Billy Payne | |
|---|---|
 Payne in 1994 | |
| Chairman ofAugusta National Golf Club | |
| In office October 16, 2006 – October 15, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Hootie Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Fred Ridley |
| President andCEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games | |
| In office August 9, 1992 – August 4, 1996 | |
| IOC President | Juan Antonio Samaranch |
| Preceded by | Pasqual Maragall |
| Succeeded by | John Iliffe |
| Chair of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games | |
| In office 1991–1996 | |
| Preceded by | Committee established |
| Succeeded by | Position dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Porter Payne (1947-10-13)October 13, 1947 (age 77) Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia(BA,JD) |
William Porter Payne (born October 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and businessman who served as the former chairman ofAugusta National Golf Club, having served in that position from 2006 to 2017 and overseeing the introduction of the first women to the club's membership rolls.
He was Managing Director ofGleacher & Company, Vice Chairman ofBank of America, Vice Chairman of Premiere Global Services, Inc., Vice Chairman ofWebMD, and a member of the Board of Directors ofLincoln National Corporation andCousins Properties.[1] He is chairman of Centennial Holding Company, an Atlanta-based real estate investment concern.
Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, Payne was a leading advocate for bringing the Olympic Games to Atlanta and, in 1996, he was named president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.
Born inAthens,Georgia, Payne playedfootball for the hometownUniversity of Georgia; in his sophomore season in1966, thefourth-ranked Bulldogs lost one game by one point, and he caught a touchdown pass in theirCotton Bowl victory.[2][3]
Payne received hisBachelor of Arts (A.B.)with honors inpolitical science in 1969 from the university as well as his law degree (J.D.) from itsSchool of Law in 1973. While at the university, he was initiated into theGridiron Secret Society and the Georgia Alpha chapter ofPhi Delta Theta fraternity. He received an honorary degreeDoctor of Laws fromOglethorpe University in 1991.[4]
Payne first had the idea of Atlanta hosting the Olympic Games in 1987 and began to bring others to support this vision. He first gained support of Atlanta leaders for this effort, including then-mayorAndrew Young, an ally who helped Payne convinceInternational Olympic Committee members to award Atlanta the games. Payne's plan for the games depended heavily on private support, leading him to convince sponsors to back the games. In September 1990, Atlanta was selected by the IOC to host the 1996 Games, surprising many.
After winning the bid, Payne remained as the head of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, serving as the chief administrator to organize the Olympics. He was the first person to lead the bid effort and then remain to lead the Games.
On May 5, 2006, Billy Payne was announced as the replacement forHootie Johnson as chairman ofAugusta National Golf Club, home of theMasters Tournament, with Payne taking office with the opening of the club's season that October. As chairman, Payne made some adjustments at the Masters, including a new television contract withESPN that allowed for unprecedented coverage of the par-3 tournament, beginning in 2008. Also that same year, a junior-patrons program was instituted, which allows one Augusta National Golf Club-accredited patron the opportunity to personally bring one junior patron (ages: 8-16), free of charge, to each of the four competitive rounds of the Masters. The program is not available on practice round days, and is also unavailable to company patrons.[5]
On April 7, 2010, immediately before that year's Masters Tournament, Payne criticizedTiger Woods, stating that he failed as a role model.[6] During theHBO Max documentary series "Tiger",Los Angeles Times writer Thomas Bonk said the elite golf tournament always has "a thin undercurrent of racism" and called Payne's comments "a public whipping", a characterization backed up by Bryant Gumbel.[7]
In 2011, Payne and his fellow members at Augusta National continued further with diverting from the club's usually uncompromising, tradition-laden ways by establishing another contemporary modification to their featured golf tournament. They sanctioned a video game that features the Masters name, logo, and their fabled golf course. The video game is so technologically sophisticated that if rain – for example – should happen to be falling in Augusta, Ga. on the day an end-user powers up the game from anywhere around the world, rain will also be simulated on the end-user's video screen.[8]
Payne said in a statement: "'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters' will inspire the next generation of golfers." According to Payne's release, the proceeds from sales of the video game made by Augusta National will benefit a non-profit foundation that promotes youth golf.[8]
At the2012 Masters Tournament, the public was reminded that some traditions at Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC) still hold true to form as Payne sideswiped reporters' questions about any prospect of allowing a woman (specificallyIBMCEOVirginia Rometty) to join ANGC. Payne explained the issue of who gets invited to join ANGC, which is notoriously known as havingmale-only members, is "subject to the private deliberations of the members." ANGC offered prior membership to the last four IBM CEOs as IBM is one of three major corporate sponsors of the Masters.[9] However, on August 20, 2012, Payne announced that former secretary of stateCondoleezza Rice and business executiveDarla Moore would be the first female members of the club after 75 years of all male membership.[10]
On August 23, 2017, Augusta National announced that Payne would retire as chairman of the club effective October 16, to be succeeded byFred Ridley.[11]
Payne received theOlympic Order in Gold at the Closing Ceremonies of the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. In 2014, he was inducted as a Georgia Trustee. The honor is given by theGeorgia Historical Society, in conjunction with theGovernor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body ofTrustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752. He was elected to theWorld Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019, in the lifetime achievement category.[12]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of Organizing Committee for Summer Olympic Games 1996 | Succeeded by |
