MILWAUKEE -- Baseball boss Matt Arnold is not the only Milwaukee executive being honored in the wake of the Brewers’ big year.
Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger was named the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 2025 Executive of the Year on Thursday, an honor established to recognize “exceptional leadership, strategic vision and unwavering commitment” to advancing the Brewers’ business operations and community impact.
The honor was announced during the Business Journal’s C-Suite Stars Awards Luncheon at The Pfister Hotel, an event recognizing the region’s most influential executives for their achievements and contributions to business and civic life.
Schlesinger’s honor comes in the wake of a season in which the Brewers drew more than 2.65 million fans, 12th-most in the Majors, while setting a franchise record with 97 wins and qualifying for the postseason for the seventh time in the last eight years. Baseball America named the Brewers as their 2025 Organization of the Year for a record fifth time, and Arnold, the club’s president of baseball operations, was named 2025 Executive of the Year by MLB for a second straight year. He’s the first exec to win that honor twice.
Now there’s an honor on the business side for Schlesinger, who just completed his 23rd season with the Brewers. He originally came to the club as executive vice president of business operations in 2003.
More than 2.5 million fans have passed through the gates of American Family Field in 14 of the past 16 seasons with full attendance (excluding the 2020 and ‘21 seasons with pandemic restrictions). Chief among his recent accomplishments, Schlesinger worked with a group of elected officials and business leaders in securing a lease extension at American Family Field that will keep the team in its domed home through at least 2050.
Schlesinger oversees all aspects of the club’s business operations, including finance, human resources, information technology, legal, sponsorships, marketing, ticketing, business analytics, broadcasting, communications, stadium operations and non-baseball special events. He also oversees American Family Fields of Phoenix (the team’s Spring Training complex) and the business operations of the Wilson (NC) Warbirds, the organization’s Single-A Minor League affiliate. Schlesinger is a member of Major League Baseball’s Youth Baseball and Labor Policy Committees.