SEATTLE — Samantha Holloway likes her afternoon coffee and hockey.
Those are just two things she made clear during a recent chat about the future of the Seattle Kraken, and her role leading the organization.
This week, she was named the new Chair of the Executive Committee, replacing her father and Kraken majority owner David Bonderman. She will lead on major decisions, and board meetings involving minority owners David Wright, Andy Jassy, Jerry Bruckheimer, Chris Ackerley, Jay Deutsch, Maria Eitel, Mitch Garber, Adrian Hanauer, and Len Potter.
"I think it's an incredible opportunity," she said about taking on the position, "I think it means a lot for women in the industry and I'm honored to be part of it."
The 41-year-old is an accomplished tech entrepreneur, with a graduate degree in Psychology, and a Masters in Business Administration. She is likely moving to Seattle full time to take a more hands-on role in the organization but said people shouldn't read too much into that. Tod Leiweke will remain Kraken CEO and Victor de Bonis has been promoted to Kraken Team President, in charge of business operations. Bonderman will remain the Team Governor for the NHL.
"I'm passionate about sports, and passionate about giving back to the organization and to the community. I think Seattle's a really special place,” said Holloway, who added that the change has been in the works for a while. She said Bonderman has been juggling multiple projects and the timing was right for the transition.
She acknowledged the challenges of the first season, but also the successes off the ice. The Kraken Community IcePlex, in particular, has been a hit in Northgate, with a million visitors.
"First of all, we're in a global pandemic, where people are afraid to go to the grocery store, much less a hockey game. We've launched an amazing brand, an awesome arena, that's groundbreaking. Home to the (WNBA's) Storm, NHL, music. We've got the One Roof Foundation," she said. "It's really exciting. I think there's still work to do on the ice. But this is an expansion team. It's a journey and things aren't gonna happen overnight."
But she said she does expect the franchise's philanthropic efforts to ramp up quickly.
Holloway also hints that the leadership changes could be part of a broader effort to attract the NBA and the return of the Seattle Supersonics, who left in 2008. When asked if she and the other Kraken owners talk about it, Holloway said, "We do, we do. We obviously don't want to get ahead of the commissioner, anybody. But this arena was built to have an NBA team as well. I believe this is the ownership group that can bring the NBA back here and that the town wants it. That's something we're working on every day."
Holloway continued, "I think it's complimentary. I think there's a big fan base here for both. I think they're very different games that can attract not only different people, but the same people to enjoy both sports."