Coyotes name Xavier Gutierrez NHL's first Latino team president, CEO

The Arizona Coyotes have a new team president and CEO. The organization announced Monday the hiring of Xavier Gutierrez, who becomes the NHL's first Latino to hold the positions of president and CEO in league history.

Gutierrez joins the Coyotes after being the managing director of Clearlake Capital Group, a private equity firm from California. According to the team, Gutierrez has over 20 years of experience as a business executive, investor and dealmaker.

The hiring of Gutierrez comes after the departure of Ahron Cohen, who parted ways with the organization in May.

The Coyotes have made the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season under the NHL's new 24-team playoff format amid the coronavirus pandemic, and Gutierrez likely will help the organization continue the success it's found over the last year.