New boss brings plenty to the table for Blackhawks

When Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin was a fresh-faced teenager playing junior hockey with the Chicago Steel, he was living with what's known as a Billet family in Elmhurst.

His adoptive mom did it all - from working full time, to attending her kids' sporting events, to cooking and doing laundry for the household.

While displaying a quiet demeanor at times, she also commanded the respect of everyone in their home - so much so that Slavin said she became known as the "Boss Lady."

Now - seven years later - that do-it-all mother of three is a boss of the Blackhawks.

The announcement came Wednesday when the Hawks named Jaime Faulkner as president of business operations.

"My first thought was just pure excitement for her," said Slavin, who played for the Steel from 2010-13 and received a phone call from the Faulkners the day before the news broke. "Jaime's always been good at what she does. You can just tell from the way she runs their house. We kind of just call her the Boss Lady. That's just her personality. ...

"She has an extreme amount of care for people, but she's also just the person to get things done."

Faulkner will split president duties with Stan Bowman, who retains his GM status and was promoted to president of hockey operations. Faulkner spent the last seven years as CEO of E15, which she helped found. E15 worked with teams and entertainment entities to develop systems that predicted fan behavior, used automated concessions and increased revenues of team venues.

Faulkner's job with the Hawks will include growing the fan experience, driving financial performance and driving big picture projects.

"We owe it to our fans every day to earn the right to have them participate and engage in every event," Faulkner said Thursday after Danny Wirtz introduced her to the media via Zoom. "Our goal is to make this an incredible experience 365 days a year."

The hiring of Faulkner and promotion of Bowman ends a long journey for the Hawks that began when John McDonough was fired as president in April. The team has set out to create a culture that is more diverse and also keeps the hockey and business sides of the organization separate.

Elevating Bowman raised plenty of eyebrows, especially considering the Hawks' mediocre performance the last few years. But Wirtz trusts Bowman and believes he's a "growth-minded leader" who will not rest on the laurels of three Stanley Cup titles.

"He's hungry for more," Wirtz said. "He's hungry to grow as a leader and ... to contribute to another championship team to the Chicago Blackhawks."

As for Faulkner, her goal is to enhance an already impressive game-day experience, but also to keep fans excited and engaged during any event the Hawks hold.

When her duties officially begin in January, she expects to hit the ground running. Literally.

"I joke about my strong sneaker game because I spent a lot of time during events talking with fans," said Faulkner, who might stand in line with you outside the front gates, at the box office, on the concourse or in the concession lines. "Fans will see me show up all over the arena and be very accessible to them. I want to be that way.

"We've got to have a really great relationship with our fans so that we can deliver great experiences for them. I feel like I work for them and I want to make sure that we're delivering for them."

Slavin has no doubt that's exactly what will happen.

"The fan experience at the United Center is solid already," he said. "But just knowing Jaime's work ethic and how smart she is and how dedicated she is, I'm sure it's only going to get better from there.

"She'll think of some way to bring it to another level."

Faulkner's husband worked with the Dallas Stars for 10 years and both of her boys grew up playing hockey. They've housed many Billet kids since moving to Elmhurst, but Slavin was the first.

"Having Jaccob in our house (helped us) really understand what it's like to be in juniors," said Faulkner, who flew to Raleigh, North Carolina when Slavin made his NHL debut in November 2015. "The dedication, the amount of work, balancing school and being on the ice. (It) was a great example for our kids.

"It gave us a different lens and aspect of what it was like to be in the game of hockey."

She'll now use that lens to help not just the Hawks, but also to show women everywhere - including her 18-year-old daughter - that there's no limit to what you can achieve if you work hard enough.

"To be able to look at her and say, 'You can run a team one day' is pretty powerful," Faulkner said. "I'm super excited to join (the Hawks') Kendall (Coyne) and a bunch of other amazing, great women like Valerie Camillo at the Flyers (and) Gillian Zucker, who runs the Clippers.

"(We can) look at the females today who are in the front offices and say, 'The opportunity for you is now. The talent is there. The capabilities are there. The skills are there.'

"It's going to be our job to be intentional about giving them and everyone else the right opportunities to grow and develop."