Christopher Paul Ilitch (born June 2, 1965) is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of

Ilitch Holdings, Inc. Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company established in 1999 to provide all companies owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch with professional and technical services. Its privately held businesses include Little Caesars Pizza, the National H ...

, a holding company that provides services to businesses that were founded or purchased by Mike and

Marian Ilitch Marian Bayoff Ilitch (born January 7, 1933) is an American billionaire businesswoman, and the co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband, Mike Ilitch. As of March 2018, Ilitch was one of the world's seven richest women, according t ...

. Ilitch companies include Little Caesars Pizza,

Olympia Entertainment Olympia Entertainment is an American sports and entertainment company headquartered in the Fox Theatre in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Olympia is a division of Ilitch Holdings, and owned by Marian Ilitch. It owns or manages the Detroit Red Wings, ...

MotorCity Casino Hotel MotorCity Casino Hotel is a casino and hotel in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It was opened in December 1999 and is one of three casino hotels in the city. There are four hotels in the Detroit–Windsor area, including the Ontario-owned Caes ...

, the Detroit Tigers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, the Detroit Red Wings of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, and numerous real estate holdings. In 2018, the organization's total combined revenue was $3.8 billion. Through Ilitch Holdings, Ilitch is chairman and CEO of the Detroit Tigers, and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, president, and CEO of the Detroit Red Wings.

Early life

Ilitch is the youngest son of Mike Ilitch and

. His siblings are Denise Ilitch, Ronald "Ron" Tyrus Ilitch, Michael C. Ilitch Jr., Lisa M. Ilitch Murray, Atanas Ilitch (born Thomas Ilitch), and Carole M. Ilitch. He is the former brother-in-law of sports executive Jim Lites. Ilitch attended high school at Cranbrook Kingswood in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

, where he was captain of the baseball team, and a member of the 1983 state championship hockey team. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1987.

Career

Ilitch worked a short time at IBM before joining his family's business. He started managing a Little Caesars location in Walled Lake, Michigan, and later managing several stores in the Chicago area before returning to Detroit. In 2000, Ilitch and his sister Denise Ilitch were named co-presidents of Ilitch Holdings. Denise resigned in 2004, and Christopher was named sole CEO. As president and CEO, Ilitch leads and provides oversight to the Ilitch companies, including Little Caesars Pizza, Blue Line Distribution, the Detroit Red Wings,

, the Detroit Tigers, Olympia Development of Michigan (real estate), Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, and Champion Foods (food manufacturing). The organization also has a joint venture interest in 313 Presents. Additionally, Christopher's mother

owns

. Under Major League Baseball rules, an owner or officer of a baseball club cannot own or operate a casino. Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, stated in 2006 that the arrangement was permissible, as Marian has no stake in the Tigers, and Christopher has no stake in the casino. Ilitch has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as a member of team management for the Red Wings NHL Championships in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 2002, and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Civic roles

Ilitch is chairman of Ilitch Charities. He serves on the board of directors for Business Leaders for Michigan, the Downtown Detroit Partnership, and the Detroit Economic Club. Ilitch is also a member of the Detroit chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization. Ilitch has served on the host committees for major sporting events held in Detroit, including the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the

2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 76th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game wa ...

, and

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

. Along with

William Clay Ford Jr. William Clay Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman, serving as executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. The great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, Ford joined the board in 1988 and has served as chairman since January 19 ...

, he served as co-chair for the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament held at Ford Field in Detroit.

Personal life

He and his wife, Kelle, have three children and reside in metro Detroit. Ilitch remains an avid hockey player and competes in an adult league in the

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

area. Ilitch is a

third generation Third generation may refer to: * ''Third Generation'' (album), a 1982 album by Hiroshima * ''The Third Generation'' (1920 film), an American drama film directed by Henry Kolker * ''The Third Generation'' (1979 film), a West German black comedy b ...

Macedonian American Macedonian Americans ( mk, Македонски Американци, Makedonski Amerikanci) are Americans of ethnic Macedonian heritage. History Review Macedonian national feelings had shifted throughout the 20th century. According to the ''H ...

, as both his mother and father were children of Macedonian immigrants to the Detroit area.

References

External links

Ilitch Holdings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilitch, Christopher 1965 births Living people Detroit Tigers executives Major League Baseball owners National Hockey League executives Ross School of Business alumni Ilitch family