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Entering his 26th season in the National Football League and his 16th season in Kansas City in 2024, Mark Donovan is the fifth president in Chiefs history. As president, Donovan is responsible for all aspects of the club's business operations and reports directly to Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.

Entering his 26th season in the National Football League and his 16th season in Kansas City in 2024, Mark Donovan is the fifth president in Chiefs history. As president, Donovan is responsible for all aspects of the club's business operations and reports directly to Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.

Donovan brings unique experience and perspective to the team. He is one of only a few executives league-wide who has worked both at the NFL league office and multiple clubs, with valuable perspective and strong relationships both in the Kansas City area and on a national level.

In addition to serving as the President of the Chiefs, Donovan also serves as the President of Arrowhead Events, the special events arm of the organization that is responsible for bringing concerts and major events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup to GEHA Field at Arrowhead. Mark is also a partner with the Hunt family in Arrowhead Equity Ventures, a partnership that funds strategic investments.

Under Donovan's leadership, the Chiefs returned to their place as a model franchise in professional sports. Building on the direction of the Hunt family and Founder Lamar Hunt, Donovan has led a talented team that has transformed the business operation and achieved unprecedented success across all measurable areas.

The city of Kansas City, along with support from the Chiefs, hosted the 2023 NFL Draft in the downtown area surrounding historic and iconic Union Station and the National WWI Museum and Memorial. The NFL Draft delivered more than $164 million in economic impact over its three days in Kansas City. In addition, the Chiefs, alongside several local business and civic leaders, were part of a successful bid campaign for Kansas City to host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, with GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium serving as match site. Recently, FIFA announced that Kansas City would have the honor of hosting six matches, including four group matches and two knockout matches, being one of only four cities to host a prestigious quarterfinal match. The club has also opened two Chiefs Fit locations – one in Overland Park, Kansas, and one on the historic Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri – in partnership with M6 Football.

After introducing ticketless technology in 2012-13 and expanding to mobile ticketing for the 2015 season, the club became one of the first in the NFL to move to an all-digital ticketing platform in 2018 and an all-mobile ticketing platform in 2020 to ensure efficiency and security, as well as delivering a contactless entry process for all ticketholders. Fans are able to manage their accounts and tickets from their phones while having access to membership benefits such as exclusive content and a points-based rewards program.

Donovan has consistently focused on expanding the brand and presence of the Chiefs. The club's fanbase has grown to be the second-largest and most-avid in the league in NFL rankings, while YouGov reports that more people in the U.S. identify as a Chiefs fan than any other NFL franchise. The club continues to engage with fans through content across social platforms and digital channels, reaching more than 15 million fans, making the club the fifth-most followed team in the league. The club currently ranks first in TikTok followers and YouTube subscribers and is third in the league in Instagram following. Donovan has continued to be a leader by taking a modern and multi-media approach to engage with fans. Led by the marketing team and their award-winning production group, 65 Toss Power Trap Productions, the club's storytelling is unparalleled. The Franchise, the team's annual multi-episode behind-the-scenes content series provides fans a look at the season through the eyes of the coaches, players and front office.

In addition to connecting Chiefs fans to the team they love, Donovan has overseen a period of tremendous business growth, re-establishing GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium as a popular venue for sports and entertainment. Arrowhead Events has seen exponential growth over the past decade, bringing several major events to Kansas City, including concerts, college football games, motorsports, as well as food and drink festivals. After a record-setting special events season in terms of events and revenue in 2023, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium hosted an MLS match between Sporting Kansas City and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami CF with 72,610 fans in attendance, marking the third-largest attendance for a standalone regular season match in MLS history. The stadium will also host a CONMEBOL Copa America match between the United States and Uruguay in July. In addition, the home of the Chiefs will host three concerts across two national tours, including Kenny Chesney and two nights of Morgan Wallen, as well as the return of Monster Jam. The University of Kansas has also selected GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for four college football games while KU's David Booth Memorial Stadium undergoes significant renovations, signaling the return of NCAA Division I football to the stadium for the first time since 2015.

