RALEIGH, N.C. — Charlie Jacobs will take over as the Bruins’ governor, succeeding his father, Jeremy, who held the title for 51 years, the team announced Wednesday morning.
Charlie Jacobs, who already holds the title of CEO, will represent the Bruins on the NHL’s Board of Governors effectively immediately. Team president Cam Neely will continue to serve as an alternate governor.
It is the latest changing of the guard for 86-year-old Jeremy Jacobs, who retired as chairman of the Board of Governors last month. He had held that position since 2007. Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals and a 1973 graduate of Lowell (Mass.) High School, is now chairman.
“I’m incredibly proud to celebrate the transition of governorship to my son, Charlie. He’s the day-to-day leader of the club, the public face of ownership, and an active participant on the Board of Governors as an alternate governor, so this is a natural next step in our succession plan,” Jeremy Jacobs said in a statement. “Charlie has my full confidence, and I’m especially proud that our family will continue its stewardship of the Boston Bruins.”
The Jacobs family has owned the Bruins since 1975, when Jeremy Jacobs paid approximately $10 million to purchase the Original Six franchise from Storer Broadcasting Company. According to Sportico, the Bruins are now worth approximately $3.3 billion.
In an interview with the Globe in 2025, Charlie Jacobs said his father still watches every Bruins game and calls him the next morning for a discussion.
“He wants to get feedback, not just from me, but he calls Cam if he can’t reach me first and if he can’t reach Cam then he’ll try me back again,” said Charlie Jacobs. “He wants an answer right away and then he wants to share what he thinks, too.”
Charlie Jacobs has served as Bruins CEO since 2000.
“It is a tremendous honor to step into the role as governor of the Boston Bruins, representing the team that has been part of my family for the past 51 years,” he said in a statement. “I step into this role with the goal of continuing to build upon the incredible legacy and the impact that my dad has had on this franchise and the NHL over his five decades of leadership. Dad will continue to serve as my mentor and sounding board through this next era of the Bruins. I am looking forward to partnering with the NHL Board of Governors chairman Ted Leonsis, vice chair Murray Edwards, our peers, and commissioner [Gary] Bettman on continuing to grow this beautiful game that we all love.”
Bettman, the only commissioner in NHL history, lauded Jeremy Jacobs’s contribution to the league while endorsing Charlie Jacobs’s ascension.
“Jeremy Jacobs’s dedication to the Bruins, the league, and the Boston community has been remarkable, and his leadership has left a lasting mark on our sport,” Bettman said in a statement. ”After more than two decades as an alternate governor, Charlie is superbly prepared for this moment, and fans can be confident about the Bruins prospects under his leadership.”
Charlie Jacobs, 55, had been an alternate governor for 26 years. He will remain as the Bruins’ CEO while sharing leadership of the club’s parent company, Delaware North, with brothers Jeremy Jr. and Lou.
Following a disappointing 2024-25 season that included an early-season coaching change, a trade deadline fire sale of some of the club’s established leaders, and no playoff berth, Charlie Jacobs told the Globe he felt the fans’ frustrations.
“I’ve read stories, the sleepy owner’s box, or this or that. People need to know, I’m invested in this team, and I care about it and we’re putting our best foot forward and it sucks where we’re at and they need to hear that,” he said at the time.
Since then, the Bruins have hired Marco Sturm, who helped lead them to 100 points and a playoff berth in his first season. This season, the Bruins enter Thursday’s game against former coach Jim Montgomery’s Blues in St. Louis at 9-3-1 and atop the Atlantic Division.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.