Oct 29, 2015
Meet the new MLSE president
Long before he began cheering for the Maple Leafs, Michael Friisdahl spent his time riding horses and studying Danish soccer scores.
Long before he began cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the new president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment spent his time riding horses and studying Danish soccer scores.
Incoming MLSE president Michael Friisdahl, 53, was born in Roskilde, Denmark, and moved with his parents to Calgary when he was 13. In 1985, his family moved again, to Toronto.
“I never attended university. I’m a high school graduate who went to work early on as an entrepreneur and built my own business,” Friisdahl told TSN in an interview on Thursday.
It’s hard to imagine MLSE could find an executive to replace outgoing president Tim Leiweke who is so different from his predecessor.
“Soccer is far and away the predominant sport in Denmark and I grew up a soccer fan,” Friisdahl said. “And I loved riding horses, too. ... After coming to Canada, I didn’t get so involved in sports. I didn’t speak English when I arrived.”
Friisdahl joins MLSE from Air Canada, where since 2012 he was president and chief executive of the airline’s leisure group, which runs Air Canada Vacations, a tour operator business.
“What they are looking for (from me) is someone who can lead the overall organization and to make sure the teams get what they need in order to lead.”
Friisdahl’s previous positions included CEO of Thomas Cook North America and CEO of the tour operator Holiday Network.
“Each one of our teams has a fairly significant depth of management,” Friisdahl said. “Clearly, looking for sports talent is not what the board focused on. What they are looking for (from me) is someone who can lead the overall organization and to make sure the teams get what they need in order to lead.”
Friisdahl is married with three children: Samantha, a third-year university student; Matthew, nine; and Abbie, seven.
Friisdahl said his hiring came after “a number of months” worth of negotiations with MLSE. “Like any search, it takes some period of time,” he said.
Friisdahl’s hiring brings Leiweke’s stewardship of MLSE to a close, as the story of who will replace Leiweke has percolated in sports business circles for months.
He joined MLSE in 2013 after working for 13 years for the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which has an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings.
After a rough start when he drew criticism for a plan to remove photos of Leafs legends from the hallways of the Air Canada Centre, Leiweke won praise for his hiring of Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and for navigating local politics to get a new $30-million practice facility built for the Toronto Raptors.
Leiweke said in August 2014 that he planned to leave MLSE by June 2015. At the time he confirmed that he negotiated with Live Nation Entertainment chairman Irving Azoff about starting a joint venture that could include assets that belong to Madison Square Garden Co.
But by January 2015, with efforts to replacing him stalled, MLSE’s board considered asking Leiweke to stay on.
MLSE is jointly owned by Bell Media, TSN's parent company, and telecom rival Rogers Communications. The perception that those companies are often at odds has made some sports executives contacted by MLSE wary.
John Cassaday, chief executive of Corus Entertainment in Toronto, was widely considered a front-runner for the job. While Cassaday tentatively agreed on a contract, the sides did not discuss financial terms until the 11th hour. At that point, talks collapsed.
Friisdahl, however, said he doesn’t understand the media’s portrayal of a divided board.
“It may make for a good story and good theatre, but it hasn’t been my experience,” Friisdahl said. “It’s good for everyone to have winning teams. There’s no doubt the board is 100 per cent aligned on what their objectives are. The amount of money committed to the teams and infrastructure should certainly show there is no lack of commitment.”