Keith Pelley will step away from his role as DP World Tour CEO to become president and chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
Keith Pelley will step away from his role as DP World Tour CEO after having agreed to become the president and chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), according to TSN.
Pelley, who turns 60 on January 11, became just the fourth CEO in the 50-year history of the European Tour in September 2015.
In 2022, the European Tour changed its name to the DP World Tour.
Pelley will now depart from the DP World Tour in order to return to his native Canada and work for the organization that owns the Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC, and Argonauts.
The deal might be made official before the end of the week, according to TSN, which broke the story late on January 10, just hours before the opening event of the DP World Tour in 2024.
Pelley will succeed Michael Friisdahl, who was MLSE’s president and CEO from 2015-2022.
MLSE chief financial officer Cynthia Devine has been MLSE’s acting CEO since Friisdahl’s departure.
GolfMagic has reached out to the DP World Tour for comment.
Today’s update on Pelley’s future falls on the same day news broke that Martin Slumbers was stepping down from his role as the CEO of the R&A at the end of the season.
Both of their pending exits come at a period in the game when the ongoing framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf’s bankrollers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, has been extended through to the end of March 2024.
Pelley told Golf Digest in November 2023:
The conversations we are having will be in the best interests of global golf and the best interests of the DP World Tour. I won’t comment on specific formats or seasons as all those conversations are confidential. But, as I’ve said internally, things have heated up since the Ryder Cup. Discussions have intensified.”
Pelley’s background should stand him good stead in his new role at MLSE.
He was the former president of Rogers Media, which according to TSN has “deep connections in Canada’s sports business industry and extensive experience in media rights acquisitions, sponsorship negotiations, TV production, brand development, and event management.” This is in addition to his eight-year tenure at the European Tour.
The NBA’s Raptors are estimated to be valued at $4 billion, while the NHL’s Maple Leafs are valued at slightly more than $2.5 billion.
We will have more information on this story as we receive it.