David Jenkins is in his 20th season with the Browns and was named the team’s Chief Operating Officer on May 8, 2018. As COO, Jenkins leads the team’s daily business operations and its long-term vision, directing all organizational goals related to financial management, revenue generation, stadium operations, legal, information technology, business analytics and administration. He also serves as one of the Browns’ key government relations contacts, working closely with the City of Cleveland and City of Berea on club-related matters.
Jenkins acted as one of the Browns’ primary advocates, along with Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Whitney and J.W. Johnson and Haslam Sports Group executives, to bring the NFL Draft to Northeast Ohio. On May 22, 2019, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL announced that Cleveland would host the 2021 NFL Draft, in partnership with the City of Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland. Hosted April 29-May 1, Cleveland Browns Stadium and the lakefront served as the main hub for the 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland, one of the country’s largest events responsibly held with comprehensive COVID-19 protocols since the start of the pandemic. The event welcomed approximately 160,000 NFL and Browns fans in person, including the league’s NFL Draft Experience within Cleveland Browns Stadium, and averaged 6.1 million viewers across TV and digital platforms, making it the third most-watched Draft in league history.
In addition to his responsibilities with the Browns, Jenkins also serves as the COO of Haslam Sports Group (HSG). He played a pivotal role in the Haslam and Johnson families’ acquisition of the investor-operator rights to Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, which officially transferred to HSG and partner Dr. Pete Edwards on Jan. 1, 2019. He was highly involved throughout each stage of an expedited franchise transition that kept the original MLS franchise in its rightful home city. This past April, HSG added to the Milwaukee Bucks to their sports portfolio when the NBA Board of Governors approved an ownership share purchase by Dee and Jimmy Haslam.
HSG’s mission is to create world-class organizations that achieve sustainable success, provide a best-in-class fan experience and give back to their region, with the mindset that the group serves as stewards of true community assets. HSG invests in strategic sports and entertainment opportunities. Its current portfolio includes the Cleveland Browns, operating rights to the Columbus Crew, and an investment in Misfits Gaming Group, a global esports, and entertainment company.
Prior to being elevated to COO, Jenkins spent three seasons as the team’s Executive Vice President and five as Chief Financial Officer. He oversaw all finance-related departments of the organization – budgeting and strategic planning, financial reporting, audit and risk management – and in 2016, added stadium operations, legal, information technology and administration to his duties.
After joining the Browns in October 2004 as a financial and business analyst, Jenkins held positions as the club’s director of finance (2006), vice president of finance (2007-10) and senior vice president of finance & administration (2010-12). In 2007, he was the team’s representative at the National Football League’s management training program at Stanford University and was a participant in the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2009.
Jenkins began his professional career at Arthur Andersen LLP, where he served as a senior auditor from 1997-2002. He also worked in business development and auditing at KPMG LLP, Proviti Inc. and STERIS Corporation prior to joining the Browns.
Jenkins, who is on Baldwin Wallace University’s Board of Trustees, is a member of the board of directors for the Cleveland Browns Foundation, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, and Cleveland Development Advisors, and previously contributed as a board member of the MetroHealth Foundation, Cuyahoga Community College Foundation, Achievement Centers for Children, Greater Cleveland Food Bank, the Berea Chamber of Commerce and Lakewood Catholic Academy. While with the Browns, he also served as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University, where he taught a class on finance in the sports industry.
A 2018 Cleveland Crain’s Business C-Suite COO honoree, Jenkins is a native of East Rochester, N.Y. and earned his B.S. in business administration from Baldwin Wallace in 1997. He now resides in Westlake with his wife, Ada, and sons, Tony and Sonny.
