Peter Roby Appointed Interim CEO of USRowing

Peter Roby has been appointed interim CEO of USRowing, the sport’s national governing body, by the organization’s board of directors.

He will take over immediately while Elevate Talent continues its search for a permanent CEO to lead USRowing.

Roby spent 10 years as the athletic director at Northeastern University before retiring after the 2017-18 school year. The Huskies competed in 18 Division I sports, including rowing. As AD, Roby recommended that the school drop its football program due to financial constraints, which it did after the 2009 season.

Prior to that he had been a vice president of U.S. Marketing at Reebok and a longtime college basketball coach; he led Harvard for six seasons from 1985-1991, compiling a 58-98 record, and prior to that was an assistant coach at Stanford, Dartmouth (his alma mater) and West Point.

“I am honored and excited to take on this important interim role,” said Roby. “USRowing has established incredible momentum under Amanda Kraus’s leadership. As the organization heads toward the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, my focus will be on maintaining this momentum while the Board identifies an experienced and proven permanent leader for the organization.”

“Peter has been a highly respected leader in college sports for more than four decades as an athlete, coach, sports marketing executive, scholar, and athletics director,” said Kirsten Feldman, chair of USRowing’s Board of Directors. “We are confident his deep experience and proven leadership will provide a responsible, steady hand to work with our leadership team to oversee the organizations’ day-to-day operations while the Board conducts a comprehensive national search for a permanent CEO.”

In addition to his past tenure as an AD, Roby is currently a strategic consultant to the NCAA and its Leadership Development programs, and he has previously served as the Director of the Northeastern Center for the Study of Sport in Society, where he was a national leader championing the role sports can play in bringing about positive social change through research, education, and advocacy.

Roby succeeds Amanda Kraus, who announced last month that she was stepping down after more than five years as CEO.