Tom Pohlad will replace brother Joe as Twins’ top executive; team announces limited partners

The four-month mystery about who joined the Pohlad family in Twins ownership, prompting the Pohlads to announce they were no longer attempting to sell the team, was finally answered Wednesday, and it included one change in family leadership.

Tom Pohlad will succeed his brother, Joe, overseeing the Twins organization, and, pending Major League Baseball approval, he will succeed his uncle, Jim, as the franchise’s control person to serve as the primary liaison to the league.

The principal minority investors are Glick Family Investments and George G. Hicks, along with “several prominent Minnesota business leaders,” the team announced in a statement.

Craig Leipold, who is the majority owner of the Minnesota Wild, is joining independently as a limited partner, the team said.

Hicks and Glick Family Investments are acquiring non-controlling, minority stakes in the Twins while the Pohlad family retains the control of the ownership group and remains responsible for the day-to-day operations.

“My uncle and my brother have led this organization with integrity, dedication, and a genuine love for the game,” Tom Pohlad said in a statement. “As I assume my new role, I do so with great respect for our history and a clear focus on the future — one defined by accountability and stewardship in our relentless pursuit of a championship.”

Carl Pohlad, the family patriarch, purchased the Twins for $44 million in 1984 from former owner Calvin Griffith, and it was inherited by his three sons and their seven children upon his death in 2009.

Joe Pohlad was named the executive chairman of the Twins in Nov. 2022, taking the day-to-day responsibilities from his uncle, Jim.

“It has been one of the greatest responsibilities and privileges of my life to work alongside the people in this organization and to serve our fans,” Joe Pohlad said in a statement. “As we begin this next chapter in our ownership of the Twins, I will be stepping away from my day-to-day role. I will continue to champion our employees and Twins Territory as our organization moves forward.”

The Pohlad family explored a sale for 10 months before deciding to keep the team last August once they secured minority investors.

Hicks, 72, was one of three former Cargill financial executives who launched Värde Partners, a hedge fund company, in 1993. He stepped down as CEO in 2022.

Originally from Pipestone, Minn., Hicks graduated from Gustavus Adolphus was degrees in economics and history, and got his law degree from the University of Minnesota.

Glick Family Investments is based in New York City; the group was founded as a diamond trading company in 1945 by Louis Glick, and is now headed by his son, Simon. The family is noted for protecting its privacy.

Leipold bought the Wild for $250 million in 2008.

The Pohlad family accumulated around $500 million in debt, about a third of the team’s market value, that swelled over the last five years. The two biggest culprits in declining revenues were ticket sales and a lost TV deal.

The Twins played a 60-game schedule in 2020 with no fans, and they drew only 1.36 million fans in 2021 because of COVID-related capacity restrictions. Then Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports North, dropped the Twins when it went through federal bankruptcy court in 2023.

The Twins netted $54.8 million in the last year of their TV contract, and now their broadcasts are produced and distributed by Major League Baseball with much smaller revenues.