Vinik said in a statement.
“I am thrilled to welcome Tod to the Lightning organization as CEO and as my partner. Tod has the vision, the passion and the experience to lead the franchise towards my goal of being world class on and off the ice. He is an inspirational leader and I am delighted he has shown the confidence in the entire Tampa Bay community to join the Lightning.”
Leiweke is a respected executive and Paul Allen will struggle to replace him with someone as capable, but change is often good for a struggling organization. It forcefully frees that organization of inborn bias. The new person is free of personal relationships and prior commitments. Their only mandate is change, and though change is not in of itself progress, within a stagnant organization, change can catalyze future progress.
Now, will that future progress be the culmination of the next President’s vision, or a response to the next President’s failure?