Own The Podium promoted from within Thursday, naming Anne Merklinger as its new chief executive officer.

Merklinger was OTP's director of summer sport under former CEO Alex Baumann, who stepped down Oct. 1 to take a similar position in the New Zealand sport system.

Own The Podium divides about $70 million annually in federal government funding between summer and winter sport, so Merklinger now holds one of the most powerful positions in Canadian sport.

OTP oversees many aspects of an elite athlete's life in between Olympic Games and works in concert with the Canadian Olympic Committee. The COC prepares athletes for the Games environment and looks after their needs on the ground at Games.

The selection of Merklinger provides continuity in the organization, particularly in summer sport with the Summer Games just a few months from now in London.

The 53-year-old from Ottawa is a former Canadian team swimmer and a curler who competed in four national championships. Merklinger also served as director general of CanoeKayak Canada for several years before joining OTP in 2009.

The CEO of OTP must be politically astute as the job requires lobbying the federal government for funding. Merklinger is now the ultimate decision-maker on which sport federations get more money than others. Money is distributed based on a sport's medal potential at Olympic Games.

When Baumann resigned, executive search company Odgers Berndtson went looking for suitable replacements.

OTP board chairman John Furlong, formerly the head of the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee (VANOC), said he didn't want to spend a lot of money on the search.

"I'm big on trying to consolidate and make sure the money we have goes to the athletes," Furlong said after Baumann stepped down. "What I was hoping to do was get this search launched and underway without having to put a whole lot of money into it.

"This particular firm is the firm that recruited the Olympic team I had in Vancouver for the Olympic Games. They have offered to do this pro bono."

Merklinger, winter sport director Ken Read and operations director Joanne Mortimore jointly ran OTP after Baumann's departure. Read, a former national team skier, told The Canadian Press late last year he was not interested in pursuing the job of CEO.

OTP was established five years out from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. It was a $117-million plan designed to help Canadian athletes win more medals than any other country at their own Games.

Canada finished third in the overall medal count but won the most gold at 14, which was a record for a single Winter Games. Canada also won 19 medals, including 10 gold, in the Paralympic Games.

Canada's goal for London is more modest. It is to finish among the top-12 countries in overall medals and among the top eight in the gold medals at the Paralympics.

Merklinger is the third person named to the job after Baumann and Roger Jackson. Jackson stepped down following the 2010 Games and Baumann, who was also overseeing summer sport within the organization, was promoted to CEO.

Merklinger curled in four Scotties Tournaments of Hearts and skipped Ontario to the final in 1998 and 2000. She swam on the Canadian team from 1977 to 1981 and won a silver medal in breaststroke at the 1979 World University Games.

She's been a sports administrator for over 20 years. In addition to running the canoe and kayak association, Merklinger has worked with Special Olympics Canada and the Commission for Inclusion of Athletes with a Disability, as well as serving as president of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation from 2001 to 2004.