Ken King, longtime Calgary Flames executive, dies at 68

Ken King, the former president and CEO and current vice-chair of the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) — which owns the Calgary Flames — has died.

The CSEC has made announced the passing of their “leader and friend” on Thursday afternoon, saying King “will be sadly missed.”

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ken’s wife Marilyn, his daughters Amanda and Jocelin and his grandchildren whom we know he loved dearly,” the CSEC said.

“Ken was the right leader at the right time for CSEC,” CSEC chairman and co-owner Murray Edwards said.

“His leadership and passion was exhibited every day in his successful delivery of the new Calgary event centre. He was a trusted confidant to all of the Flames owners, both past and present, and we all learned so much from him.”

Ken took his post as president and CEO of the Calgary Flames in 2001 and in the years since, built an organization that now manages the Calgary Hitmen, the Stockton Heat, the Calgary Roughnecks and the Calgary Stampeders.

“Ken was an amazing friend and mentor,” CSEC president and CEO John Bean said. “He taught all of us so much through his words and actions. An organization never replaces a person like Ken; you simply honour him by going forward with the same passion and energy that he brought to work each and every day.”

King, who was originally from Saskatchewan, was a loud voice in advocating for a new arena for Calgary, which will eventually be the new home of the city’s NHL team.

In addition to this involvement in the city’s sports world, King was also very involved in other aspects of the community, including the TELUS Community Board, the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority, The Calgary Airport Authority, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Calgary Flames Foundation.

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