Keith Pelley

Since assuming the position of President and CEO of the Toronto Argonauts in November 2003, Keith Pelley has breathed new life into this historical franchise. Pelley’s efforts yielded tremendous results, both on and off the field. Pelley’s revitalization of the 133 year old football team saw the club rise from receivership in 2003 to Grey Cup champions in 2004 to community leaders in 2005. In addition, average attendance at Argonauts homes game went from 12,000 in 2003 to over 25,000 a game in 2004 to over 30,000 in 2005. The 2005 East Championship vs. Montreal drew 44,211, the largest crowd at an Argo game since 1991.

Pelley joined the Argonauts after an illustrious career in broadcasting that spanned over two decades. Most recently, he was President of TSN, where Pelley was responsible for the development of staff and talent as well as the network's day-to-day operations including programming, production and marketing. Keith was the main contact for key stakeholders, business partners, rights holders and major sports leagues.

Pelley has a history in Football and was the senior producer on TSN’s CFL football from 1990-1994. In 1995, he became the first Canadian to produce NFL football working for Fox from 1995-1997. He returned to Canada to become Vice-President of programming at TSN and was influential in the creation of the flagship “Friday Night Football” program. His career includes work as a producer for the CBC during the Olympic games, working overseas producing the World League of American Football (NFLEL) for FOX, as well as a feature producer for ESPN and Disney.

Under Keith’s leadership, the Argonauts launched The Argos Foundation – Stop The Violence, a multi-faceted plan to tackle violent crime in the City of Toronto. The campaign sees the city’s oldest professional sports team bring forth a call to action from both community and business leaders to address issues of violent and gun-related crimes. Keith serves on the Board of The Argos Foundation. Keith is on the Executive and is the Chair of the Broadcast and Marketing Committee for the Canadian Football League. Pelley serves on the Board of Special Olympics Canada, as well as the Canadian Sports. Pelley is the Chair of the Sport Celebrity Festival in support of Special Olympics.

Keith Pelley lives in Etobicoke with his wife Joan and son Jason. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Ryerson Polytechnic University in Radio and Television Arts, and a Teachers' Degree in Speech and Drama from Trinity College of London. He was named Etobicoke Business Person of the Year in 2006 and was named the Miles Nadal J.C.C. Sportsman of the Year for 2006.