Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #24, Mark Shapiro

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #24, Mark Shapiro

Mark Shapiro Photograph courtesy of Toronto Blue Jays

Mark Shapiro

President and CEO, Toronto Blue Jays

24When Alex Anthopoulos quit as Jays GM rather than work under a new boss, Shapiro was painted as Toronto’s foremost villain. What a difference a season makes. The team returned to the ALCS, buoyed by Shapiro’s savvy off-season signings. Meanwhile, the Cleveland squad he built from the ground up made it to the World Series. The Jays enjoyed their best attendance numbers since 1993, packing half a million more fans into the Rogers Centre than last year. TV viewership also spiked, averaging one million per game, some 12 per cent higher than in 2015.

Claim to fame:

He was portrayed opposite Brad Pitt in Moneyball, though he says his scenes were fictional.

Toronto's Most Influential People of 2016