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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indy Racing League has a new CEO to fill the position left vacant by former leader Tony George.
The IRL
said late Monday that Randy Bernard, CEO of the Professional Bull Riders Association, will take the reins of the struggling
racing series. IRL directors offered him the job on Thursday.
The position became open when directors dismissed
George last summer as boss of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he declined an offer to remain as CEO of the IRL.
Bernard will answer directly to Jeff Belskus, whom the IMS/IRL board tapped last year to replace George.
Bernard,
who resides in Los Angeles, will leave the Pueblo, Colo.-based Professional Bull Riders Association on March 1. He has been
CEO of the association since it launched in 1995.
“The PBR has been my life for 15 years, and I am very proud
of our accomplishments,” Bernard said in a written statement. “From the cowboys, stock contractors, sponsors,
staff and board, to our great fans, it has been a great ride, and I am very thankful to have so many great memories.”
In April 2007, Bernard executed a merger between Professional Bull Riders Inc. and Spire Capital Partners, a New York-based
private equity firm.
The merger allowed the founding members and other bull-riding shareholders to grow their venture
while maintaining a significant equity stake in the organization.
Bernard attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and
spent six years in the marketing and entertainment department of the California Mid State Fair prior to joining the PBR.
IRL officials
were not immediately available for comment.
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