A Wall Street Journal article about the departure, after 10 years, of the $75+ million annual income organization that includes the New York City Marathon's CEO, besides offering speculation as to whether the retiree will actually be joining an effort that will compete with her former employer, adds interesting insights as to what skills may be helpful in serving as the director of what is largely an events program plus some thoughts about succession planning (really was this informal)?
So, about CEO leadership skills, we learn that Mary Wittenberg "ballooned the number of events to about 50 a year, and the (New York City) marathon itself grew from nearly 37,000 finishers in 2005 to more than 50,500 finishers last fall. Total income reached $74 million in 2014, up 29% from the year before, while expenses rose 16% to $72 million, according to the nonprofit’s annual report.
She secured the rights to host the 2008 U.S. Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials in New York, and is a frequent presence and sometime participant in NYRR’s dozens of community races. At one point, she was among several candidates to become chief executive of USA Track & Field, the sport’s American governing body.
To run an organization whose races required city permits, thousands of volunteers and the cooperation of various other constituencies, Ms. Wittenberg drew on her training as a lawyer. She worked as a corporate lawyer before joining NYRR in 1998, becoming its first female chief executive seven years later. Her rise to that post coincided with an enormous boost in female participation in U.S. road races, where they now constitute a majority. Indeed, her credibility at NYRR was also buoyed by her own accomplishments as a runner, including her victory in the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon, which qualified her for a spot in the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials.
And about succession planning (and some more about skills), we learn:
Ms. Wittenberg’s two top deputies, Michael Capiraso, 52, and Peter Ciaccia, 61, will take over leadership of the organization and split what had been Ms. Wittenberg’s responsibilities. Mr. Capiraso becomes president and CEO, and Mr. Ciaccia becomes race director of the marathon
Mr. Capiraso was named chief operating officer of the organization last summer, and previously worked in marketing and strategy for consumer brands including Cole Haan and sports leagues including the NFL and MLB. Mr. Ciaccia was named chief production officer last summer, overseeing race development and broadcasts, and earlier in his career worked in the music industry, including at Sony Music.
Mr. Hirsch, the NYRR chairman, said that he and Wittenberg had talked for “a while” about her departure, that the organization’s board had voted unanimously on her successors.