William Francis Zito, Jr. (born September 16, 1964) is an American ice hockey executive, former attorney and professional sports agent currently serving as general manager of the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life and education

Zito was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to former Pitt University and Steelers football player, William Zito Sr. and Priscilla Zito (nee McCormack). Zito grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended University School of Milwaukee, and then one season at Phillips Andover Academy. He attended Yale University and played on the varsity ice hockey team from 1984 to 1987. After graduating from Yale, he completed law school at the University of Wisconsin. Zito is married to his wife, Julie Zito (nee Tabloff). They have three kids together: twin daughters Francesca (Frankie) and Gianna (Gigi) born in 2011, and son William Zito III (Billy) born in 2013.

Sports agent

After graduating from law school, Zito practiced at law firms in New York and Chicago. In 1995 he founded sports agency Acme World Sports with close friend Markus Lehto. Through Acme World Sports, Zito represented many National Hockey League players including Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, Antti Niemi and

Brian Rafalski Brian Christopher Rafalski (born September 28, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, in the SM-liiga for HPK and HIFK, ...

, as well as several prominent professional ice hockey players in Europe. In 2013, Acme World Sports was listed as the 8th highest grossing hockey agency in the world. Zito negotiated several precedent-setting contracts, including a 6-year, $38 million (USD) contract for Kimmo Timonen in 2007, a 6-year, $33 million contract for James Wisniewski in 2011 and an 8-year, $56 million deal for Tuukka Rask in 2013.

Team management

In August 2013, Zito joined the management organization of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In June 2015, he was named the general manager of the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets' affiliate club in the American Hockey League (AHL). On September 2, 2020, Zito was hired as the general manager of the

. On April 12, 2021, Zito was named the

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

TradeCentre GM of the Day, for his transactions at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.

References

External links

www.acmesports.com

Bill Zito Hockey Statistics
a
The Internet Hockey Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zito, Bill 1964 births Living people American sports agents Cleveland Monsters Columbus Blue Jackets executives Lawyers from Pittsburgh University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Yale University alumni