Craig Kessler was named the LPGA’s 10th commissioner on Thursday. As the tour celebrates 75 years, Kessler comes in at a pivotal time. LPGA players and casual golf fans and will be getting to know Kessler in the coming days, but many industry insiders are already familiar with the Dallas-based PGA of America executive.
Here are five things to know about the LPGA’s newest chief:
The right personality
Currently the PGA of America’s Chief Operating Officer, 39-year-old Kessler was a candidate for the CEO position last year, but the association ultimately made being a PGA member a priority in the search. Kessler’s previous work in golf includes a stint at Topgolf, where he was COO and Head of Emerging Concepts from 2016-21.
Described as a high-energy, disciplined and dynamic leader, Kessler earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.
“I think with this job, personality is really important,” said Stacy Lewis, who served on the eight-person search committee. “The ability to relate to different people, different genders, different ages.”
Golf part of the family’s DNA
Kessler grew up playing the game in Southern California and currently carries a handicap of 5.5. Because dad worked at Topgolf, playing on the weekends comes naturally to his three boys, who are now 5, 7 and 9. Golf, he said, is part of the family’s DNA. His nine-year-old son already has the Lego set picked out that he wants to give top-ranked Nelly Korda at the KPMG Women’s PGA in Frisco next month. Korda picked up the hobby to pass the time and relax while on the road.
“I learned how to play golf at Rancho Carlsbad, which we called the Cow Pasture,” said Kessler. “It didn’t have a blade of grass on it, but I’ve been playing since I was a young kid. In the summers, my buddies and I, our moms would drop us off at the Lakes San Marcos executive golf course and for $9. We played unlimited golf until the sun went down, and in many respects, golf was our summertime babysitter.”
CEO experience at Topgolf, more
In between Topgolf and the PGA, Kessler served as Chief Executive Officer of the Dallas-based Buff City Soap, which more than doubled in the number of store locations from 100 to 260 nationwide while Kessler was at the helm.
“The primary lesson that I learned at Buff City, is how to navigate really complex stakeholder environments,” said Kessler. “Anytime somebody leads an organization made up of franchisees who have put their time, their sweat, their blood, their financial resources into something. That’s a high-stakes environment. At Buff City, one of my jobs was to navigate the complexities of a franchise environment. And I think learning from that how to listen, how to ask questions, how to be deeply empathetic, all of those lessons will translate to my job at the LPGA.”
Leadership style
Kessler describes his leadership style as highly collaborative, energetic and built around positivity. At the same time, he believes in a culture of constant feedback, noting that organizations that are too nice to one another never realize their full potential.
“Organizations that recognize feedback is a gift, is critical,” he said.
When it comes to the players, Kessler said he hopes they all come to view him as “unbelievably accessible.”
Kessler’s vision
The goal, Kessler said, is to create an organization where existing and prospective stakeholders look at what’s happening at the LPGA and say, “Oh, my goodness, something magical is happening there, and I have to be a part of it.”
To get there, he’s focusing on four major pillars: Building trust, building visibility, building fans and building a stronger financial foundation.
“I will tell you, trust underpins everything,” he said.
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