Larry Probst will step down as U.S. Olympic Committee chairman at the end of the year after a decade leading the board, the organization announced Monday.

The USOC praised Probst's leadership – including increasing medal counts and negotiating a new revenue-sharing agreement with the International Olympic Committee that, while less lucrative, helped smooth tensions.

The USOC also announced Susanne Lyons would become the next chair on Jan. 1, which Probst said in a conference call with reporters will enable an "orderly transition."

The USOC has been roundly criticized over its handling of sexual abuse scandals involving USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, USA Taekwondo and U.S. Speedskating.

"We failed our athletes," Probst said Monday. "I’m at the top of the food chain and I take this very personally. We have said on many occasions that we are very sorry for what happened. We are very empathetic toward the survivors. We have to be laser focused on athlete safety.”

Probst said "10 years is a long time for a full-time volunteer" when asked about the reason for his departure.

“I just think it’s an ideal time for me to transition off the board and turn that responsibility over to Susanne," Probst said. "Seeing the work she had done as acting CEO convinced me beyond a doubt that she was the absolute ideal person to replace me as the chair."

Lyons served as interim CEO of the USOC after Scott Blackmun stepped down for health reasons in February. Sarah Hirshland, a former chief commercial officer of the United States Golf Association, was tapped as CEO by the USOC in July.

“I think change is good and I think we’ve seen that there are areas that need to have change, absolutely, going forward," Lyons said on a conference call with reporters. "I think having fresh eyes and a fresh perspective can be a catalyst to that kind of cultural change. A lot of it has to start at the top. It has to start with the board. It has to start with Sarah.

"We need to remind people that the athletes are the center of our world and the reason why we are here. We wouldn’t have an Olympic or Paralympic movement without athletes. Sometimes, perhaps, we got caught up in the operations of the Games and lost sight of that.”

Probst served three, four-year terms, and was instrumental in helping repair fractious relations with the IOC. That led to the IOC awarding Los Angeles the Summer Games in 2028, the first time the Olympics will return to U.S. soil since 2002.

Lyons has been on USOC's board since December 2010.

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