Back in the ring
Dolan in for O’Connor as MSG boss
James Dolan has taken the reins of Madison Square Garden again after its chief executive of 28 months, David “Doc” O’Connor, suddenly exited the entertainment company on Monday.
The Dolan-controlled company that owns the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well as legendary venues Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, gave no reason for O’Connor’s immediate departure.
O’Connor, a former Hollywood agent, was MSG’s third CEO in less than eight years.
Hank Ratner, a longtime executive of Cablevision who helped orchestrate the spin-off from the thenDolan family controlled cable outfit, served in the top spot until February 2014.
Ratner’s departure, also for unexplained reasons, set up the one-year tenure of Tad Smith.
Smith became MSG’s CEO after five years at Cablevision. Smith left with little warning in March 2015 to become CEO of auction house Sotheby’s.
Sports followers believed O’Connor’s success in sports management and representation would likely set the CEO for a long run atop the entertainment company.
At CAA, the powerful Hollywood agency, O’Connor was key to the 2006 launch of CAA Sports.
In a matter of months, according to a USA Today report in 2007, the agency’s sports division went “from concept to colossus.”
CAA Sports eventually wound up representing so many players on Manhattan’s NBA team that the media came to call it “the New York Knicks Brought to You by CAA.”
BTIG analyst Brandon Ross said he was “shocked” by O’Connor’s sudden exit.
“He was brought in to be an operator, and operationally everything is going great,” he told Bloomberg. “That makes me wonder: Does Jim want to be CEO himself ?’’ Dolan will serve as CEO on an interim basis.
MSG shares, in the wake of the O’Connor exit, slipped 2 percent, to $225.