Yesterday, husband Ken and I attended a Business Leaders’ luncheon at the Columbia Tower Club to hear friend and all around great human being, Tod Leiweke, CEO of Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, a management company owned by Paul Allen which oversees Allen’s sports related properties, speak. In Tod’s role, he is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Seahawks National Football League team, the Seattle Sounders FC, Major League Soccer team, and oversees the Portland Trail Blazers operation as well. We had the opportunity to converse over lunch with Tod as well as Columbia Tower Club General Manager, Peter Phillips, retired Puget Sound Business Journal publisher, Mike Flynn, banker and former Seattleites, Linda & Dennis Mitchell.
When Tod spoke to the group, it was fascinating to hear some of the factoids about the Seahawks, the Seattle Sounders FC and the business of recruiting professional players. I found the story about Freddie Ljungberg from Sweden especially interesting; the free agent designated player who is a previous Calvin Klein underwear model who borrowed Tod’s boat and has kept it for the season. It was also fun to hear that Qwest Field is known as the loudest stadium in the league. Obviously, the “12th Man” is important!
Tod is also hugely active and involved in community voluntarism and philanthropy, having recently finished his stint as United Way of King County Campaign Chair and raising close to $112 million, more than any other United Way in the world. He has also chaired the Woodland Park Zoo pajama party and served as Co-Chair of the Auction of Washington Wines for three years.
It was last summer at our home when we were hosting a Leonetti Cellar Winemaker Dinner for the Auction of Washington Wines, that Tod and his wife Tara attended, when Tod saw what a difficult time Ken was having trying to walk. Tod insisted that he would arrange for Ken to see the Seahawks team doctor who specializes in spines, Dr. Stan Herring. Ken had been going to doctor after doctor trying to figure out what was going on without finding any answers. Long story short, Tod was true to his word and Ken was in surgery to have a large tumor removed from his spinal cord within just a few days. We were hugely impressed with Dr. Herring and we are both so appreciative of Tod and his willingness to offer to help find a solution to what seemed to be up until then an insolvable problem.
Ken and I are both BIG FANS of Tod Leiweke!
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