Paul McGill Beeston, (born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

executive. He was the president and chief operating officer 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 (A ...

(MLB) from 1997 to 2002, and the president of the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

from 1989 to 1997, and again from 2008 to 2015. He also worked as the president of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

(CFL) in 1994. Beeston retired on October 31, 2015, and was replaced by Mark Shapiro as president and CEO of the Blue Jays. On September 20, 2016, he was named the

President Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Career

Beeston earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in economics and political science from

Huron University College Huron University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Huron was incorporated on 5 May 1863 and the founding institution of the University of Western Ontario. It was est ...

at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

in 1967. He obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1971 and worked for

Coopers & Lybrand PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

until 1976. Beeston was the first employee of the Toronto Blue Jays, joining in 1976. He became vice president of business operations in 1977, executive vice president in 1984, president and chief operating officer in 1989, then was named president and chief executive officer in 1991. In 1994, he served as president of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. From 1997 until 2002, he was president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball. In 1988, Beeston was named a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In 1998, he was elected to the board of directors of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

and in 2002 was inducted into the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...

. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the

in 1994 and an honorary doctor of social sciences from

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. App ...

in 2001. He was placed in the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence at Rogers Centre on April 4, 2008 prior to the Jays' home opener versus the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. After Paul Godfrey resigned as team president and CEO on September 29, 2008, it was announced that Beeston would return to the Blue jays as interim president and CEO on October 14, 2008 where his primary responsibility was to identify and hire his own successor. After a "very honest, straightforward and exhaustive search" the Blue Jays and Beeston decided on removing the interim tag, naming Beeston president and CEO on October 27, 2009. On January 26, 2015, Beeston announced he would retire as president and CEO of the Blue Jays on October 31, 2015. On August 31,

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

president Mark Shapiro was announced as Beeston's successor. Beeston retired on October 31, 2015, and Shapiro officially assumed the role of president of the organization. In 2016, he was named President Emeritus of the Jays.

Personal life

Beeston is married to Kaye, and has a daughter, Aimee, and son, David.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeston, Paul 1945 births Living people Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Canadian accountants Canadian sports executives and administrators Canadian Football League executives Canadian sports businesspeople Major League Baseball central office executives Major League Baseball team presidents Members of the Order of Canada People from Welland Toronto Blue Jays executives Toronto Argonauts team presidents University of Western Ontario alumni