Tom Wilson / CEO and Governor

Ron Campbell / President and Alternate Governor

Tom Wilson CEO and Governor Tom Wilson enters his third season as Chief Executive Officer and Governor for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ice Palace. Wilson assumed his position within the organization in the summer of 1999 after engineering Palace Sports and Entertainment's purchase of the Lightning and the leaseholding rights to the 21,500-seat arena in which they play. In addition to his role with the Lightning, Wilson begins his ninth season as President of Palace Sports and Entertainment, Inc. During his 21-year tenure as the company's top business executive, the Pistons and The Palace of Auburn Hills have moved to the forefront as one of the top sports and entertainment businesses in the country. Wilson and his staff designed the successful blueprint, which led to the Pistons being recognized as one of the best-marketed and most highly valued teams in professional sports. Palace Sports and Entertainment has similar long-term plans for the Lightning in Tampa Bay, one of the nation's quickest growing metropolitan areas. Since joining the Pistons in 1977, Wilson's role and responsibilities have increased dramatically. Most recently, Wilson has handled all business aspects of not only the Detroit Pistons, but also of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which includes The Palace of Auburn Hills and Pine Knob Music Theatre. He was named Employee of the Year for 1990 by Guardian Industries, the Pistons' and The Palace's parent company. The award marked the first time Guardian Industries gave the honor to an employee outside of its direct glass manufacturing and fabrication divisions. He was named President and CEO of the Pistons in the summer of 1993. Under his direction, The Palace of Auburn Hills has earned the distinction of becoming the first arena to win Performance magazine's prestigious Best New Venue award (1988) and the magazine has also awarded The Palace its prestigious Arena of the Year accolade seven times, most recently in 1997. The Palace was named Arena of the Year in 1992 by Pollstar after receiving that publication's Best New Concert Venue honors for 1988. Wilson's direction was instrumental in the acquisition and renovation of Pine Knob as well, and he remains actively involved in the operational phase and the ongoing improvement of the facility. Pine Knob has been named the nation's busiest, top-grossing or highest attended outdoor venue by Amusement Business in each of its 10 summers under Wilson's guidance. It has also been nominated Amphitheatre of the Year each summer of Palace Sports and Entertainment ownership. As executive administrator of Palace Sports and Entertainment, Wilson is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations of its sales, advertising, marketing and broadcasting departments. He serves as President of the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association. A native of Detroit, Wilson joined the Pistons in 1978 as Sales Director and was promoted to Executive Director in 1979. He graduated from Cass Technical High School and received a bachelor's of business administration with a minor in drama from Wayne State University. Prior to joining the Detroit Pistons, he worked for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings, and the Forum. In the greater Detroit area, Wilson serves on the William Beaumont Hospital Board of Trustees and was named the 1994 Executive of the Year by the Oakland Executives Association. He is also active in the Boy Scouts of America, which honored him with The Distinguished Citizen Award in 1998, and serves on the Board of Directors for Boy's Hope, CATCH, and the Advisory Board of Michigan National Bank Wilson was also instrumental in the development and implementation of the Pistons/Palace Foundation which has provided more than one million dollars in grants and donations to deserving organizations and individuals throughout the state of Michigan. Wilson and his wife, Linda, reside in Rochester Hills, MI with daughters, Kasey and Brooke, and son, Kevin.

Ron Campbell  President and Alternate Governor Ron Campbell is in his second season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ice Palace as President and Alternate Governor.  Campbell joined the Lightning staff three summers ago when Palace Sports and Entertainment purchased the National Hockey League team along with the lease-hold rights to the 21,500-seat Ice Palace.  In addition to his role as President and Alternate Governor of the Lightning, Campbell serves as Executive Vice President for Palace Sports and Entertainment and the Detroit Pistons Basketball Company. The top financial executive at Palace Sports and Entertainment for the past 15 years, Campbell was the organization's clear choice to lead the Lightning as he worked on a daily basis throughout the spring and summer before last as the company's point man to facilitate PS&E's purchase of the team.  His familiarity with the Lightning, the Ice Palace and the Tampa Bay region, when combined with his extensive financial, administrative and major league sports background within the Palace Sports and Entertainment assure that the Lightning and its role within the community are in a stable yet progressive position. As president, Campbell's first step was to assemble a creative, energetic management team to guide the Lightning and the Ice Palace into the 21st century.  Campbell is ultimately responsible for all day-to-day aspects of the organization, including sales, marketing, finance, team operations and arena management, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson and the company's ownership.  Top priorities for the immediate future include several Ice Palace building projects aimed at creating "a total entertainment experience" for the building's guests.  He will also play a key role in Palace Sports and Entertainment's Tampa development efforts, working with local and national developers, architects and contractors, with a goal of increasing and enhancing the Channelside district's entertainment opportunities for Tampa Bay's residents and visitors. Campbell was hired by Guardian Industries, Lightning owner William Davidson's flagship corporation, in 1981.  He then joined the Pistons organization in 1984 when he was hired to oversee all financial aspects of the team.  His role with the Pistons-Palace organization continued to evolve when the company opened The Palace of Auburn Hills in 1988 as he assumed administrative and organizational responsibilities for one of the nation's most acclaimed arenas as well.  He was named Palace Sports and Entertainment's Employee of the Year for 1989. Additionally, Campbell worked closely with the Pistons basketball staff for more than a decade, reporting to the team president and general manager on league policy issues, primarily involving the NBA's Salary Cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement, While assisting in player personnel and contractual issues. Along with his responsibilities in the financial, basketball and administrative arenas, Campbell served for four seasons as the general manager and governor of the Continental Indoor Soccer League's Detroit Neon/Safari, which played its games at The Palace during the mid-1990's.  He was named the CISL's Executive of the Year for 1994, after leading the Neon to the top of the league in sponsorships and attendance in the team's very first season. Campbell, currently 45, graduated with cum laude honors and a B.B.A. from Eastern Michigan University in 1977.  The accounting major became a Certified Public Accountant in1979 and in December 1990, he earned his M.S. in Finance from Walsh College.  A member of the Eastern Michigan University Foundation since 1992, where he now serves as vice-chairman, Campbell was named one of Detroit's "Top 40 under 40" by Crain's Detroit Business in 1995. A member of the Board of Directors of the Piston-Palace Foundation, Campbell helped form the Partnership to Adopt and Renovate Parks for Kids (PARK Program) a recently completed three-year initiative which renovated and reconstructed dozens of parks in the city of Detroit. Ron and his wife, Mary Jane have three children, daughters Andrea and Holly, and son R.J.