Stars announce promotion of Brad Alberts to president, CEO

dallas-stars-brad-alberts-jamie-benn-tyler-seguin-gary-bettman

Dallas Stars president Brad Alberts sits in front of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, left, chats with Dallas Stars Jamie Benn, center, and Tyler Seguin during a news conference outside the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (LM Otero/AP)

The Dallas Stars have promoted Brad Alberts to chief executive officer in addition to his role as team president, the club announced Friday.

Alberts takes over the role of CEO from Jim Lites, who will transition to chairman of the Stars and managing director of Northland Properties Corporation, US Division, overseeing the expansion of the company’s hospitality, hotel and restaurant business in Texas.

Previously, Alberts served as team president while Lites was Stars CEO. The team said in a statement that as chairman Lites will “serve as an advisor and provide counsel to Alberts.”

“The Dallas Stars are known as a model franchise around the league, and that is due to the tireless work of Jim Lites,” owner Tom Gaglardi said in a team release. “When we purchased the franchise in 2011, there were numerous issues that needed to be addressed. It was evident to me early on that Jim possessed the experience, dedication, guidance and vison (sic) required to lead the franchise out of that period. Over the last nine years, he has not only lived up to those expectations, but he has in many ways surpassed them.”

Lites is currently in his third stint with the Stars after taking over as president and CEO in 2011, when Gaglardi purchased the club. Lites made headlines in late 2018 after calling out Stars players Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin publicly, comments which drew reaction from Benn and Seguin, as well as the NHLPA, at the time.

Alberts, who is in his second tenure with the club, will now “oversee the entire operations of the Stars” while continuing in his role as president of the Texas Stars, the team’s AHL affiliate.

“Learning from Jim has been invaluable and I will continue to lean on his expertise and knowledge through this transition,” said Alberts. “We have a great leadership team intact, and it is our goal to compete for the Stanley Cup each year while building a truly forward-thinking organization as a whole. The Gaglardi family has been amazing to work with, and I am excited to help bring their vision to reality.”

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.