INDYCAR: Series Close To Signing New CEO

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Series Close To Signing New CEO

He's familiar with a different kind of horse-power but it appears Randy Bernard is poised to become the new chief executive officer of the IndyCar series.

Robin Miller | Posted January 27, 2010 Indianapolis, IN

He's familiar with a different kind of horse-power but it appears Randy Bernard is poised to become the new chief executive officer of the IndyCar series.

Bernard, currently the CEO of the Professional Bull Riders Association, confirmed to the Sports Business Daily on Wednesday that he'd been offered the position once held by Tony George but a source close to the Hulman-George family said nothing had been officially signed.

"We don't comment on personnel matters," replied Fred Nation, executive vice president of communications of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when asked if Bernard had been hired.

Bernard met with IRL/IMS officials and members of the Hulman-George family last week and Jeff Belskus, who is president and CEO of IMS and the acting, overall boss of IndyCar admitted he was searching for a candidate to occupy the office vacated by George last June.

George, the founder of the Indy Racing League who was voted out of leadership of the Speedway last May, had been asked to stay on as IRL CEO by the IMS board of directors but he declined. The speculation is that he said no because he would have had to report to Belskus, the longtime chief financial officer of the Speedway who was installed to replace Tony Hulman's grandson.

As the IndyCar CEO, Bernard would oversee Terry Angstadt, president of IndyCar's commercial division, and Brian Barnhart, president of the racing operations, but it's not known whether he would report to Belskus.

Bernard, who resides in Los Angeles, became the PBR's CEO in 1995 and this is what his bio says on the company's website.

"As CEO, Bernard shared the vision of the founding members of the organization, twenty one bull riders that broke away from rodeo to revolutionize bull riding and establish it as a stand alone sport. Bernard worked in tandem with the founding members to develop and guide the PBR brand, and the sport itself, through several stages of growth. In a short twelve years under Bernard’s leadership, the PBR has become one of the fastest growing sports properties in North America, providing opportunities to bull riders that only existed in the imagination of the founding members. In April 2007, Bernard successfully executed a merger between Professional Bull Riders, Inc. and Spire Capital Partners, a New York based private equity firm. The merger allowed the founding members and other bull riding shareholders to capitalize on their vision, dedication and commitment while maintaining a significant equity stake in the organization. Bernard remains CEO of PBR under the new ownership structure. Bernard attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and spent six years in the marketing and entertainment department of the California Mid State Fair prior to joining the PBR."