NEW: Volvo Ocean Race Names Mark Turner CEO
Friday, April 01, 2016
Volvo Ocean Race has named Mark Turner,48, as the CEO. Turner comes to Volvo Ocean Race after he stepped down from OC Sport after 23 years.
"There probably isn't any other post in sailing that could have attracted me today after taking OC Sport through so many different areas of the sport over the last two decades.
It is a significant responsibility for me to take over the leadership from Knut who has done such an excellent job of transforming the race in to the sport's biggest and most commercially viable top-level event," said Turner.
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Turner has competed in many of the sports' leading events including the Transat jacques Vabre and Mini Transat, however, he really made his name by directing Briton Ellen MacArthur's Vendee Globe Race in 2001, where she finished second.
Turner then went on to launch the Extreme Sailing Series with OC Sport.
"It has been an honor to work with so many motivated and talented people over the years, and to have been able to use the sporting platforms we've created to inspire people from all walks of life.
OC Sport has enabled me to challenge the norm and innovate in many areas - something that I'm sure the company will continue to strive to do," Turner said.
Turner has stepped down fully from OC Sport as both Board Director and shareholder. He will undergo a period of leave before taking up his responsibilities at Volvo Ocean Race.
"It has been a long and thorough process but I know that in Mark we have found the right person to take on this very challenging role," he said.
We need a leader with the expertise, determination and vision to take the event to the next stage after all the great work done by Knut, and Mark has all these attributes in abundance. The future under his guidance looks very exciting indeed," said Henry Stenson, chairman of the Volvo Ocean Race board.
Turner will take up his new position on June 7 of this year, just ahead of the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race which begins in October of next year.
About the Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover
The only North American stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018 edition will be hosted May 8-20, 2018 by Sail Newport, Rhode Island's Public Sailing Center, the State of Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management (DEM), Discover Newport, and the City of Newport.
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