Al Guido was named President of the San Francisco 49ers on February 15, 2016. Guido oversees all key business initiatives for the team. Guido also concurrently serves as the CEO and co-managing partner of Elevate Sports Ventures, which – launched in 2018 – works to bring comprehensive business solutions to the sports and entertainment industry that identify new revenue opportunities and bring new, innovative ideas to market.
Prior to being named President of the 49ers, Guido served as the team’s chief operating officer from 2014-16. Levi’s Stadium has proven itself as a 360-degree entertainment venue in its first four years under Guido’s leadership. The venue has hosted Super Bowl 50, WrestleMania 31, Major League Soccer, multiple Pac-12 Championship Football games, International Soccer giants Manchester United and Barcelona, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Grateful Dead, and NHL Outdoor Classic. In 2017, the stadium played host to the largest soccer tournament on U.S. soil since the World Cup with the Copa America Centenario as well as hosted the prestigious 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Under his direction, the construction and year-one operations of Levi’s Stadium exceeded all projections – finishing under budget on construction, with lower public debt than expected, delivering $2.8 million to the City of Santa Clara general fund from non-event revenue in just the first eight months of operations, and fully funding reserve cash balances for the Santa Clara Stadium Authority.
Guido led the sales team that made the stadium a reality, highlighted by the record-setting Stadium Builders License sales campaign for the stadium’s seats and suites. The team has signed more than a dozen partners with record-breaking figures in corporate partnership investments, including Levi’s® and SAP.
Creating a technologically enhanced game day experience that is influencing sports venues across North America and around the world, the strategy for Levi’s Stadium developed by Guido and the 49ers executive management team has garnered international recognition, most notably the Sports Business Journal 2015 Sports Facility of the Year and Venue of the Year at the 2015 Stadium Business Awards in Barcelona, Spain. Leveraging technology with sustainability, Levi’s Stadium has also generated international acclaim for its green efforts under Guido’s direction. For its green innovation and implementation – inclusive of being the first NFL stadium to be twice LEED certified – Levi’s Stadium was named the 2017 StadiumBusiness Environmental Stadium of the Year and the 2016 Green Sports Alliance Environmental Innovators of the Year.
Prior to being elevated to his former role as chief operating officer in 2014, Guido worked on behalf of the 49ers and the Santa Clara Stadium Authority as the senior vice president of global sales for Legends beginning in 2010. As the firm which led the sales effort for the 49ers and the Stadium Authority during Levi’s Stadium construction, Legends achieved record-setting records for the franchise.
Before joining Legends, Guido served as sales manager for the Dallas Cowboys. In that role, he managed the sales department for Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) that broke industry records for PSL sales totaling over $600 million.
Guido joined the Cowboys after having served as the senior director of ticket sales for the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. During his term, the Coyotes achieved the first revenue increases in the 10-year history of the franchise and finished in the top five in the NHL for new business sales.
A native of Washington Township, NJ, Guido began his career in the sports and entertainment industry with Comcast-Spectacor, owner and operator of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms, Comcast SportsNet and the Wachovia Complex. Guido later served as director of business development for the Lakewood Blueclaws (a minor-league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies).
A Board Member of City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley, a contributor to the Navy Seal Foundation, Board Member of the Coach K/Fuqua School of Business, and serving on the Advisory Board at the San Jose State Institute for Study of Sport, Society & Social Change, and the Advisory Council at the Positive Coaching Alliance, Guido received his bachelor of business administration from the College of New Jersey, where he played wide receiver for the school’s football program. In 2016, Guido was named to the Forty Under 40 list by both the SportsBusiness Journal and the San Francisco Business Times, for demonstrating industry excellence and innovation early in his career. His leadership has earned the San Francisco 49ers the 2017 ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award for its comprehensive efforts in the community, while Guido was named to the SportsBusiness Journal’s list of “Power Players: Ticketing” in 2018. He was again recognized in 2019 by the SportsBusiness Journal’s Forty Under 40 list for his ongoing impact in professional sports. The franchise continues to be yearly recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area under his guidance.
Guido and his wife, Thea, have three daughters, Estella, Sloane and Tatum.
