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The Miami Dolphins have announced Tom Garfinkel as the team's new President and Chief Executive Officer. Garfinkel joins the Dolphins from Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. With the Padres, Garfinkel had been the President and Chief Operating Officer starting in April 2009, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in April 2012. Garfinkel has also served as the Executive Vice President and COO for the Arizona Diamondbacks and as the the Executive Vice President for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams. Garfinkel also has experience with Texaco, Inc. and Miller Brewing Company.
As CEO, Garfinkel will report directly to team owner Stephen Ross. However, he will not have oversight on the football operations sides of the franchise, but will instead work the business and budgeting portion of the team. General Manager Jeff Ireland and Head Coach Joe Philbin's relationships will not be impacted by the hiring.
"I'm excited to announce that Tom Garfinkel is our new President and CEO," said Ross. "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. 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."
Garfinkel replaces former Dolphins CEO Mike Dee, who moved this summer to the Padres to become the President and CEO, meaning the two men essentially traded jobs.
"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 of joining the Dolphins. "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. He possesses the rare combination of tenacity with heart and integrity. In addition, Steve and Matt Higgins are big thinkers who aren't afraid to invest to grow and to try new things. That's the kind of stimulating environment that I want to be a part of. The process also afforded me a chance to spend time with Joe Philbin and Jeff Ireland who are clearly passionate, experienced and committed people. I'm excited to work with all of them to help achieve our shared goals together."
Garfinkel received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado and his Masters of Business Administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at University of Michigan.