Fred Whitfield (executive)
National Basketball Association executive / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Fred Whitfield (born in 1958) is the chief operating officer, president, vice chairman, alternate governor, and minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. Whitfield is the only African-American COO in the NBA.[1]
| Charlotte Hornets | |
|---|---|
| Position | COO/President/Minority Owner |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 1958 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College | Campbell University & NCCU Law |
In July 2006, Hornets Sports & Entertainment announced the hire of Whitfield as president and COO.
Michael Jordan said “I’ve known Whitfield for over 35 years, and we have been through a lot together...We worked together when he worked with my agent, at Nike when we launched the Jordan Brand and he worked with me in the front office of the Wizards...I am thankful to have him as the team president and as my friend.”[2][3]
Whitfield was honored the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence (2011) and YMCA George Williams Award (Volunteer of the Year 2012), the Key to the City of Greensboro (2013), the UNC Charlotte Distinguished Service Award (2019), and named the 2019 Citizen of the Carolinas by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.[4][5]
He is currently a member of the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce board of directors, the Charlotte Sports Foundation board of directors, and his alma mater Campbell University's board of trustees.
Whitfield and his wife Mary reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.