Robert "Bob" Castellini is an American businessman from Cincinnati, Ohio. Since 2006, he has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cincinnati Reds, leading a group that purchased a majority share of the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise from previous CEO Carl Lindner, Jr. Castellini is the chairman of Castellini Co., a fruit and vegetable wholesaler.
Background
Castellini earned a degree in economics from Georgetown University in 1963. He went on to earn his MBA from Wharton School in 1967. After graduating from Wharton, Castellini became executive vice-president at the Castellini Group of Companies, and then in 1970 became president of the company until 1992. He had been a part of the St. Louis Cardinals' ownership group and had previously invested in the Baltimore Orioles.
In January 2006, Castellini was the head of a group who purchased the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Castellini has been involved in baseball for over 30 years and once had a minor ownership stake in the Reds until it was sold in 1984. In 1989 he became a partner in the Texas Rangers and in 1993, the Baltimore Orioles. Castellini describes himself as a lifelong fan of the Cincinnati Reds.
Ownership of the Reds
After the 2005 season, the Reds had endured five consecutive losing seasons, the team's longest such streak in 50 years, under the ownership of Carl Lindner. Castellini led a group that purchased the Reds from Lindner for $270 million, and in January 2006, Castellini was named the CEO of the franchise. One of Castellini's first moves as CEO was replacing General Manager Dan O'Brien with Wayne Krivsky in February 2006. The Reds were more competitive in 2006, finishing in 3rd place in the National League (NL) Central division at 80-82. In the winter of 2006, Castellini introduced new uniforms for the Reds. Under Castellini's ownership in 2010, the Cincinnati Reds won their first National League Central division championship since the 1995 season.
[ Source: Wikipedia ]