Mark Murphy hands reins of Packers' leadership to Ed Policy at annual shareholders meeting.
Ed Policy knows Mark Murphy will be a hard act to follow as chairman, president and CEO of the Packers, and the annual shareholders meeting confirmed it.
The meeting, on July 25 in the Lambeau Field bowl, began with Murphy as the team's leader and ended with Policy in that position. Murphy reached mandatory retirement age of 70 earlier in July. Policy was selected in early 2024 during a nationwide search to step into the leadership role, but it didn't become official until he was elected to the board of directors about halfway through the meeting.
Policy, 54, is the Green Bay Packers' 11th CEO, and fourth president since 1989. He joined the Packers as general counsel in 2012. He was promoted to chief operating officer and general counsel in 2018.
Murphy handed off an organization that is in excellent shape on and off the field. The Packers reported $719.1 million in revenue for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which concluded in March. It was the fifth consecutive year of record revenue. The team reported profit from operations of $83.7 million and net income of $85.6 million. The year before, revenue was $654.1 million, profit from operations was $60.1 million and net income was $98.1 million.
The team has made the playoffs in five of Matt LaFleur's six years as head coach.
"I'm very happy with the Packers. I think they are the best-run organization in professional sports," Jay Olski of Brookfield, a shareholder and season ticket holder, said of the Packers after 17½ years of Murphy's leadership. Olski said because of the Packers' ownership structure, leadership always puts the organization first. "They always remember the origins of the Packers."
Murphy, Policy and committee representatives came onto the field amid cheers and applause for Murphy. While the others made for the stage in the middle of the field, Murphy took a detour to the bleachers to shake some hands, which he did for quite some time after the meeting, too.
"This is my favorite day of the year," he said after reaching the stage. "Not only are you the best fans in the NFL, you are the best owners in the NFL."
After General Manager Brian Gutekunst talked briefly about the Packers' roster and some of its better players, Murphy reported on the overall state of the team and of the NFL. Policy then listed a number of accomplishments during Murphy's tenure, including bringing the 2025 NFL Draft to Green Bay, winning a Super Bowl in 2011 and other on-field success, and his leadership during the COVID year of 2020.
"Something we don't talk about as much, but I think was a critical moment in Mark's leadership, is we survived and even thrived as we went through COVID. I know all of us really appreciate Mark's leadership during that stressful time in the organization," Policy said.
Community Outreach Committee chairman Judge John Zakowski talked about the accomplishments of six of the Packers' most successful presidents, citing Andrew Turnbull, Lee Johannes,Dominic Olejniczak, Judge Robert Parins, Bob Harlan and Murphy.
"Murphy was the most active president in the history of the Packers," Zakowski said.
Shareholders were happy with the state of the team, too, and, looking ahead, had advice for Policy.
"I'm just hoping they can stay in the community and keep the community strong," said Seth Olski of Brookfield.
Scott Schmidt of Port Washington cautioned Policy to proceed wisely. "I understand you have to keep up with the Joneses, but don't modernize (Lambeau Field) too much," he said. "The community atmosphere (of Green Bay) extends to games. I've never felt that way with any other sporting event."
Alan Farley of Bellevue attended the meeting to give Murphy a standing ovation, and said he'd like to see a continuation of Murphy-like accomplishments under Policy.
Murphy's advice to Policy was to leave the organization better than he found it. He said Policy is well-positioned to keep the Packers successful.
"The thing I've told him is he's got to be himself. I've seen him grow quite a bit as a leader," Murphy said during a post-meeting press conference. "There's no question he's positioned and ready to have success. He and I have talked about it; 'Don't be afraid to change things. Follow your instincts.' He's got really good business instincts."
Policy had little to say about where he will take the Packers. He's done that in other interviews in recent weeks. He wanted Friday to be Murphy's day, even to the extent of foregoing a post-meeting press conference himself.
Murphy said he does not intend to maintain an office at Lambeau, as Bob Harlan did after he retired. Harlan only came in on Saturdays because he didn't want to impinge on Murphy. Murphy said he'll always be available if Policy needs him, but he'll stay away from the Packers' offices. Murphy said he has several other organizations he'll be working with, and he owns the Maxwelton Braes golf course in Baileys Harbor in Door County. Ever the builder, he's already installed an irrigation system, and wife Laurie is in charge of renovating the clubhouse.
The Packers reported 5,204,608 shares owned by 589,097 shareholders. A total of 1,467,394 shares were represented at the meeting, enough for a quorum. Ninety-five percent of the shares represented voted for the Packers slate of directors, which included Policy, Timothy M. Bergstrom and Laurie A. Butz.
The meeting was attended by 6,529 shareholders and guests.
Contact Richard Ryman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Mark Murphy got fitting sendoff at 18th and last shareholders meeting
Category: Football
