Florida Panthers

Matthew Caldwell is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Alternate Governor of the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers. A U.S. Army veteran and former Vice President at Goldman Sachs, Caldwell first joined the Panthers as Chief Operating Officer in 2014. Just two years later, at age 36, Caldwell assumed the role of President & Chief Executive Officer, making him the youngest CEO in all of U.S. professional sports at the time. Over the past several years, Caldwell's strategic efforts have played a pivotal role in the rebirth of the Florida Panthers-from building a front office team that continues to set franchise records in ticket sales, TV viewership, and sponsorship revenue, to onboarding Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito in 2020, whose transformational work led the team to its first Presidents' Trophy for most points in the 2021-22 regular season. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Caldwell went on to serve five years as a U.S. Army Captain where he conducted combat operations in Iraq, led peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, and trained soldiers preparing for deployment in Germany. During his military career, Caldwell was awarded a NATO Kosovo Military Medal, an Iraq Campaign Medal, and a Bronze Star Medal. Much in the way he diligently and selflessly served the country, Caldwell has continued to serve the Panthers franchise, pushing it towards great success. As President & CEO, Caldwell led the Panthers through the COVID-19 pandemic, both ensuring the jobs of all full-time employees while setting a new blueprint for safety ahead of fan return; in December 2020, the Panthers home arena became the NHL's first to achieve the prestigious WELL Health-Safety Rating, which serves as the global benchmark for safety in public spaces, and soon after welcomed fans back to the stands with a reimagined in-game experience focused on health and wellbeing. In lockstep with Panthers ownership, Caldwell's servant leadership has catapulted the organization's commitment and outreach to the South Florida community-from providing free educational programming to thousands of local students and committing more than $5 million to local nonprofits, to crisis relief efforts that have ranged from rebuilding a local family's home after a fire to sheltering and feeding thousands of community members at Panthers home arena during Hurricane Irma. Under Caldwell's leadership, the Panthers have also placed a heightened emphasis on advancing diversity, inclusion, and access, both within the sport of hockey and the community beyond. As an extension of this mission, Caldwell has played an instrumental role in the Panthers revitalization of Fort Lauderdale's iconic War Memorial Auditorium and construction of a new two-sheet team practice and community ice facility-the Baptist Health IcePlex-which will host an array of community hockey and skating programs and increase access to the sport to thousands of tri-county residents. Caldwell was named as a South Florida Business Journal Ultimate CEO in 2021, and has also received 'Forty Under 40' recognition by both Sports Business Journal (2018) and South Florida Business Journal (2016). He is a member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance CEO Council, Broward Workshop Executive Committee, and Orange Bowl Committee, and serves as an advisor on the Broward College District Board. Caldwell completed his J.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Law, his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, and his Bachelor of Science degree from West Point. He resides in Fort Lauderdale with his wife, Fernanda, and their children, Flora and Pedro.