LA28 hires Nike's John Slusher to lead commercial arm

Nike executive John Slusher is moving into the Olympic world to head the commercial arm for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Slusher on Wednesday was named CEO of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, a joint venture between the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the LA Games that oversees sponsorships, ticket sales and hospitality.

Olympic planners have set a goal of reaching $2.5 billion in sponsorships, and LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said this summer the organization had reached about 65% of its goal.

It recently signed Dick's as its sporting goods retailer, Cisco as its network equipment partner and Cedars-Sinai as its medical provider.

The success of the recently completed Paris Games is expected to make the Olympics more marketable than they were after the Tokyo Games, when a number of USOPC marketing deals lapsed.

Slusher spent 26 years at Nike where, most recently, he was vice president of global sports marketing. The shoe and apparel company is going through a transition of its own. CEO John Donahoe stepped down earlier this month after a steady stream of weakening sales and a slumping stock price.