LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The panel working to bring the 2024 summer Olympic and Paralympic games to Los Angeles added some corporate star power to its ranks today, naming Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Bob Iger to its board of directors.
Iger joins four-time Olympic champion Janet Evans, NBA champion and business leader Earvin “Magic” Johnson, nine-time Paralympian Candace Cable and labor leader María Elena Durazo as vice chairs of the LA 2024 Board of Directors.
“For decades, Bob has been a pioneer, forging that connection and discovering new ways to reach vast, diverse audiences around the globe,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “His experience will be a tremendous boost for LA 2024 as we look to promote the unifying values of sport and the Olympic movement.”
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said Iger “brings a proven track record on how to reach out to young people and families by engaging them with compelling content delivered through the latest digital technology. That is precisely what the Olympic family is looking for right now under the visionary Olympic Agenda 2020 roadmap, and what LA 2024 intends to provide.”
According to LA 2024, Iger worked with the late ABC executive Roone Arledge on the broadcast of the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, the 1980 Winter Games at Lake Placid, the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
Iger said the Olympic movement serves to celebrate “the indomitable human spirit and brings people together across continents and cultures in a powerful, shared experience.
“It’s an important endeavor, and I’m proud to support LA 2024’s effort to bring the Games back to Los Angeles and to re-imagine them in ways that engage the global community, elevate the movement and inspire a new generation,” he said.
