MLSE names veteran sports, broadcast executive Keith Pelley as new president & CEO
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment announced on Thursday Keith Pelley, chief executive of golf’s DP World Tour and former president of Rogers Media, as its new president and CEO.
Pelley succeeds Michael Friisdahl, who left in February 2022 to take over as executive chairman of Signature Aviation, a British-based multinational aviation services company. Friisdahl had been in charge since December 2015.
Chief financial officer Cynthia Devine has served as MLSE’s interim president and CEO during the search for Friisdahl’s successor.
“Today is a very proud day for MLSE as we are able to welcome home one of our industry’s most accomplished sports, entertainment and media leaders to steer the company moving forward and build on its successes as a global sports and entertainment leader,” MLSE Chairman Larry Tanenbaum said in a release.
“Keith is a dynamic and innovative leader who is firmly committed to building a championship culture at every level in the organization as well as reinforcing MLSE’s pride in its leadership roles in our industry and community.”
Pelley was put in charge of over the European Golf Tour, now known as the DP World Tour, in the summer of 2015. Before taking over Rogers Media in September 2010, he served as president of Canada’s Olympic broadcast media consortium, president and CEO of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and president of TSN.
He was in charge of Rogers when the communications giant signed the record 12-year, $5.2 billion rights deal with the NHL in November 2013.
Pelley, who turns 60 on Thursday, joined TSN in 1986 as an editorial assistant and worked his way up to senior news producer and event producer for CFL, curling, tennis and baseball. He left in 1994 to join FOX, where he worked as a game producer for NFL, NFL Europe, NHL and Major League Baseball.
He returned to TSN three years later as senior vice-president of programming and production and was appointed president in 2001. He ran the Argonauts from 2003 to 2007 before taking over the Olympic broadcast consortium.
MLSE owns the NHL Leafs, NBA Raptors, AHL Marlies, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and the Argonauts.
