Tod Leiweke

Tod Leiweke enters his fourth season with the Seattle Seahawks after being named to the position in June 2003. The 2007 season is Leiweke's 25th season in professional sports. Leiweke serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Seattle Seahawks and assumes responsibility for all business and administration functions of the club. In addition, he is president of First and Goal Inc., the organization that manages Qwest Field and Event Center for the state of Washington. This past year, Qwest Field was named by The Sporting News as the finest venue in the National Football League.

Under Leiweke's leadership, 2005 was a historic year both on and off the field. In addition to winning the NFC Championship and advancing to the team's first Super Bowl, the Seahawks raised their consecutive sellout streak to 26 and won the 2005 NFL Sports Fan's Quality Award as the league's "Fan Friendliest" team. During the annual NFL meetings, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue commented on the extraordinary support and involvement of the Seahawks fans. Leiweke's vision is a Seahawks organization that is committed on behalf of its fans to winning in the stadium and in the community. Because of that vision and community involvement, the Seahawks were award the 2005 Living and Giving Award by the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation at an event that raised over three million dollars.

Leiweke was instrumental in forming the "Spirit of 12" Partnerships. Teaming with Qwest Communications, the partnership benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of King & Pierce Counties, Camp Fire USA, Treehouse, and YMCA of Greater Seattle. Leiweke serves as a board member on a number of Washington based organizations including the Washington CEO Roundtable, YMCA of Greater Seattle, and The Space Needle. He was instrumental in launching the annual Boeing Greater Seattle Classic golf tournament in 2005 and serves as Co-Chair of the Executive Committee. The tournament raised over $700,000 its first year with the primary beneficiary being the Virginia Mason Heart Institute. Before joining the Seahawks, Leiweke served as President of the Minnesota Wild and Chief Operating Officer of Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE).

Under Leiweke's leadership, the Sports Fans of America Association, Inc. awarded its 2003 NHL Sports Fan's Quality Award to the Wild as the league's "Fan Friendliest" team. In an ESPN survey conducted in 2003, the team was ranked number one for stadium experience and number two for fan relationships among 123 sports franchises. The Wild played to sellouts for every game in each of its first four seasons. Prior to joining the Wild, he served as the inagural Executive Director of The First Tee organization, which welcomed underprivileged youth into the world of golf through the development of golf facilities throughout North America. Leiweke has also held executive positions with the PGA Tour, the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and the NBA's Golden State Warriors.