Sam Kennedy (baseball executive)

Samuel H. Kennedy (born 1973) is an American professional baseball executive who is the president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.[2]

For other people named Sam Kennedy, see Sam Kennedy (disambiguation).

Sam Kennedy
Born1973 (age 47–48)
Brookline, Massachusetts
Alma materTrinity College (Connecticut)
Occupation
  • President of the Boston Red Sox (2015–present)[1]
  • CEO of the Boston Red Sox (2017–present)

Kennedy has been a member of the baseball club's upper management hierarchy since March 2002.[3] He was named the successor to longtime Red Sox president Larry Lucchino on August 1, 2015, when Lucchino announced his decision to retire from his executive positions with the team at the close of the 2015 Boston Red Sox season.[4] Lucchino's chief executive officer post was initially left vacant, and on August 18, 2015, the Red Sox also named veteran MLB executive Dave Dombrowski to the new position of president, baseball operations.[5][6] On August 2, 2017, the Red Sox and Fenway Sports Management announced Kennedy's appointment as chief executive officer, and signed him to a new five-year contract as both CEO and president.[7]

Prior to August 2015, Kennedy had been the Red Sox' executive vice president and chief operating officer and president of Fenway Sports Management since May 2009.

Early life and education

The son of an Episcopal priest, Kennedy is a native of Brookline, Massachusetts.[8] He attended Brookline High School and was a classmate of Theo Epstein, the general manager of the Red Sox during 2003–11 (and later president baseball operations with the Chicago Cubs). At Brookline High School, Kennedy was captain of both the boys' hockey and baseball teams.[3] He then attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he played baseball [9] and earned a bachelor's degree in 1995.

Career

After an internship with the New York Yankees in 1995,[2] and a period in advertising sales with two major New York City radio stations, WABC and WFAN, Kennedy returned to baseball in 1996 with the San Diego Padres, where he worked under Lucchino and was reunited with Epstein. Kennedy began his San Diego career as an account executive, and had risen to executive director/corporate accounts and broadcasting when (along with Lucchino and, eventually, Epstein) he joined the Red Sox front office during the 2001–02 offseason upon the team's purchase by Fenway Sports Group (FSG).[3] He rose from vice president/sales and corporate partnerships to senior vice president/sales and marketing to executive vice president/chief marketing officer before becoming the Red Sox' evp/chief operating officer.

Kennedy also worked to enlarge the footprint of the parent Fenway Sports Group. In 2004, working under chief operating officer Mike Dee, he was tasked with the creation of Fenway Sports Management, a sports marketing agency that operates under the aegis of FSG, where he has served as president since Dee's 2009 departure. In 2010 Kennedy also was involved in FSG's purchase of the Premier League association football club Liverpool F.C., with Fenway Sports Management placed in charge of expanding Liverpool F.C.'s global "commercial operations."[3] He was considered for top-level positions in sports management outside Boston and baseball, including a possible higher-management role with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in Toronto, prior to the 2015 season.[4]

Personal life

Kennedy and his family reside in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

References
  1. "Club Executives" (PDF). Boston Red Sox Media Guide. Boston Red Sox. 2020. pp. 23–24. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via athletics.com.
  2. Abraham, Peter (August 2, 2015). "Sam Kennedy stands ready for promotion to Red Sox president". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  3. 2015 Boston Red Sox Official Media Guide, pp. 31-32
  4. Silverman, Michael; Buckley, Steve (August 2, 2015). "Larry Lucchino to depart in Red Sox shakeup". The Boston Herald. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  5. SI.com
  6. Hohler, Bob (September 5, 2015). "Keeping notes as he paid his dues, Dave Dombrowski rose to the top". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  7. Chronis, Evan (August 3, 2017). "Sam Kennedy elevated to CEO of Red Sox". Boston Red Sox official web site. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  8. Borchers, Callum (March 23, 2014). "Seven things you should know about Sam Kennedy". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  9. Doyle, Paul (August 2, 2015). "Incoming Red Sox President Sam Kennedy Has Roots at Trinity". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
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