Tom Wright (sports executive)

For other uses, seeTom Wright (disambiguation).

Tom Wright
Born	1953 (age 70–71) Toronto,Ontario,Canada
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	UFC Canada CFL Commissioner

Thomas E. S. Wright(born 1953) is the11thcommissioner of theCanadian Football League(CFL),appointed to the position on November 2, 2002. He was theUFCsDirector of Operations forCanada,AustraliaandNew Zealanduntil October 19, 2016, when he announced he was no longer with the organisation.Prior to his role with the CFL and UFC, Wright was thepresidentofAdidasCanadaand president and CEO ofSalomon GroupNorth America.He is involved in several charitable organizations, and is thechairmanofSpecial OlympicsCanada.

Wright attendedUpper Canada College,theUniversity of TorontoandYork Universityearning aBachelor of Physical Educationand aMaster of Business Administration.His wife Ginnie Grand Wright's family were the founders and former owners of office supply chainGrand & Toy.He was born inToronto,Ontario.

Wright's tenure with the CFL was largely successful, however, several members of the board were said to be dissatisfied and wanted him replaced. It was announced on July 5, 2006, that Wright had informed the CFL that he would not be seeking a contract extension as league commissioner, thus ending his tenure as the 11th CFL commissioner.On March 28, 2007,Mark Cohonwas officially announced as Wright's successor as league commissioner.

In 2009, Wright authoredJim Balsillie's relocation application report to move thePhoenix CoyotesNHL team fromPhoenix, Arizona,toHamilton, Ontario,whenthe Coyotes went bankrupt.

On May 25, 2010, theUltimate Fighting Championshipannounced Wright as the director of operations for UFC Canada.On October 19, 2016, the UFC's Canadian office in Toronto experienced massive layoffs, with approximately 80 percent of the department being let go including Tom Wright.

External links

• Tom WrightonTwitter