When Bills president Russ Brandon stepped down/was pushed out yesterday after an investigation of inappropriate workplace relationships with women, a release said that Kim Pegula was taking over as team president of the Bills and Sabres.
She apparently intends to stay on the job.
According to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, the position is considered permanent and no search is being done for a replacement.
Kim Pegula and her husband Terry bought the Bills in 2014, so it’s not as if she didn’t already have power there. But it does break a bit of ground, as she joins a very short list of top female sports executives.
Tina Becker has been chief operating officer of the Panthers while the team is being sold, though she’s not necessarily expected to remain once Jerry Richardson hands the keys to someone else. And Katie Blackburn (the daughter of Bengals owner Mike Brown) serves as their executive vice president.
But roles for females at the top of sports organizations are still rare, and while the circumstances add a layer of irony, it represents a positive step in what has always been very much an old boys club.