Turnkey Search has won a bid with the Marlins to conduct an executive search for the club’s President of Business Operations, beating out several competing firms including Korn Ferry. The position, first posted publicly yesterday, will lead all the team’s core business functions including sales, marketing, ballpark operations and corporate partnerships, and report to new Marlins CEO Derek Jeter. Those functions had been previously led by former club President David Samson, but he was not retained by the new Marlins ownership group led by Jeter and Chair & Principal Owner Bruce Sherman. The job posting also calls for the development of a “three-year plan to improve capabilities across the organization” and to “manage the capital expenditure budget with a focus on projects that improve the fan experience and achieve high returns on investment.” Notably, the posting additionally includes two references to comfort with data and analytics. The Marlins’ exec search marks the most significant move on the personnel front thus far by the Jeter-Sherman group, though the organization since the official franchise turnover earlier this month has let go of about a dozen employees, largely in scouting and player development. A decision on the final hire for President of Business Operations is possible by early December, and it is expected the search will extend outside of baseball. Turnkey declined to comment on the Marlins search.
