| JOHN McDONOUGH
PRESIDENT
John McDonough was named president of the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 20, 2007. Under his guidance, in what Forbes Magazine has called the “The Greatest Sports-Business Turnaround Ever,” the Blackhawks have moved quickly to revitalize the team’s profile and re-energize its fan base. With McDonough’s direction, the Blackhawks achieved their “One Goal” of a Stanley Cup championship in 2010, the team’s first title since 1961.
Under McDonough’s leadership, the Blackhawks have become one of professional sports’ biggest success stories. To date, the Blackhawks have entertained 105 consecutive capacity crowds at the United Center and have grown a season ticketholder base from 3,400 to over 14,000 in under a year. For the first time in franchise history, the Blackhawks welcomed over 1,000,000 fans to the United Center during a single season in 2008-09 (1,052,261), while establishing an NHL club record by attracting a league-leading average of 21,783 to their 40 home dates at the United Center. The Blackhawks’ success was recognized by SportsBusiness Journal in 2009, when the team earned a coveted nomination for the publication’s Professional Sports Team of the Year.
McDonough was also instrumental in bringing NHL Winter Classic 2009 to Chicago, a contest which matched up the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings in front of 40,818 fans at Wrigley Field on Jan. 1, 2009. The game drew an 11.8 overnight rating and a 21 share on NBC in Chicago and over 4.4 million U.S. viewers overall, making it the most-watched NHL game in almost 34 years, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In 2010, the Blackhawks ranked 16th among the 122 major North American professional sports teams in ESPN The Magazine’s Ultimate Standings, up from 118th in 2007. The team’s ranking was the best among Chicago franchises.
Shortly after his arrival, the club welcomed back Blackhawks legends and Hall of Famers Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito as official team ambassadors and instituted the annual Blackhawks Convention, the first of its kind in the National Hockey League. In addition, in a landmark partnership with Comcast SportsNet and WGN Television, the Blackhawks announced that all 82 regular season games would be televised for the first time in franchise history in 2008-09. The Blackhawks also announced an exciting new radio partnership with arguably the most prominent call letters, Chicago's WGN Radio 720.
Prior to joining the Blackhawks, McDonough served as president of the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure, the Cubs won the 2007 National League Central Division while setting an all-time franchise attendance record. As the Cubs chief, and in his previous role as senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting, he was widely viewed as a sports marketing and management innovator who played a major role in growing the Cubs’ fan base and attracting sponsorships for one of the most successful pro sports franchises in America.
During his 24 years with the Cubs organization, the club consistently reached record attendance and revenue figures. In addition, McDonough was the architect of the celebrity “guest conductor” 7th inning stretch concept at Wrigley Field and created the annual Cubs Convention, which is now viewed as a prototype for professional team and league fan festivals.
With McDonough’s many achievements have also come several honors and awards, including Major League Baseball’s Marketing Excellence Award; the Chicago Baseball Veterans Committee Man of the Year; Chicago Baseball Executive of the Year; and America’s Top Ten Marketing Executives by Promo Magazine.
He has also been recognized with the St. Mary's University of Minnesota Presidential Medal for Outstanding Merit; the Bill Veeck Lifetime Achievement Award; Notre Dame High School’s Hall of Fame; the 2008 Executive of the Year Award by the Chicago chapter of the Public Relations Society of America; served as a guest speaker at the 2010 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference; and was named to the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
McDonough serves as a frequent lecturer at Northwestern University and sits on the Faculty Advisory Board for its Master of Arts in Sports Administration program. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Directors for the Illinois chapter of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the National Hockey League Club Business Advisory Board and the National Hockey League Board of Governors.
A Chicago native, McDonough is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Niles, Ill., and St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn. He currently resides in the northwest suburbs with his wife, Karen. They have three children: Colleen, Ryan and Michael.
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