USAV CEO Jamie Davis Shares Vision with Top FIVB and NORCECA Officials

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, January 20, 2017 - USA Volleyball CEO Jamie Davis, who started his role on Jan. 3, continued his on-boarding process this week as the top volleyball leader in the United States by making his first trip abroad and meeting the top international volleyball leaders of FIVB and NORCECA to learn, enhance and strategize concepts to grow the sport of volleyball in the United States and around the world.

Davis, along with USA Volleyball Board of Directors Chairman Lori Okimura, met with FIVB President Ary Graça on Thursday in Lausanne, Switzerland – headquarters of the FIVB. In their meeting with Graça, Davis and Okimura discussed ways USA Volleyball will change its corporate strategy in the future under the new executive leadership.

Davis and Okimura also had the opportunity to meet with NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, who leads the regional confederation that USA Volleyball is a part of within North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The two USA Volleyball leaders were able to have fruitful conversations in establishing some key changes at the confederation level, including new representation on commissions and on the NORCECA Board of Administration for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic quadrennial.

In addition to the two meetings of the presidents of FIVB and NORCECA, Davis and Okimura held key meetings with FIVB General Director Fabio Azevedo and FIVB Secretary General Fernando Lima to share USA Volleyball’s intention to change its strategy for marketing, new media and public relations among other key areas. Topics discussed included USA Volleyball’s intent to pursue the creation of a professional league for men’s and women’s indoor volleyball, increase participation in international events at all age groups in all disciplines, establish more FIVB World Tour events and properties for beach volleyball and to include more opportunities for sitting volleyball in cooperation with World ParaVolley and the 40 regions of USA Volleyball.

“It was an honor meeting FIVB President Ary Graça and NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz in Lausanne and being able to have deep conversations regarding my strategic direction of USA Volleyball,” Davis said. “Our goals of increasing participation in all volleyball disciplines, establishing more FIVB events in the United States, pursuing the creation of a professional league for men's and women's indoor volleyball, and building the overall brand of USA Volleyball were very well received and I am confident that we will be able to work closely with the FIVB and NORCECA to achieve success.”

Okimura echoed Davis on the importance of the meetings with the FIVB and NORCECA as a bridge to sharing ideas and building the brand of USA Volleyball domestically and internationally.

“Introducing Jamie Davis to the world of international volleyball today was one of the most rewarding and exciting moments in my long-standing career in volleyball,” Okimura said. “We sincerely appreciate the continued partnership and support of the FIVB and our confederation of NORCECA. And, we look forward to making some key changes within USA Volleyball to put us in a position to improve the marketing and promotion of international areas of beach, indoor and sitting volleyball in the United States. Thanks to a very open and candid dialogue with FIVB President Graça, we have identified many areas where USA Volleyball will now play the lead role in creating and endorsing new sports properties in our territory, and introducing new partners and sponsors to our portfolio.”

Okimura was appointed to the FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission this past December and she will return to Lausanne to attend the commission meeting. She has vast experience in the international beach scene having previously served as a technical supervisor for the FIVB World Tour. Okimura currently serves as president of the NORCECA Marketing Commission and is a member of the World ParaVolley Judicial Commission.

"Our goal is to make strategic changes within USA Volleyball that will support a new plan for success on the business side,” Okimura said. “We will assist our 40 Regional Volleyball Associations and support an aggressive marketing campaign to showcase our stars while maintaining the competitive excellence that we have achieved at the Olympic and Paralympic level.”

Davis’ travel schedule will be busy over his first 50 days on the job starting with a Board strategic planning session with key NBC and USOC partners next weekend, followed by the January USAV board meeting on Jan. 29-30. He has trips planned with Okimura to visit the training center for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Sitting Volleyball programs in Edmond, Oklahoma, and meeting all of the 40 USAV Regional Volleyball Association leaders across the country with regional representatives of the Board.

Davis, who visited with staff at the USAV headquarters in Colorado Springs on Jan. 17, will relocate to the Colorado Springs office full-time starting Jan. 23. On his first three days on the job, Davis visited indoor national team staff at USA Volleyball’s training facility in Anaheim and the beach staff in its training facility in Torrance, California.