Entering his 20th season in the National Football League and his 10th season in Kansas City in 2018, Mark Donovan was named the fifth president in Chiefs history in January 2011 after serving two years as the club’s chief operating officer. As president, Donovan is responsible for all aspects of the club’s business operations and reports directly to Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.

Entering his 20th season in the National Football League and his 10th season in Kansas City in 2018, Mark Donovan was named the fifth president in Chiefs history in January 2011 after serving two years as the club’s chief operating officer. As president, Donovan is responsible for all aspects of the club’s business operations and reports directly to Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.

Donovan brings unique experience and perspective to the team. He is one of only a few executives league-wide who has worked both at the NFL league office and for a club, with valuable perspective and strong relationships both in the Kansas City area and on a national level.

Building on the direction of the Hunt family and Founder Lamar Hunt, Donovan has led a renewed focus on the Chiefs fan experience. The team has emerged as a league leader in fan engagement with a focus on introducing technology-based solutions and celebrating the traditions and fan rituals that make Arrowhead special. 

During Donovan’s tenure, the Chiefs have invested heavily in enhancing the in-stadium experience for fans at Arrowhead. Those features include a stadium-wide Wi-Fi network and the Chiefs Mobile app, offering fans a fully integrated mobile experience at their fingertips. The free app puts live video, including in-game highlights and replay, in the palm of your hand. It includes access to NFL Red Zone, providing the ability to get highlights from around the NFL on game day. The app also offers location services, customer relations issue reporting, as well as in-game statistics, player and coach biographies, news, videos, photos and much more.

After introducing ticketless technology in 2012-13, the Chiefs expanded to mobile ticketing for the 2015 season, allowing fans to manage their accounts and tickets from their phones while still having access to membership benefits such as exclusive content and a points-based rewards program, Chiefs Kingdom Rewards. In 2015, the club announced the expansion of the rewards program to all fans worldwide. This enables Season Ticket Members and non-Season Ticket Members alike the opportunity to earn rewards points for simply being a Chiefs fan. Those points can be entered daily for unique prizes and experiences. In 2017, the Chiefs introduced the Bud Light Gameday Pass, a digital-only season pass, designed to create access for fans and test a new technology experience.

Since his arrival in 2009, Donovan has led a focus on expanding the media presence of the Chiefs. Kansas City’s award-winning production group, 65 Toss Power Trap Productions, has continued a trend of program expansion on chiefs.com and through local broadcast partners with six web-based programs, as well as channels dedicated to press conferences, highlights and community events. Chiefs content, including the team's four preseason broadcasts, is delivered to more than five million total television households across seven states (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa and Illinois) through the club’s affiliate network.

Under Donovan’s leadership, the Kansas City Chiefs partnered with The University of Kansas Health System, bringing a comprehensive healthcare program to the organization, encompassing its players, staff and fans. Besides providing care to the team, The Center for Sports Medicine at The University of Kansas Health System Training Complex is open to the public to serve athletes of all ages.

In 2015, the Chiefs participated in the NFL's International Series with a 45-10 victory over the Detroit Lions at Wembley Stadium on November 1. Several fan initiatives were designed to bring together Chiefs fans from around the world, including a pub party at The Admiralty in London's Trafalgar Square, which was highlighted by Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt serving as celebrity bartender for fans and Season Ticket Members. In early 2018, it was announced that the Chiefs would take on the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

In addition to connecting Chiefs fans to the team they love, Donovan has overseen a period of tremendous business growth, re-establishing Arrowhead Stadium as a best-in-class venue for sports and entertainment. He serves as the President of Arrowhead Events, LLC, the special events arm of the Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead Events has seen exponential growth over the past seven years, bringing a number of major events to Kansas City. Since Donovan's arrival in 2009, U2, the Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and One Direction have all headlined concert stops at Arrowhead Stadium. In addition, Arrowhead has played host to three international soccer matches, an NCAA FBS match-up between the University of Missouri and Brigham Young University and multiple Fall Classic contests, featuring regional NCAA Division II football teams. The venue also hosted the largest barbecue competition in the country, bringing the four-day American Royal World Series of Barbecue to the Truman Sports Complex. The 2018 Arrowhead Events calendar features three concert stops, including Chesney, Swift and  Ed Sheeran.

In his time in Kansas City, Donovan has also created a new approach to sponsorships, setting a strategy to partner with companies which share the vision, qualities and values of the Kansas City Chiefs. This strategy has resulted in partnerships that are not only mutually beneficial to the Chiefs and the corporations but to Chiefs fans and the Kansas City community. In 2017, the Chiefs were recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal as a Champion of Business for leadership within industry, innovation and commitment to giving back to the community.

Locally, the Chiefs continue to be a major economic leader in the Kansas City community. Chiefs games and other events at Arrowhead Stadium generate more than $660 million annually, including $285 million in household income. They also support more than 5,000 jobs and provide $16 million in annual tax revenue for the State of Missouri. In January 2018, Donovan announced a one-year extension with Missouri Western State University that will keep St. Joseph, Missouri, the home of Chiefs Training Camp presented by Mosaic Life Care through the summer of 2018, with a mutual option to extend to 2019. Since training camp moved to St. Joseph in 2010 more than 300,000 people have seen the Chiefs practice at Missouri Western State University.

His leadership extends to the community, where he has initiated a more strategic approach to the Chiefs charitable giving and community involvement, allowing the team to focus resources for greater impact to the community. This approach has identified a handful of causes: feeding the hungry in the region, children’s health and wellness initiatives and providing support for families and children in crisis. The Chiefs Charity Game, one of the many Kansas City traditions started by the Hunt family, is the longest-running and most successful charity game in the National Football League. Last year's game, the final of a three-year relationship benefitting The Children's Place, raised an event-record $845,000 while more than $8 million has been raised over the past 15 years. The club was named the 2016 Business Philanthropist of the Year by Nonprofit Connect, an association linking the nonprofit community to education, resources and networking so organizations can more effectively achieve their missions.

Donovan is also personally committed to the community, serving in numerous civic and charitable leadership roles, including serving as the first Board Chair for City Year Kansas City beginning in 2016. He and his wife, Kathy, served as Honorary Chairs for the 2017 Kansas City Repertory Theatre's Fearless Fete. He joined University of Kansas Men’s Basketball Coach Bill Self to headline the KVC Hero Luncheon in 2015 and was a featured speaker at the J.A. Vickers Sr. and Robert F. Vickers Sr. Lecture Series for the University of Kansas School of Business.

Donovan arrived in Kansas City after six years with the Philadelphia Eagles as Senior Vice President of Business Operations (2003-08).

Prior to joining the Eagles, Donovan held leadership roles as the NFL’s Senior Director of Sales and Marketing (1999-2003) and the Director of Sales and Marketing for the National Hockey League (1997-99). He also brings seven years of experience in the private business sector.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native graduated from Brown University with a double major in political science and organizational behavior/management. He captained the Brown football squad as the team’s quarterback and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent upon graduation.