• August 13, 2007

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) has hired Rick Burton as its chief marketing officer.

Burton has 30 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industries, most recently serving as commissioner of the National Basketball League in Australia.

His tasks include finding a sponsor to replace General Motors, which recently decided it would not renew its sponsorship of the USOC after the Beijing Olympics. That sponsorship was worth about $5 million a year.

--Tanya Irwin