Miami Dolphins Hire Tom Garfinkel as CEO

Former Padres CEO to replace Mike Dee

The Miami Dolphins have found the person to replace former president of business operations and chief executive officer, and coincidentally it is the person whom outgoing CEO Mike Dee replaced.

The team announced Monday that Tom Garfinkel has been hired as the new Dolphins president. He previously served in the same role with the San Diego Padres, resigning in July. Dee was announced as Garfinkel's replacement on July 17.

“As we set out to find the right leader for the organization, we had a specific set of criteria that we felt were critical. Tom has all of the qualities that we said were important in making this hire," owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. "Throughout an exhaustive process, Tom simply stood out from what was a great pool of candidates and it became an obvious choice. His intellect, leadership philosophy, and strategic mindset were clear separators. He is the right person because he is a leader with vision and integrity who can take this organization to the next level."

Before his time with the Padres, Garfinkel was vice president and chief operating officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks. His role with the Dolphins will be independent of player personnel and coaching, head coach Joe Philbin and general manager Jeff Ireland will continue to report to Ross.

"The Miami Dolphins are an iconic franchise with a tremendous history and I’m excited about the opportunity and the responsibility that comes along with it," Garfinkel said. “One thing became abundantly clear in the process and was an important factor for me was that Steve Ross is committed to building a first-class organization and a consistently winning organization."

During his tenure with the Padres, Garfinkel helped negotiate a $1 billion TV contract with the Padres and bring various non-baseball events to Petco Field.

Garfinkel is a graduate of the University of Colorado, with an MBA from the Stephen Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

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