BusinessTN

There was some hesitation around here before naming the general manager of one of Tennessee’s professional sports teams as Tennessee’s top CEO for 2006. No doubt some faithful BTN readers will question whether David Poile’s corporate handiwork compares to that of FedEx’s Fred Smith or Pilot Corp.’s Jimmy Haslam, to name a few.

But ultimately, Poile’s story is so interesting and the business he runs so substantial that we decided it would be a mistake to worry too finely over the precise definition of a CEO. Poile has built the business he’s tasked with running—one international in scope—into an elite player in his industry. He’s managed money and talent selection at a level most other corporate executives in Tennessee can only dream about. He’s also been highly influential in the evolution of his industry from a competitive standpoint. That’s CEO enough for us.

In a manner of speaking, Poile also earns BTN’s second annual CEO of the Year recognition because he has created significant shareholder value no matter the financial landscape faced by him and his organization. Three years ago, the Predators organization was a stepchild in an economically flawed league where big market teams buoyed by large television contracts spent freely on talent at a rate many times Nashville’s clip. Despite that, Poile served as architect of a $23 million salary team that not only made the playoffs but held its own against a Detroit Red Wings franchise sporting a $78 million roster. Now in 2006, benefiting from the financial equilibrium following a lengthy player lockout that led to greater fiscal parity in the league, Poile has spent significantly less ($37.7 million) than the newly instituted league-wide salary cap ($44 million) and yet has fielded a team widely considered a top contender for the 2007 Stanley Cup.

All told, it is remarkable that Poile doesn’t get more noticed. That obviously has a lot to do with the greater popularity of professional football and basketball as spectator sports in the South. Currently, though, it is clearly Poile who has built the professional sports franchise with the best chances of making the Volunteer State the home of a “Big 4” world championship professional sports team. It would be a crowning achievement on an already stellar CEO resume.