Keith Pelley leaves the DP after nine years

Changes at the top of two golf governing bodies. Keith Pelley leaves the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) to become president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a company that boasts assets in four of the six main professional sports leagues in the USA and Canada, from the NBA (Toronto Raptors) to MLS (Toronto FC) up to the Canadian Football League (Toronto Argonauts).

There is also news on the R&A front, where Martin Slumbers has announced his intention to step down as CEO by the end of 2024.

Keith Pelley, results

Pelley, 60 years old, who grew up in Etobicoke (Toronto, Ontario), became CEO of the European Tour in April 2015. His role was decisive for the assignment of the 2022 Ryder Cup (then postponed due to Covid-19 to 2023) to Italy.

Brian Pelley’s early life and educational background provide insight into his journey to success. He grew up in Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, and attended Martingrove Collegiate Institute. During his time there, he was involved in sports as a running back in the Etobicoke Minor Football League.

After graduating from high school, Pelley initially pursued studies at Trinity College London. However, he later returned to Canada and enrolled in the Radio and Television Arts Program (RTA) at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, which is now known as Toronto Metropolitan University.

During his time at Ryerson, Brian Pelley gained valuable experience in the media industry. He worked in television reporting for the station that would eventually become Omni Television. Additionally, he had the opportunity to work with sportscaster Pete Gross at the City TV network and served as an assistant editor for SportsCentre with TSN.

Brian Pelley’s career journey includes several notable achievements and leadership roles in the media and sports industry. After graduating from Ryerson University, he started working at TSN and eventually became the president of the company. In the early 2000s, he took on the role of president and CEO of the Toronto Argonauts, a Canadian Football League team, where they achieved success by winning the 92nd Grey Cup.

Following his time with the Argonauts, Pelley served as the president of Canada’s Olympic broadcast media consortium for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver while working as the executive vice president of strategic planning at the CTV Television Network.

On September 7, 2010, Brian Pelley became the president of Rogers Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. During his tenure there, he successfully negotiated a significant $5.232 billion contract with the National Hockey League (NHL) in February 2014, granting Rogers the Canadian broadcast rights for all NHL games, including playoffs, until 2026.