It was announced over a week ago that Michael Whan was chosen to be the next Commissioner for the LPGA. I have purposely waited for the dust to settle before writing about this decision as I wanted to really reflect and not knee-jerk my reaction. My disclaimer is that I do not know 
Michael Whan nor have I ever heard of him but that doesn’t stop me from voicing my opinion about his selection. Let me also say that I have nothing against Whan, personally or professionally.
There are so many subtopics here that we could follow but I want to focus on just one – why him and not ‘her’? I will say that Whan does have sports marketing experience and golf industry experience with Taylor Made which his predecessor Carolyn Bivens did not. That right there adds a small bit to my comfort level but what happened to the women that were in the running or perhaps should have been in the running for this all-important position??
Donna Oreander chose to remove her name from consideration stating she was happy at the WNBA. OK, that makes sense. She is top dog there and is doing a fine job. Why take on the headaches associated with an organization that is struggling to find its own identity and maintain its existence?? Guess that challenge is too risky and too much for some.
My personal hope was that Zayra Calderon would be named to the position. Zayra helped build the Duramed FUTURES Tour from a fledgling, scrape by the seat of your pants wanna-be
into a tour that captured the sponsorship of the Duramed Pharmaceutical Co and the attention of the LPGA as its official developmental tour. She is revered by the players, tournament owners and directors, as well as the sponsors of the tours 20+ stops. After selling the Duramed FUTURES Tour to the LPGA, she was named Senior Vice President, New Business Development and Worldwide Sales, in addition to retaining her role as CEO of the Duramed.
When Ms. Bivens was unceremoniously ousted buy the rank and file of the LPGA, Zayra was elevated to the position of Executive VP of Tournament Development and Worldwide Sales – translation…Zayra was asked to lead the charge to shore up severely damaged relationships left in the wake of Bivens ‘bull-in-the-china-shop regime.
That tells me that she not only understands the product, but has the business savvy to get things done. Was she seriously considered or even interested in the top spot? My gut tells me as much as she loves the tour and all that it means to those that make a living playing it and to those that love the women’s game she would have taken the helm without hesitation.
Of course, this is only my opinion but the real issue here is what will happen next? Is Mr. Whan truly is the right person for the job? Why wouldn’t the most prestigious women’s sports organization in existence today not think that the right woman would be a best fit and actively search for such a female to lead this wonderful organization?? You can’t convince me that there isn’t a woman that has the same experience in business, marketing and golf as Mr. Whan somewhere out there. How far did the search really go?
Until then, I am hoping that Mr. Whan and the fine staff that he will inherit (including Zayra) can take the LPGA out of the abyss it was thrown into with Bivens mistimed attempts to take the LPGA to the next level. There is so much at stake here and there is no room for error. Time will tell……………
Thanks for visiting Ladies on the Tee at www.sherrytabb.com. What do you think about the LPGA’s choice?
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Tags: golf industry, golf networking, golf professionals, LPGA Commissioner, sports industry
There is no doubt that Zayra Calderon has done an excellent job building the Duramed Futures Tour and in her most recent role with the LPGA. I think she would have been very qualified to be the next commissioner.
I think ideally it would be best to have a woman leading the organization. Why the LPGA board of directors did not go with a woman is a good question.
It does look like Michael Whan is a very good selection, however, from everything I have learned about him.
In any event I’ll wish him and the tour great success in recovering from the rough period the tour finds itself in right now. Let’s hope 2010 is the beginning of a great new era for women’s professional golf here in the U.S.
I believe your column to be gender biased. I also believe that the LPGA tried a woman and she ran it into the ground. I believe the LPGA came into it’s own with a male commissioner, thrived with a male commissioner and lost almost everything it had accomplished with a woman commissioner. So to ask why they didn’t hire a woman is really kind of evident. I’m not saying their are not women capable of making the LPGA grow I’m saying the LPGA is not in a position to take a chance. That being said I don’t believe Mr. Whan is the correct choice either and that will become evident soon.
Andy Moriano´s last blog ..LPGA’s best smile finding nothing to smile about!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andy, your are spot on that my column is gender biased as it should be on this point to counteract what really happened. My point is that just because Carolyn Bivens screwed up royally with her lack of knowledge of her product that does not preclude the fact the there are very qualified women available and should be considered for such a role. I believe the committee was gender biased based on one bad judgment call. It wasn’t Bivens gender that was the problem it was her total lack of experience and her bullying style. That comes in both packages – male and female. So to say it is evident why a woman wasn’t selected is to say that she is representative of All women. I don’t buy that for a minute. She was a poor choice. I am hoping that Whan is not also one.
All we can do is wish him well and keep our fingers crossed and. as you say, hope 2010 is a much better year for all involved.