George Taylor will begin his position as chief executive officer of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) on January 22. The PRCA recently named the former executive with Caterpillar its CEO after Karl Stressman retired from his nine-year role as commissioner of the association.

Taylor brings an impressive resume that includes executive experience with IBM before moving on to work for 19 years at Caterpillar, where he served as an executive and the chief marketing officer and president of Caterpillar Venture Capital. He also holds an MBA from the University of Illinois as well as a B.S. in computer science from Illinois State University.

“I have had the opportunity to work for two iconic global companies during my career and I believe the PRCA is yet another example of an iconic organization representing the best in the sports and entertainment industry,” Taylor said in a ProRodeo press release.

Keith Martin, chairman of the PRCA board of directors, said he believes Taylor will bring the rodeo association to the next level.

The PRCA has found its commissioner.

More on the hiring of George Taylor, as he replaces Karl Stressman after nine years at the helm: https://t.co/4T3xKUvwKD pic.twitter.com/V0hF8yov2e

— PRCA ProRodeo (@ThePRCA) January 10, 2018

“George’s business acumen and his ability to work with so many different types of people are going to be really strong attributes, because in our organization that’s really needed,” Martin said in the press release. “We appreciate his financial, digital, and marketing strengths, and those things all enter into being a good fit for us, taking us into the next century.”

Going in to this position, Taylor has set some initial goals:

• Listening to the PRCA members and staff to prioritize initiatives.
• Physically and digitally innovating the customer and member experiences.
• Expanding rodeo’s reach globally.

“In the end, it’s about continuing to grow revenue and the PRCA ProRodeo brand for the benefit of its members,” Taylor said in the release.