Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is stepping down as chief executive of Delaware North Cos., the Buffalo-based hospitality and concessions giant his father and uncles started during World War I.
The privately-held company announced Tuesday that sons Louis Jacobs and Jeremy Jacobs Jr. have been named as co-chief executive officers.
Jeremy Jacobs will continue as company chairman and as owner of the Bruins.
The elder Jacobs, who turns 75 later this month, has been CEO since the death of his father, Louis, in 1968. Louis Jacobs and his brothers Marvin and Charles started the company in 1915 selling popcorn and peanuts at movie houses and ballparks.
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A third son, Charlie Jacobs, who currently serves as principal of the Bruins and Delaware North, will become CEO for the company’s Boston Holdings, which include TD Garden in Boston, New England Sports Network, and the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
“I have had the tremendous opportunity to lead Delaware North for more than 45 years and have enjoyed it immensely,” Jeremy Jacobs said. “My sons have been leading the company’s strategic direction and path to growth for some time now. I know the company is in incredibly capable hands.”
Charlie Jacobs, 43, has been working in Boston for Delaware North since 2001, guiding the family’s investments in Boston. In recent years, he has spearheaded the $70 million renovations to TD Garden, led the proposed 1.7-million-square-foot mixed-use development project on the site of the former Boston Garden that is scheduled to break ground this year, and negotiated the deal for the Bruins to move their practice facility to the new Boston Landing development under construction in Brighton.
“Since 2001 I have called Boston and the TD Garden home, and I am humbled by the opportunity to lead Delaware North’s Boston Holdings,” Charlie Jacobs said in a statement. “The opportunity to lead three of New England’s most iconic brands -- the Boston Bruins, TD Garden, and NESN -- along with our new development project is a significant one, and I do not take it lightly. My goal is to build upon the success that my father has had with each of these, and identify further areas of growth for Delaware North.”
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Charlie Jacobs also serves as an alternate governor on the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors and as president of the Boston Bruins Foundation.
Bennie DiNardo can be reached at bennie.dinardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bdinardo. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.