Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman, is calling it quits after 12 years; he will step down as President & CEO this very year. Messick will remain associated with Ironman, however, and will become a stakeholder and ‘member of the board of directors’.
“Being the CEO of the Ironman Group has been the professional honor of my life – the most meaningful and purposeful work experience I have had – and I am filled with gratitude for the support of my teams members, our partners, and the athlete community over the past 12 years. I have giving all I have to this job and my life has been enriched by the opportunity to build incredible events, meet athlete community members from all over the world, and lead an incredible dedicated group of colleagues.”
Ironman has grown tremendously in some ways under the leadership of Messick – who became CEO in 2011. At the same time, Messick personally got criticized more almost every day. Especially in recent months, he has been increasingly criticized over his approach to outside parties – including media. Recently he left the How They Train podcast after host Jack Kelly asked him some tough questions. A day later, Jack Kelly appeared to be no longer welcome at any Ironman race. Not much later, Messick accused Triathlon Today of improper journalism in a tantrum after critical coverage of a fatal accident at Ironman Hamburg.
