The man who led Salt Lake’s Olympic bid is changing roles to bring in younger leaders. Here’s who is in charge now.

The group that worked for more than a decade to bring the Winter Olympics and Paralympics back to Utah has shed its skin. On Friday, more than six months after the state was named host of the 2034 Games, members gathered in the state Capitol’s Gold Room to announce the official formation of the Salt Lake City-Utah Olympic Committee.

The switch is more than just a title bump. It involves the naming of a new executive committee, a new board of directors and, of course, a new focus.

“The organizing committee,” U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a press statement, “will bring expertise, experience and passion to the 2034 Winter Games in Utah, building on the powerful legacy of the 2002 Games and ensuring the 2034 Games carry that legacy forward for future generations.”

Most notable among the personnel changes is that Fraser Bullock will step aside as CEO.

When Mitt Romney took over the organization of the 2002 Olympics amid scandal and shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he named Bullock his chief operating officer. As soon as those Olympics ended, Romney began making plans to bring the event back. During the final stretch of the 2034 bid process, Bullock held the dual titles of president and CEO.

Now Bullock is handing the latter title off to former Utah House speaker Brad Wilson while retaining the role of president and picking up the tag of executive chair. Bullock told The Salt Lake Tribune that he will handle umbrella issues, such as “international relations, sponsorship, strategy [and] technology.” Wilson, meanwhile, will handle day-to-day mechanics. Helping both will be Steve Starks, the CEO of the Larry H. Miller Co. Starks recently worked as the Olympic and Paralympic bid advisor to Gov. Spencer Cox and on Friday was named co-vice chair alongside Wilson.

“We want to make sure that we take existing knowledge and transfer it to the next generation of leaders,” said Bullock, 69, who has occasionally joked he may not be alive for the 2034 Olympics. “So, I’m thrilled to be working with two of my colleagues who represent younger generations and can continue the work going forward.”

Wilson turned 56 in January. Starks is 46.

Bullock, Wilson and Starks were appointed to their roles by a three-person panel consisting of Cox, current House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams. Bullock and Wilson’s terms are set at three years, Starks' is for four years. All board member terms are limited but renewable via a board vote.

The men will have plenty of voices to listen to as they orchestrate Utah’s next Olympics. The board of directors consists of 25 people plus Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Cox, who have been named honorary chairs. That’s not to mention the executive committee. In addition to Bullock and Starks, it consists of four members — one of whom is Chris Kinney, a former Olympic bobsledder who is part of the LGBTQ community, and another of whom is Lindsey Vonn.

Vonn, a Park City resident who first competed in the Olympics in 2002, was part of Salt Lake City’s 2034 bid presentation group in Paris last July. She has agreed to give her input to the organizing committee in addition to seeking a berth to her fifth Olympics in alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

“It’s an honor to join the executive committee for the 2034 Salt Lake Olympics,” Vonn said in a press statement. “... Now, as an athlete representative, I’m excited to contribute to initiatives like the Family Village and ensure an exceptional experience for all athletes in 2034.”

Vonn has been a driving force behind the athlete family village, an initiative Salt Lake City Olympic organizers plan to pioneer by setting aside a bank of rooms for family members of Olympic athletes from all nations.

The logistics of creating the family village will be among the tasks the organizing committee will have to address in the coming nine years. As Bullock pointed out, however, much of the work typically undertaken by an organizing committee was completed by the bid committee. Some of those tasks include securing venue use agreements and hotel room contracts. The 2034 organizing committee will also set out with a well-formed budget, including backup plans in case of funding shortages.

Utah’s bid committee told the International Olympic Committee last July that it expects the 2034 Games will cost $4 billion in 2034 dollars. The operating budget makes up some $2.83B of that, with the rest going to revenue sharing with the USOPC, legacy funding and other expenses.

The bid committee promised it would not use any state or local taxpayer money to pay for the Games. Wilson told The Tribune he would uphold that commitment. That means relying on philanthropy until after the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games, when Utah Olympic organizers will be allowed to begin soliciting sponsorships.

“We will take zero tax dollars,” Wilson said, “to operate the organizing committee over the next nine years.”

With the bid process and so many of the preparations out of the way, Bullock said the organizing committee should be able to focus on the four phases the IOC has laid out to prepare regions to host the Games. The group is now in its foundational phase, which entails building strong buy-in for the event throughout Utah. The second phase is a strategy phase, followed by a planning phase and a readiness phase.

One of the first acts of the organizing committee leadership will be to go on a listening tour around the state, Wilson said. The purpose, he said, will be to find out what residents and businesses most want to get out of their Olympic experience.

“The next decade is critical for Utah,” Starks told The Tribune. “We have an opportunity to not only preserve the trajectory that we’ve been on as a state, but to continue to ensure that it climbs. And, that we’re prepared to be on the world stage once again, but also that we use the Olympics as the catalyst to ensure that we improve the quality of life for Utahns. And that there’s a shared vision that is inclusive up and down the state and that we do this in a really thoughtful, effective manner.

“And I’m so excited to be part of it.”

The first board meeting for the Salt Lake City-Utah Olympic Committee is scheduled for Feb. 27 at a site to be determined. The first hour of the meeting will be open to the public.

Salt Lake City-Utah Olympic Committee Members

LEADERSHIP

Executive Chair & President: Fraser Bullock, Alpine

Vice Chair & CEO: Brad Wilson, Kaysville

Vice Chair: Steve Starks, South Jordan

HONORARY CHAIRS

Honorary Chairs: Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall

Honorary Vice Chairs: Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams, Utah Speaker of the House Mike Schultz

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Fraser Bullock, Alpine (Executive Chair & President)

Sarah Hirshland, Colorado Springs, CO (USOPC CEO)

Chris Kinney, Stockbridge, GA (Olympian)

Steve Starks, South Jordan (Vice Chair)

Gene Sykes, Los Angeles (USOPC Chair)

Lindsey Vonn, Park City (Olympian)

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE BOARD

Mindy Benson, Cedar City

Fraser Bullock, Alpine (Executive Chair & President)

Muffy Davis, Sun Valley, ID (IPC Governing Board, Paralympian)

Anita DeFrantz, Santa Monica, CA (IOC Member, Olympian)

Spencer P. Eccles, Salt Lake City

Allyson Felix, Los Angeles (IOC Member, Olympic Champion)

Sophie Goldschmidt, Park City (National Governing Body Council)

Manny Guerra, Jr., Plymouth, MN (Paralympian)

David Haggerty, London (IOC Member)

Sarah Hirshland, Colorado Springs, CO (USOPC CEO)

Kathleen Holding, Sheridan, WY

Jack Hollis, Dallas (USOPC)

Brett Hopkins, Salt Lake City

Sarah Hughes, New York City (Olympian)

Chris Kinney, Stockbridge, GA (Team USA Athletes’ Commission, Olympian)

Crystal Maggelet, Salt Lake City

Oksana Masters, Louisville, KY (Paralympian)

Abby Osborne, Salt Lake City

Dexter Paine, New York City (USOPC)

Steve Price, Salt Lake City

Ryan Smith, Provo

Steve Starks, South Jordan (Vice Chair)

Gene Sykes, Los Angeles (USOPC Chair)

Lindsey Vonn, Park City (Olympian)

Brad Wilson, Kaysville (Vice Chair and CEO)