Turnkey Finds New Team President for the Carolina Panthers
September 5, 2018 – Turnkey Sports and Entertainment has placed Tom Glick as the new team president for the Carolina Panthers. Following the resignation of Danny Morrison, the professional football organization has operated without a team president for nearly a year and a half. Leading the search was Len Perna, Turnkey’s president, founder and CEO.
“We are thrilled to have Tom join the Panthers family,” said David Tepper, Carolina Panthers owner. “He has tremendous experience in professional sports, successfully fostering fan engagement in major cities globally. I know that his record, expertise and drive will be major assets as we look to win on the field and in the community.”
Mr. Glick has more than 25 years of experience in sports management, having worked in baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer in both the U.S. and the U.K.
Proven Executive
For the past six years, Mr. Glick has been instrumental in the development of City Football Group (CFG), a multinational soccer organization that includes six clubs. As chief commercial officer, he oversaw partnership sales and activation, marketing, content production and distribution, retail and licensing, and fan relationship management for all of CFG’s clubs.
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Mr. Glick spent the first 14 years of his career predominantly in baseball. From 1999 to 2004, he served as senior vice president of sales and marketing of the Sacramento River Cats, a Triple-A baseball team. He held various senior positions with other Minor League Baseball teams, including the Lansing Lugnuts, Huntington Cubs, Welland Pirates and Jamestown Expos.
Sports and Entertainment Expansion Elevating Search Business
Over the last 25 years, the sports sector has grown into a formidable global industry. Historically, professional sports teams operated on a relatively modest level, with league officials, team owners, managers, and coaches surrounding themselves with people they knew and trusted from their own small worlds. College sports teams relied on in-house search committees and word-of-mouth recommendations. Familiarity, however, can also breed contempt.
Teams with huge followings like the Dallas Cowboys, Real Madrid and Manchester United have seen their valuations soar into the billions of dollars. That’s attracted search firms – big time. Seasoned recruiters now provide strategic planning advice, in addition to talent identification services, with the capability of applying their findings to speed along the process in the hunt for talent. Here’s some further reading from Hunt Scanlon Media.
In 2004, Mr. Glick moved to the National Basketball Association, first as VP of marketing and team business development at league headquarters in New York City, and later as chief marketing officer for the New Jersey Nets, which included work on the club’s relocation to their current home in Brooklyn. In 2008, he relocated to the U.K. to take on the role of CEO with Derby County Football Club prior to joining City Football Group in 2012.
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In his new role, Mr. Glick will oversee the Panthers’ day-to-day operations. “David has a clear and exciting vision for the team, and I can see and feel the buzz and anticipation for this new era of Panthers football,” he said. “I’m ready to get started and will give everything to help the team deliver for our fans, players, staff, partners and our communities throughout North and South Carolina.”
More than 1,000 Placements
Established in 1996, Turnkey Search has conducted more than 1,000 executive recruiting placements across the sports & entertainment industry. The firm’s clients include the University of Alabama, the Atlanta Hawks, CitiGroup, the University of Denver, Louisiana State University, the University of Michigan, the Milwaukee Brewers, the University of Mississippi, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the University of Nebraska, the Oakland Raiders, Richard Childress Racing, RocNation, Rutgers University, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Temple University, Ticketmaster, Townsquare Media, the United Center, VStar Entertainment Group and the Washington Nationals.
Mr. Perna manages all aspects of both Turnkey Intelligence and Turnkey Search. A top executive in the sports industry since 1985, he began his sports career as a business attorney for Cap Cities ABC/ESPN and also served as a top executive for the Detroit Red Wings/Tigers and the Dallas Stars/Texas Rangers.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
