ORLANDO – Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins has been named to Florida Trend magazine’s “Florida 500,” which names Florida’s most influential business leaders. This marks the second consecutive year Martins has made the list.
The Florida Trend honor listed Martins in the Arts, Entertainment and Sports category along with Mark Bellissimo (CEO, Equestrian Sports Productions), Matthew Caldwell (CEO, Florida Panthers), Tony Dungy (Former NFL Head Coach, Broadcaster), Tom Garfinkel (CEO Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium), Derek Jeter (CEO, Miami Marlins), Lesa France Kennedy (CEO, Daytona International Speedway), Shahid “Shad” Khan (Owner, Jacksonville Jaguars), Duncan McClellan (Owner, Duncan McClellan Gallery), Jay Monahan (Commissioner, PGA Tour), Greg Norman (CEO, Greg Norman Co.) and Matt Silverman (President, Tampa Bay Rays).
Martins credits the DeVos Family, owners of the Orlando Magic, as his biggest influence.
With a resume that includes more than 30 years in professional sports management including being promoted to the Magic’s CEO in December of 2011, Martins has worked tirelessly to serve the Orlando community. His list of community work includes UCF’s Board of Trustees, a former winner of the James B. Greene Economic Development Award, served as Chairman of the Orlando Community Construction Corporation (the entity responsible for the construction of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts), and chaired the OneOrlando Fund for the victims of the Pulse nightclub tragedy. Under Martins leadership, the Magic staff annually volunteers 7,000-plus community service hours and recently held the inaugural Orlando Wine Festival & Auction which raised funds for the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation. Martins was also instrumental in helping secure the state-of-the-art Amway Center, which was named SportsBusiness Journal’s Sports Facility of the Year in 2012 and earned the 2013 Customer Experience Award from TheStadiumBusiness in association with TheStadiumBusiness Summit held in Manchester, England.
Martins has also spearheaded a transformation of the Magic’s business operations, which has seen the team rank among league leaders in single game and group ticket sales, while having the most successful corporate partnership performance in franchise history – including winning the NBA Sponsorship Retention Award this past season annually given to the top three teams who retain the most revenue from corporate partners. He also reconfigured the current Magic basketball operations leadership, bringing on Jeff Weltman as President of Basketball Operations, John Hammond as General Manager, and Steve Clifford as Head Coach. This past season, the Magic saw a league-best, 17-win improvement, en route to clinching its 15th playoff appearance in franchise history.