Tom Garfinkel is an American sports executive who serves as vice chairman, president and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium and managing partner of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix. [1]
Tom Garfinkel is an American sports executive who serves as vice chairman, president and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium and managing partner of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix. [1]
Garfinkel graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder and earned his MBA at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Garfinkel held numerous leadership roles in sales, marketing and branding with Miller Brewing Company and Texaco before entering the sports industry. [2] From 2001 to 2006 he oversaw business operations for Chip Ganassi Racing. He then served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2009 he joined the San Diego Padres as president and COO. [3] In 2012 he was promoted to CEO. Garfinkel left the Padres in 2013 and was named president and chief executive officer of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium two months later. [4] He also serves as managing partner of the Miami Grand Prix, a Formula One race that takes place around Hard Rock Stadium. [5]
In 2008, Garfinkel helped deliver the highest controllable revenue in the franchise’s history. [6] He also lead the organization’s efforts to redesign the concourses at Chase Field. [7]
Garfinkel joined the Padres as president and COO in 2009 and was promoted to CEO in 2012. During his tenure with the team, Garfinkel created the Youth Baseball Initiative, which provided jerseys to over 850 Little League teams, helped broker a $1.2 billion television deal with Fox Sports San Diego, and was credited with raising the team's season-ticket base. Garfinkel also helped the Padres become the first Major League Baseball team to develop a comprehensive initiative to build awareness for Stand Up to Cancer. [8] [9]
In 2011 and 2012 the Padres had the top ticket sales and service team in baseball according to a survey in SportsBusiness Journal. He resigned from the Padres on July 9, 2013. [10]
On September 9, 2013, Garfinkel was named president and chief executive officer of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium. [11] He helped oversee the team’s in-house sale of naming rights to “Hard Rock Stadium”. [12] He also led the execution of a privately-funded $550 million renovation plan to modernize the stadium, which included the installation of a canopy to offer shaded seats, increased video displays, and improved luxury seating and hospitality options. [13]
Inspired by a 60 Minutes special on plastic pollution, Garfinkel created an internal committee ahead of Super Bowl LIV that formulated a strategy to phase out 99.4% of single-use plastics. The efforts help eliminate more than 2.8 million plastic items annually. [14] With fans and employees hesitant to attend in-person events in 2020, Garfinkel helped lead efforts to make Hard Rock Stadium the first public facility to receive GBAC STAR™ accreditation. [15] He worked with members of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) to develop a 20-step plan that established a gold standard for facilities to implement different infectious disease prevention work practices. [16]
Garfinkel and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross also spearheaded efforts to construct the team’s new $135 million Baptist Health Training Complex, which was completed in 2021. [17]
The Dolphins were named to the 2019 and 2020 Best Employers in Sports List by Front Office Sports, which recognizes organizations across the sports industry that are doing the best for their employees. [18] [19]
In October 2020, Garfinkel earned the George Norlin Award, which recognizes outstanding CU Boulder alumni who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their chosen field of endeavor and a devotion to the betterment of society and their community. [20]
Garfinkel and the Dolphins were honored by the Fritz Pollard Alliance at Super Bowl LIV with the Paul J. Tagliabue Award for their commitment to advancing diversity in leadership positions throughout the organization. [21]
In March 2021, Garfinkel and Ross were among Sports Business Journal’s Leaders in Diversity and Inclusive Hiring honorees for their efforts to advance the sports business careers of women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. [22] [23]
Garfinkel also serves on the board of Dolphins Challenge Cancer, the National Football Foundation and the Sports Management Advisory Board and Ross School of Business Advisory Board at the University of Michigan. [24]
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metro area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium, located in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida. The team is currently owned by Stephen M. Ross. The Dolphins are the oldest professional sports team in Florida. Of the four AFC East teams, the Dolphins are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Dolphins were also one of the first professional football teams in the southeast, along with the Atlanta Falcons.
Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I college football team.
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Stephen Michael Ross is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and sports team owner. Ross is the chairman and majority owner of The Related Companies, a global real estate development firm he founded in 1972. Related is best known for developing the Deutsche Bank Center, where Ross lives and works, as well as the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. According to Forbes magazine, Ross has a net worth of $7.6 billion in 2020, ranking him 185 on Forbes Billionaires List in 2020. Having doubled his net worth since 2008, he paid no income taxes in the next decade utilizing the losses on the properties he owned. Ross is also the principal owner of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium.
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Matt Higgins is an American businessman, author, and the co-founder and CEO of RSE Ventures, a private investment firm that focuses on sports and entertainment, media and marketing, food and lifestyle, and technology. In 2012, Higgins co-founded RSE with Stephen M. Ross, the founder of Related Companies and owner of the Miami Dolphins. Higgins served as Vice Chairman of the Dolphins from 2012-2021, having previously been a high-level executive with the New York Jets. His first book, Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential was published by William Morrow in 2023, and was named a Wall Street Journal Bestseller.
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The 2017 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League, the 52nd overall and the second under head coach Adam Gase. The team came off from a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance for the first time since 2008. They were seen as potential playoff contenders and looked to make consecutive playoff seasons for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. However, the team was affected by the loss of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who tore his ACL during practice and was ruled out for the season. The team turned to former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who came out of retirement to become Tannehill's replacement and team's starter. After Tannehill got injured, coach Adam Gase called former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning about possibly coming out of retirement and taking Tannehill's place. However Manning later declined the idea of coming out of retirement. Gase was the QB coach and offensive coordinator of Peyton's Broncos between the 2012 and 2014 seasons. Additionally, the Dolphins were also one of the teams Peyton considered signing with following his release by the Colts in 2012. Later during the season, the team traded starting running back Jay Ajayi to the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2018 fourth round draft pick on October 31.
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