Pirates formally announce ex-Penguins executive Travis Williams as new president
Overshadowed by their firing general manager Neal Huntington, the Pittsburgh Pirates formally announced the hiring of Travis Williams as team president on Monday morning.
Williams replaces Frank Coonelly, who “parted ways” with the Pirates last week after 12 years. The hiring of Williams was confirmed by the Tribune-Review last week. Williams will be introduced on Monday afternoon at PNC Park.
In 11 years with the Penguins, Williams rose from chief legal counsel to chief operating officer and oversaw the day-to-day business operations and PPG Paints Arena. Williams also was involved in the development of PPG Paints Arena, oversaw construction of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex training facility in Cranberry and worked on the Penguins’ television deal with AT&T SportsNet.
“Travis’ leadership abilities, experience and passion for Pittsburgh sports makes him the ideal choice for this position,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “Travis was an integral part of the Penguins leadership team over the past decade of success. He has a keen understanding of of Pittsburgh and appreciates how important our fans are. He will drive a culture of success within our organization.”
Williams left the Penguins in November 2018 to become the president of business operations for the NHL’s New York Islanders, who doubled their season-ticket base and broke ground on a new arena during his brief tenure.
“This is a homecoming for me, both personally and professionally,” Williams said in a statement. “It is a tremendous opportunity to come back to a city and a team that I love. I am excited about working with Bob and the rest of the Pirates family to return this franchise to a winning tradition. Today, we turn the page and start writing a new chapter in the history of the Pirates.
“We are committed to a refresh of our entire operations. The first step in this process is to immediately begin the search for new leadership of our baseball operations. Within our business operations, we will focus on enhancing our relationships with the fans, the ballpark experience and our commitment to the Pittsburgh community.”
Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.