After steering the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) through more than a decade of unprecedented growth and transformation, Chief Executive Officer Pete Russell has announced he will step down from his post following the conclusion of the 2026 tournament.
Russell has been a core member of the CPL organization since the league was first founded, contributing to every stage of its evolution from a nascent regional competition to a globally recognized cricket franchise. In a transitional arrangement, he will continue to fulfill his CEO duties until a permanent successor is named, and will remain engaged to support the CPL board and executive leadership team through the leadership handover.
Looking back on his tenure, Russell expressed deep pride in how far the league has come, and its far-reaching impact across the Caribbean region. “I am incredibly proud of CPL’s growth and international standing,” he said. “I believe its greatest achievement is in bringing fans back to cricket across the Caribbean and providing a platform for generations of young West Indian players to showcase their talent, express themselves on a global stage and pursue their cricketing dreams.”
Russell emphasized that the CPL has succeeded in rekindling widespread passion for cricket across the region, turning match days into sold-out, high-energy celebrations that have created lasting memories for fans at home and around the globe. He extended gratitude to the full ecosystem of stakeholders that have supported the league, including supporters, players, franchise owners, corporate sponsors, broadcast partners, Caribbean regional governments and the in-house CPL team. “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be part of this journey,” he added.
Russell’s journey with the CPL began long before his promotion to the top executive role. For the first eight years of the league’s existence, he served as Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw all day-to-day tournament operations and laid the operational groundwork for sustainable expansion. He stepped into the CEO role in June 2021, and under his leadership, the league has expanded its footprint across key global markets, secured landmark broadcast distribution deals, forged high-value commercial partnerships, and built collaborative, productive relationships with governments across every Caribbean territory.
In recent years, Russell oversaw an ambitious period of diversification for the CPL Group, moving the organization beyond core cricket tournament operations. Under his direction, the league expanded from six to seven franchise teams, launched an in-house entertainment production arm named Live and Louder Productions, rolled out a dedicated standalone streaming platform for global fans, and built out a scaled, diversified events business that extends the group’s impact beyond annual CPL match weeks.