Andrew Messick endured 12 testing years as Ironman’s boss, but the brand\u2019s post-pandemic future presents an even greater challenge\u2026 <\/p>
Two months shy of his 60th birthday, \u2028a weary Andrew Messick called time on his 12-year reign as the chief executive of Ironman<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Citing not having the energy for another five years at the helm \u2013 the span he believes it will take for the company to instigate necessary customer-focused changes \u2013 it\u2019s \u2028time for a new face at the finish line, and in the firing line.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a compelling case to be made that Messick has been tri\u2019s most influential \u2013 and polarising \u2013 figure over the decade and more since he stepped into the post from his role as president at AEG Sports.<\/p>\n And while Ironman\u2019s \u2028unashamedly aggressive tactics marked out his tenure, some of his combative edge was softened by \u2028the toll of the pandemic.<\/p>\n An \u201cevent company that doesn\u2019t \u2028do events is a problem\u201d, is how \u2028Messick reflects on a devastating period that included a three-year hiatus from racing at Ironman\u2019s spiritual home in Hawaii.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just triathlon either. Ironman\u2019s expansion into marathons, trail running and mountain biking, meant that for all the customer anguish over refused refunds and poorly communicated cancellations<\/strong><\/a>, internally Messick had to navigate an 85% downturn in revenue that put jobs in jeopardy.<\/p>\n The brand survived where other event organisers didn\u2019t, but the longer-term damage inflicted by coronavirus to the high-ticket, mass participation model may only just becoming clear, and represents the biggest challenge to Messick\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n Dwindling appetites for expensive, long-distance endurance pursuits at a time when overheads are spiralling and customer purse strings are tightening, is a bad combination.<\/p>\n Messick chooses to focus on the growth of 70.3 events across the \u2028globe in locations from Vietnam to Kazakhstan to the Middle East and Chile, but in established markets it\u2019s \u2028a different picture.<\/p>\n In the UK, for example, Staffs 70.3 and a full-distance race in Bolton has been condensed to a 70.3 in Bolton for 2024<\/strong><\/a>, and it remains to be seen if numbers hold. Across Europe and the USA events are not selling out.<\/p>\n The Ironman World Championship has been expanded to two days of racing (in two different countries)<\/strong><\/a>, but qualifying slots rolling further than ever are terrible optics.<\/p>\n Messick says plans have been in place since the start of the year for \u2028him to step down and, following the U-turn on a two-day Kona<\/strong><\/a> and the tragedy of Ironman Hamburg<\/strong><\/a>, \u2028it is of his own volition.<\/p>\n Those are punches a CEO has to roll with, but for shareholders the buck only stops in one place. And for all the things Ironman represents to triathletes the world over, it is judged internally by the balance sheet.<\/p>\n How will Messick be judged? A stewardship that wasn\u2019t perfect, but also a lightning rod for all Ironman\u2019s ills.<\/p>\n What is without question is that having completed four full-distance events himself, having been there done it and got the Ironman T-shirt \u2028if not the tattoo, his own commitment to the brand was unquestionable.<\/p>\n The next incumbent is going to need the same and more if Ironman is to continue to prosper.<\/p>\nTri\u2019s most influential figure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dwindling appetites for expensive races<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Terrible optics, U-turns and tragedy<\/strong><\/h2>\n