Spartan Profiles: Lloyd Ward
CEO OF U.S. OLYMPICS
The quadrennial Olympic Games are the grandest events in the world. So says someone who ought to know. As CEO of the U.S. Olympics Committee, Lloyd D. Ward, ’70, former CEO of Maytag and Frito-Lay, and captain of MSU’s basketball team, relishes this “incredible opportunity to make a difference.”
“The Olympic movement is about winning medals in Olympic competition, but it’s also about winning hearts and minds in every day living,” says Ward, who took charge of the volunteer organization on Nov. 1 at Olympic House in Colorado Springs.
Lloyd says his mission consists of three main thrusts. “First, we have to continue to move forward in an inclusionary, not exclusionary, manner,” he explains. “We want to touch every American, not just elite athletes. We want to inspire them to win a golf medal in life.
"Second, we want to move our scope beyong the games every four years (or two years, with the staggering of the Winter Games). The Olympic movement is about lifestyle choices, sportsmanship, commitment to excellence—ideals that are 365 days a year.
“Third, we have to understand that we are what I call a servant-leader organization. Every morning, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Why do we exist?’ and “Who do we serve?’ We serve not only athletes, but also those who deliver their training, support, and education, and that includes the national governing bodies of 46 sports and their feeder systems, which include a vast network of community and local efforts.”
Lloyd gives tremendous credit to MSU for helping him succeed. “MSU gave me my foundation,” he says. “My sports background prepared me well, because the principles I learned have served me very well in becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Now, it’s come full circle. Guess what? They still apply today.
“Sports allowed me to stay focused on something positive rather than all the negative things adolescents can get into,” he says. “It allowed me to achieve an education at one of the greatest universities in the world. Basketball taught me the fundamentals of life—things like commitment, passion, competition, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. In sports, success happens when preparation meets opportunity. Every day you have to work on improving some aspect of your game. You work hard, keep improving. Then one day magic happens.”
Lloyd credits coach Gus Ganakas for being his mentor, along with teammate Richard Jordan—“My big brother, who embraced me and taught me the ropes.”
A native of Romulus, Lloyd enjoyed tremendous success in the business world, having risen to CEO with the Frito-Lay division of Pepsico, and as CEO of Maytag. “I believe in the great American Dream,” Lloyd says. “In this country, if you believe in something, and really believe it, you can achieve it.”