO of the IndyCar Series now,” he said. “It’s a position I’ve held previously, I’m an experienced CEO and it does relate to what we’re looking for [with the next CEO]. They’ve got to have solid leadership experience; I don’t think motorsports experience is an absolute must, but it’s helpful. The ability to think strategically and implement strategy. A promotional mindset is important. And yeah, the ability to work well with others.”
Asked if he and the Hulman & Co. board were seeking another all-powerful CEO, or to modernize the series’ infrastructure by spreading the management load across a deeper base of VPs, Belskus alluded to the possibility of IndyCar receiving more than just a new CEO in the near future.
“Anyone who’s been in a CEO role like I have will tell you that you need a good team,” he said. “We’re fortunate that we have a good team in place at the IndyCar Series and a good team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and yet, having said that, different people will want to bring their own mark to those teams, so it’s understandable as well.”
Efforts have begun to find a new CEO, but with Belskus currently performing that role, there’s no urgency to name Bernard’s replacement.
“We’re still defining the process,” he explained. “The search has already started. At this point, we don’t have a short-list of names; I think it’s premature to include or exclude anyone at this point. The criteria I mentioned to you, we need to more fully refine that and execute a vision for success on this search and communicate that to our partners in a manner that gets all of our stakeholders pulling in the same direction. No specific timeline has been attached to this.”
The messiness of Bernard’s removal has been a sore subject for many, which Belskus wasn’t inclined to speak on in any detail, but he reiterated that with him stepping into the role once Bernard was fired, there was no lack of leadership experienced within the series.
“It gets back to one of my first comments: I am the CEO of the IndyCar Series now,” he declared. “We do have a CEO in place. I’m not introducing myself as the interim CEO…and while we will conduct a search, I’ve spent the last couple of days doing a deep dive at the IndyCar offices engaging the staff and understanding in more detail the plans for 2013. Some of them have started to be implemented, and some are still works in progress. And I’m energized by what I’m finding. We’ve got a lot of really good opportunities with the IndyCar Series.”
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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