Chris Welton, who once headed the IOC's sponsor marketing, will lead the U.S. Equestrian Federation beginning June 1. The organization's board voted unanimously to hire Welton at a meeting today at its headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky.
Welton, a lawyer by training, entered the realm of Olympic marketing in 1991 when he became a vice president for the Atlanta Olympics. Welton subsequently formed Atlanta-based Meridian Marketing in 1996 to plan and execute IOC dealings with sponsors, from prospecting to servicing. Welton and his partner eventually sold the company to the IOC, reaping a few million dollars on the sale.
In 2005, he joined Helios Partners in Atlanta, a firm known for sports marketing and its work on Olympic bids. He parted ways with Helios in 2013.
The announcement from the USEF notes Welton is an avid horseman, who describes himself as a Western pleasure rider. He and his wife own a horse farm in Georgia.
Welton was known before his professional career as member of a national championship collegiate football team at the University of Georgia.
"Equestrian sport has been a part of the human experience from our earliest days and is a foundational sport within the Olympic Movement," Welton is quoted in a news release.
"I look forward to applying my experience and skills toward building on the great foundation and standard the previous leaders have set."
Welton succeeds John Long, who announced his retirement a year ago. Long was the first CEO of the U.S. governing body for equestrian sport.
Welton, a voracious traveler in his Olympic marketing days, will make his USEF international debut later this month when he goes to Lausanne, a town he knows well, as part of the U.S. delegation to the International Equestrian Federation Sports Forum and Extraordinary General Assembly.
Welton will work out of the USEF headquarters in Lexington.
Written by Ed Hula
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