TAMPA BAY – Vinik Sports Group and Tampa Bay Lightning Chairman and Governor Jeff Vinik today announced the promotion for Steve Griggs from Chief Executive Officer to Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman. Griggs will also continue to serve as an Alternate Governor for the organization with the NHL.
Having served as CEO of the organization since 2015 and previously as Chief Operating Officer for the organization starting in 2010, Griggs’s steady leadership has seen the organization become a model across all professional sports. Under Griggs’s oversight, the organization launched Vinik Sports Group to work with sports and entertainment properties across the region, has sold out over 350 consecutive NHL games, and has transformed AMALIE Arena into one of the busiest in North America. Griggs was recognized by The Hockey News as the No. 1 team executive in the NHL in the publication’s 2022 “Money and Power Issue.”
“I have been very fortunate to have great leaders throughout my tenure of owning the Tampa Bay Lightning,” said Vinik. “I have always had a philosophy of hiring great talent and giving them all of the resources they need to be successful and then staying out of their way. Steve Griggs has become an incredibly valued partner for me over nearly thirteen years at the organization, and this promotion to Vice Chairman is a deserved recognition of his relentless pursuit of excellence and unyielding desire to be an important part of this community.”
Culture and community have remained at the forefront of Griggs’s leadership focuses. The organization won the 2022 Sports Business Journal Team of the Year award and has been listed as one of the Tampa Bay Times Best Places to Work on many occasions over the last decade.
“I am humbled and excited by this opportunity afforded to me by Jeff Vinik,” noted Griggs. “I could not be more excited for the next chapter ahead at Vinik Sports Group and the Tampa Bay Lightning — and look forward to continuing to make a difference in our community, providing a world-class-plus experience to our guests, and bringing home more Stanley Cups to Tampa in the years ahead.”