In his time in Kansas City, Donovan has also created a new approach to sponsorships, setting a strategy to partner with companies which share the vision, qualities and values of the Kansas City Chiefs. In 2017, the Chiefs were recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal as a Champion of Business for leadership within industry, innovation and commitment to giving back to the community. In 2019 the Chiefs announced a partnership with Government Employees Health Association, Inc. (GEHA) and in 2021, Donovan helped the club expand that partnership and secure the first stadium naming rights agreement in the history of the franchise for GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Donovan continues to target global brand growth and international fan expansion for the club. In December 2021, the NFL awarded the Chiefs International Home Marketing Area (IHMA) rights for both Germany and Mexico, followed by expansion to Austria and Switzerland as part of the league's Global Markets Program. The club was designated to play the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, the first of two NFL Germany games in Frankfurt last season. The club activated the "Chiefs ChampionShip," a yacht fan activation on the banks of the Main River in central Frankfurt throughout the week and weekend, with 7,000 fans learning about and experiencing Chiefs Kingdom. The Chiefs earned a 21-14 victory, becoming the first team to win an NFL regular season game in four different countries (United States, United Kingdom, Mexico and Germany).

Since the launch of the Chiefs rights in Germany and Mexico, the brand has become a leader in both markets – ranking within the top five and top ten respectively for fanbase size. The Chiefs are engaged year-round in both markets through content, activations, media, youth programming and Chiefs Flag Football to ensure that awareness of, and engagement with, the club is consistent. This approach has positioned the Chiefs as the top team in social following on Instagram in both Germany and Mexico out of all teams with rights in those markets. The club developed multi-year partnerships with numerous companies in Germany leading up to the Frankfurt game in 2023 and continues business development conversations in the market. In addition, the club has signed a broadcast agreement with RTL Germany to air multiple preseason games as well as The Franchise presented by GEHA to fans in the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) region.

Locally, the Chiefs continue to be a major economic leader in the Kansas City community. Chiefs games and other events at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium generate more than $993 million annually in the metro area. Team operations and spending support nearly 6,000 full- and part-time jobs, contributing more than $473 million in wages and benefits in the Kansas City region. They also provide more than $28 million in annual tax revenue for the State of Missouri.

For the club's recent efforts and on-field success, the Chiefs were awarded the 2023 ESPY for "Best Team" and were nominated for the 2024 "Sports Team of the Year" Sports Business Award presented by Sports Business Journal. Donovan was invited to speak at SBJ's 2024 World Congress of Sports on the topic of "Keeping Ahead of the Field: Staying Competitive in an Ever-Changing Industry." He was also recognized as the 2021 Executive of the Year by the Kansas City Sports Commission, largely for his leadership in safely navigating the organization, the stadium and Chiefs fans through the COVID-impacted 2020 football season.

Donovan's leadership extends to the community where he sits on the Board of Directors for the Hunt Family Foundation. He has helped establish a more strategic approach to the Chiefs charitable giving and community involvement, better enabling the club to carry out its vision to focus resources for greater impact. This approach has prioritized a handful of causes: children's health and wellness, children and families in crisis, civic responsibility and legacy of the Chiefs and the NFL. The Chiefs Charity Game, one of the many Kansas City traditions started by the Hunt family, is the longest-running and most successful charity game in the National Football League. In 2023, the club recorded the largest charitable footprint in organization history with $3.7 million delivered to Chiefs Kingdom and beyond.

Donovan and his wife Kathy are also personally committed to the community, serving in numerous civic and charitable leadership roles. He served two terms as the Founding Board Chair for City Year Kansas City beginning in 2016 and remains on the board. For his support of City Year, AmeriCorps and the national service community, Donovan was awarded the Citizen Service Award by Voices for National Service in February of 2019. In the past few years, the couple has chaired the 2020 Angel Gala for The Children's Place, the 2019 City Year Gala as well as Treads and Threads 2019 to benefit The University of Kansas Health System. Kathy Donovan serves on United WE's Board of Directors. They served as keynote speakers for the United WE Champion Breakfast in 2021 and 2023 as allies to raise funds and awareness for the advancement of women's economic and civic leadership.

Donovan arrived in Kansas City after six years with the Philadelphia Eagles as Senior Vice President of Business Operations (2003-08). Prior to joining the Eagles, Donovan held leadership roles as the NFL's Senior Director of Sales and Marketing (1999-2003) and the Director of Sales and Marketing for the National Hockey League (1997-99). He also brings seven years of experience in the private business sector.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native graduated from Brown University with a double major in political science and organizational behavior/management. He captained the Brown football squad as the team's quarterback and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent upon graduation.

He and his wife, Kathy, have two children and reside in Kansas City.