ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are restructuring their front office again, but this time they are bolstering instead of blowing up.
With a new stadium being built across Abbott Road and owner Terry Pegula moving closer to selling a portion of the team, the Bills needed to add to their executive leadership team after years of upheaval and front-office chaos.
The Bills hired Milwaukee Brewers executive Jason Hartlund as chief commercial officer and Major League Baseball executive Kate Hussmann as chief strategy officer. As senior vice presidents, they will join chief administrative officer and chief legal officer Terry Gilbride and report to executive vice president and chief operating officer Pete Guelli.
“These moves fit the vision,” Guelli said Thursday in his One Bills Drive office. “This is the way I think a 21st century NFL team, with these kinds of projects on the horizon, needs to be set up.”
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The Bills have grand plans for their Orchard Park campus once the stadium is complete. They want to host the 2028 NHL Winter Classic to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event’s launch in what was then known as Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills have submitted a request to host the NFL Draft in 2028 or 2029.
“There are some big-picture, aspirational projects that are in play right now in Buffalo that, candidly, have never existed before,” Guelli said. “I’ve taken the last six months, going through a discovery process to determine where we could use additional leadership and institutional knowledge. Through that process, we identified a couple key positions and a structure that I think puts us in the best position to be successful long-term here.”
Just four and a half years ago, the Bills had eight executive vice presidents and one senior VP. The Bills now have five senior VPs and one executive VP (Guelli). He said there won’t be any more additions to the Bills’ leadership group.
Similar front-office hires and restructuring will eventually happen with the Buffalo Sabres, and there is no intention of bringing back the Pegula Sports and Entertainment umbrella model that was dissolved in August 2023. Hartlund and Hussmann are Bills-only employees, although Guelli conceded Hussmann’s skill set could apply to some Sabres work.
Hartlund held the same title for the Brewers and handled the club’s revenue initiatives, marketing and social media. He oversaw ticket and suite sales, corporate sponsorships, business developments, concerts and special events. Hartlund was considered influential in the American Family Field naming rights negotiations. Sandwiched between two stints with the Brewers, he was the Milwaukee Bucks’ managing director of business development and new arena sales from 2016 to 2018. He was the Green Bay Packers’ corporate sales manager from 2002 to 2005.
Hussmann was MLB’s vice president of club business operations and strategy. She worked with all 30 teams to standardize and aggregate business data. She previously worked with Guelli at the Charlotte Hornets and as a consultant for Gotham FC.
(Photo: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)
