Annual USGA Executive Committee Shuffle, Anchoring Ban Edition

Try not to stumble on all of the middle initials and just read between the lines of the annual deck chair shuffling on the S.S. Minow.

This year's shuffle is a little more interesting in light of the possible vote in the spring of 2013 on a rule book change banning the anchoring of putters against the torso.

Far Hills, N.J. (Oct. 25, 2012) – The Nominating Committee of the United States Golf Association today announced the nomination of Glen D. Nager, of Washington, D.C., to serve a second one-year term as president of the USGA. The election of officers and 15-member USGA Executive Committee will take place Feb. 2, 2013, at the USGA’s Annual Meeting in San Diego.

As USGA president, Nager, 54, will lead the Association’s professional staff of more than 300 and nearly 1,200 volunteers who serve on more than 30 committees.

“It’s an honor to be nominated again, and have the opportunity to continue working with the USGA’s talented staff, our many dedicated volunteers and Members, and experienced Executive Committee,” said Nager. “This is a critical period for golf, and the momentum that we established over the past year to make the game more enjoyable, affordable and welcoming demonstrates our progress in sustaining the game and leading golf into the future.”

Nager is in his fourth year as a member of the USGA Executive Committee, a term that includes two years as a USGA vice president. He served as general counsel to the USGA from 2006 to 2008. Currently, Nager chairs the USGA’s Management Committee.

In addition to his USGA-related responsibilities, Nager remains a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Jones Day, an international law firm, where he chairs the firm’s Issues and Appeals Practice. He has argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and he has tried cases and argued appeals in subject areas such as antitrust, civil rights, employment, environmental law, government contracts and intellectual property, representing clients such as General Electric, CBS, IBM and Sodexo. Nager also serves as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught administrative and constitutional law. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and Stanford Law School, where he was president of the Stanford Law Review. Among his clerkships was service in 1983 for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Four other current members of the Executive Committee have also been nominated to serve as officers: Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., of St. Louis, Mo., and Daniel B. Burton, of Lititz, Pa., as vice presidents; William L. Katz, of Chatham, N.J., as secretary; and Diana M. Murphy, of St. Simons Island, Ga., as treasurer.

The other six current members of the Executive Committee nominated to continue their service are: Karen S. Ammerman, M.D., of Webster, Mass.; William E. Fallon, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; William W. Gist IV, of Omaha, Neb.; Edward G. Michaels III, of Atlanta, Ga.; Mark P. Reinemann, of Pewaukee, Wis.; and Gary R. Stevenson, of San Francisco, Calif.

There are four newly nominated candidates for the Executive Committee for 2013: Peter M. Castleman, of Glenbrook, Nev.; C. Malcolm Holland III, of Dallas, Texas; Sheila C. Johnson, of Middleburg, Va.; and Mark E. Newell, of McLean, Va. In addition, Ernest J. Getto, of Santa Barbara, Calif., is nominated to serve as general counsel for the USGA.

Peter M. Castleman, 56, is owner of Westwind Investors, a private investment firm that he founded in 2006. He is also a consultant to J.H. Whitney & Co., a private equity firm providing capital to small-and middle-market companies. Prior to joining Whitney in 1987, Castleman held a number of professional investment positions, and served as a teaching fellow in economics at Harvard University. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, and his B.A. from Duke, from which he graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with honors in Economics. Peter also studied at New College, Oxford University. Castleman describes himself as a passionate golfer, and is a member of Clear Creek Tahoe at Lake Tahoe, Nev.

C. Malcolm Holland III, 52, is chairman of the board, CEO and president of Veritex Community Bank and its holding company, Veritex Holdings, Inc. Veritex Community Bank has 10 branches serving North Texas with more than $500 million in assets. Holland is a member of Preston Trail Golf Club and Lakewood Country Club, where he has served in many capacities including president in 1995 and1996. He has served on the board of the Texas Golf Association since 1999, and has held a position on its executive committee since 2000, serving as president in 2007 and 2008. Since 2004, he has served as chairman of College Golf Fellowship, a ministry for college golfers and coaches across the country.

Sheila C. Johnson, 63, is CEO and founder of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, which oversees a growing portfolio of luxury golf and family resort properties, including Grand Golf Resorts of Florida and the Salamander Resort & Spa, which will open in August 2013 in Middleburg, Va. Johnson is also vice chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment and president and managing partner of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. She is the only African-American woman to have ownership in three professional sports teams – holding stakes in the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals – and would become the first African-American female member of the USGA Executive Committee. A powerful influence in the entertainment industry since her work as founding partner of Black Entertainment Television, she has served as executive producer of four documentary films, and is an executive producer for the major motion picture “The Butler,” to be released in fall of 2013.  In 2011, Johnson joined the AOL Huffington Post Media Group as strategic advisor for Multicultural and African-American Initiatives. She also serves on the boards of Parsons The New School for Design in New York City, the Sundance Institute, the Tiger Woods Foundation and the ANNIKA Foundation.

Mark E. Newell, 56, is a retired vice chairman and chief operating partner of Latham & Watkins LLP, which he joined in 1983. He had been a member of the firm’s Executive Committee since 1999 and served as the managing partner of its Washington, D.C., office from 1993 to 2000. Newell served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. from 1982 to 1983. Newell, who earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1981, served as editor and treasurer of the Harvard Law Review. He earned his undergraduate degree from Albion College and earned his Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. In addition to serving as general counsel, Newell currently chairs the Course Rating and Handicap committees, and serves on the Amateur Status, Audit, Communications, GHIN, Equipment Standards and Mid-Amateur committees. He is a member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va.

Ernest J. Getto, 68, of Santa Barbara, Calif., has been nominated to serve as the Association’s general counsel, and would replace Mark E. Newell of McLean, Va. Getto has been a managing director of Burford Group LLC since January 2011, and previously served as national chairman and a partner in the litigation department at Latham & Watkins. Getto has more than 40 years of corporate litigation experience, representing a diverse group of corporate clients including Georgia Pacific, PG&E, Occidental Petroleum, IBM, Mobil, Siemens and many others. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. Getto has enjoyed the game of golf for 53 years, playing in high school and college, and serving on the boards of Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles and The Valley Club of Montecito in Montecito, Calif., where he is currently a member.

Four current members of the Executive Committee will retire at the 2013 Annual Meeting. They are: Christie L. Austin, of Cherry Hills Village, Colo.; Gene McClure, of Atlanta, Ga.; James B. Williams, of Orinda, Calif.; and Geoffrey Y. Yang, of Atherton, Calif.