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For the past three years, Xavier A. Gutierrez has called the Arizona Coyotes his home team. Being the first Latino to hold the position of president and CEO of an NHL team has motivated him and made him proud every day since he started his job.
“I obviously feel very fortunate to be in this role and [to] have had the career that I’ve had to date,” Gutierrez says. “There are a lot of stories in the Latino community of people who were the only individual, only Latino, only woman, or the first and . . . it’s not just about being the first or being the only. It’s about being the first that then helps others into those roles. I don’t want it to be just me. I’m working in this role to make sure that I am seeing more Latinos and Latinas in the sports business, management, and ownership.”
Gutierrez believes in creating space for others to thrive and to honor those who pave the way and hold open doors. One of his favorite Coyotes memories to date was retiring the number 49 in honor of nine-year-old Leighton Accardo, an avid Coyotes fan who died of cancer in 2020.
“We retired her number and [with it] she became the first nonowner, nonplayer, nonbroadcaster ever to have her number retired by a professional sports franchise,” the CEO says. “I’m proud of that moment because it showed that what sports teach you isn’t whether you win or lose; it teaches you to battle and to play your best and to try your hardest regardless of what the outcome could be.”
Below he shares lessons he’s learned throughout his career that have helped him make a meaningful and long-lasting impact.
Defining Impact
Sports’ ability to impact those who exist in its orbit is one of the top reasons Gutierrez took on the role as president and CEO of the Coyotes franchise. His desire to positively impact the world, particularly the Latino community, has been a common thread throughout his career.
“I’ve defined impact as using my voice to make a difference,” he says. “My focus has been around this theme of impact leadership, and what I talk a lot about is leaders who take their position, whether it’s as a CEO, head of a business enterprise, or as the head of a sports team or a league to then leverage their position to amplify, support, or to help convene solutions of issues that are bigger than just their team or their business. To me, impact is really having that voice and then utilizing it to make a greater difference.”
Gutierrez has moved the needle within the organization to uplift future generations of hockey fans. Under his leadership, the Coyotes have expanded their program offerings to include street hockey kids and those learning to skate.
“I’m just very proud of our intentional approach to target the Latinos community here,” he says. “It’s not just episodic, it’s not just for theme nights, it’s not just for Hispanic Heritage Month. It is core to everything that we’re doing. We’re putting a stick and a puck into the hands of these young Latinos and Latinas and just exposing them to the sport.”
“I’ve defined impact as using my voice to make a difference. . . . To me, impact is really having that voice and then utilizing it to make a greater difference.”
Xavier A. Gutierrez
Invest in Community
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities with the Arizona Coyotes, Gutierrez is committed to creating funnels for financial literacy and empowerment within the Latinx community—an ode to his past in the finance world.
Today Gutierrez is the board chairman of SUMA Wealth, a fintech company he cofounded that is focused on eliminating the Latinx wealth gap. Through his work with SUMA and beyond, he’s learned that a cornerstone of creating lasting impact is sparking engaging conversations around the subject of financial wellness.
“The reality is you first have to engage in that conversation, and you have to make people feel as if you get them,” Gutierrez says. “To me, that was the vision: let’s create the platform where people feel like, ‘Wow, you totally get me. I can go to you. You’re my trusted source.’”
Embrace the Door Openers
Above all else, Gutierrez recalls fondly all the people who have impacted his life and career by opening doors to new opportunity. He affectionately refers to them and anyone who lives by the same actions as “door openers.”
“I end up having conversations, especially with young people, and the number one thing I tell them is to understand the power of your voice. It doesn’t mean you have to be a CEO, or an owner, your voice is [still] very powerful,” he explains. “The other thing I talk about is really embracing the door openers in your life . . . You may walk through a door, and you may end up being somewhere that you never knew anything about or had never thought of, but it’s exactly where you should be.”
Should the imposter syndrome or self-doubt kick in as you’re working to make an impact in your life, career, and community, Gutierrez encourages looking back on your past accomplishments.
“You’ve had those successes over the course of your life in your career. They’re the well of confidence that you should tap into when you do have those doubts,” Gutierrez says.
Gutierrez continues to add bricks to an illustrious and impactful career, but any time the imposter syndrome or self-doubt kicks in for him, he thinks back to the same advice he offers those at the start of their careers. “Embrace the door openers, embrace the power of your voice, and embrace the opportunity for impact.”
