Fred Whitfield (born in 1958) is the chief operating officer, president, vice chairman, alternate governor, and minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
Michael Jordan said “I’ve known Whitfield for over 35 years, and we have been through a lot together...We worked together when he worked with my agent, at Nike when we launched the Jordan Brand and he worked with me in the front office of the Wizards...I am thankful to have him as the team president and as my friend.”[2][3] Whitfield was honored the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence (2011) and YMCA George Williams Award (Volunteer of the Year 2012), the Key to the City of Greensboro (2013), the UNC Charlotte Distinguished Service Award (2019), and named the 2019 Citizen of the Carolinas by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.
In 1998, Whitfield received his JD degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, where he acted as president of the Student Bar Association.
[8] Whitfield formed long-term partnerships with Ticketmaster to serve as the ticketing provider and Live Nation to book entertainment.
[12] In 2018, Whitfield and the Hornets extended television broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports Southeast for $20 million per year.