Mark Shapiro

President and CEO, Toronto Blue Jays

National Advisory Board

Mark Shapiro is currently the President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, coming from the Cleveland Indians in 2015.

Shapiro worked in the Cleveland Indians organization from 1991-2015, working his way up from Player Development Director to Assistant GM, to GM, to President in 2010.

During Shapiro’s nine-year tenure as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Indians from November 2001 thru 2010 the Indians twice won 90 or more games (2005, 2007) and in 2007 the Indians captured the American League Central Division title with a Major League best-equaling record of 96-66 and advanced to within a game of the World Series. From 2004-2010, the club won 80-or-more games four times. The 96 wins in 2007 and 93 wins in 2005 respectively represent the 7th and 9th highest win totals in Cleveland Indians franchise history.

Following both the 2005 and 2007 seasons, Shapiro was named the Sporting News Executive of the Year, at the time the only active GM in Major League Baseball to win the award twice.   He was also named the Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 2005.  After the 2006 season, the Cleveland Indians organization was named “Organization of the Year” by TOPPS for the first time.

Prior to becoming General Manager, the 45-year-old Shapiro spent three seasons from 1999-2001 as Vice President, Baseball Operations/Assistant General Manager under John Hart after spending five seasons as the Tribe’s Director of Minor League Operations from 1994-98.

During his tenure as Director of Minor League Operations, Mark oversaw all aspects of the Tribe’s player development system and Latin American operations.  He implemented the Winter Development Program, now in its 18th year, and installed a system of individual player plans for every Tribe minor leaguer in the farm system. The system he helped to create and oversee is based on a holistic philosophy of development and providing cutting-edge resources to Indians players in the mental, physical and fundamental domains; these principles remain the foundation of the club’s player development system today.  Mark Shapiro’s career with the Cleveland Indians began in January of 1992 as an assistant in Baseball Operations.

The Baltimore, MD native played four years of football for the Princeton University Tigers, graduating in 1989 with a degree in history.

Shapiro’s scope of work in baseball has extended beyond the Cleveland Indians. In December of 2009 he was named by Commissioner Bud Selig to the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, a 14-man panel of baseball managers and executives assembled to address on-field issues relative to Major League Baseball in its present form.  He also currently serves on the Major League Baseball Ticketing Committee, which examines current marketplace ticketing issues in MLB relative to digital ticketing, alternative revenue sources and the secondary ticketing market/dynamic pricing.  Mark was named to the elite “40 under 40” by Sports Business Journal recognizing the top 40 sports executives under the age of 40 and was on Baseball America’s “Ten to Watch” list in 2007.

Mark’s time in Cleveland has also included significant service work and charitable efforts in local communities.  He is a board member of the Center for Families and Children and co-chaired a capital campaign to build that organization’s current headquarters near downtown Cleveland.    Additionally, Mark sits on the boards for Positively Cleveland and Recovery Resources, while serving as a member of the National Advisory Board of the Positive Coaching Alliance; in 2013, he joined other local leaders to establish a PCA chapter in Cleveland.

Mark lives in Bentleyville, OH with his wife, Lissa Bockrath, a talented Cleveland-based artist.  The couple has a son, Caden (10), and a daughter, Sierra (8).  His brother-in-law, Eric Mangini, is the former Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets and is currently an analyst with ESPN.  His father, Ron, was a universally respected agent who represented Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Jr., Kirby Puckett, Jim Palmer and Eddie Murray and has authored several books on negotiations and preparation.