SERVING UP LEADERSHIP

Matthew Caldwell – President, CEO & Alternate Governor

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 Stanley Cup-winning 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 (2021-22), two Prince of Wales Trophies (2022-23, 2023-24), and first Stanley Cup capture in the franchise’s 30-year history (2023-24).

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 has led all major deals for the Panthers under Vincent Viola’s ownership, including the Panthers’ 2023 arena naming rights partnership with Amerant Bank, and multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals with Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, LaCroix, and Visit Lauderdale that helped transform the franchise. Additionally, in 2022, Caldwell leveraged the team’s exploding fan base and record-breaking ticket sales to negotiate a local media rights extension with Bally Sports that more than doubled the value of the franchise’s previous 10-year deal, before going on to secure a new multi-year agreement with Scripps Sports in 2024 to broadcast Panthers hockey for free to residents of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Fort Myers—thereby expanding access to, and enthusiasm for, Panthers hockey across the Sunshine State.

Over his decade-long tenure with the Florida Panthers, Caldwell has been instrumental in ensuring the franchise remains firmly rooted in Broward County, beginning with his pivotal role in restructuring the Panthers-Broward County 2015 arena lease, and later amending and extending the agreement in 2024. Having cemented the Panthers as respected full-service facility operators within Broward County, which has served as the basis of the Panthers’ successful public-private partnerships, Caldwell successfully led lease negotiations with the City of Fort Lauderdale for the Panthers’ $100-million revitalization of the War Memorial Auditorium and construction of a new two-sheet team practice and community ice facility—the Baptist Health IcePlex—which opened to the public in March 2024, and is expanding access to hockey and other ice sports amongst thousands of tri-county residents across all ages and demographics.

In lockstep with Panthers ownership, Caldwell’s servant leadership has catapulted the organization’s commitment and outreach to the South Florida community, with a heightened focus on advancing diversity and inclusion. Initiatives include providing free educational programming to thousands of local students, spearheading crisis relief efforts—which have ranged from rebuilding a local family’s home after a fire, to sheltering and feeding thousands of community members during Hurricane Irma—and fundraising to support our nation’s military veterans, to name a few. Having previously committed more than $8 million to local nonprofits, the Panthers recently announced a continued minimum commitment of $1 million annually to support philanthropic initiatives in the region.

Caldwell was selected to the Florida Council 100 in 2024, and is also a member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance’s CEO Council, the Broward Workshop Executive Committee, and the Orange Bowl Committee. He has been recognized by South Florida Business Journal as an “Ultimate CEO” (2021) and “40 Under 40” honoree (2016), and also earned a coveted spot on Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list (2018).

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 three children, Flora, Pedro and Matteo.

Moderated By:

Monica Cepero
Broward County Administrator