Xavier A. Gutierrez is Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of ImpactX Sports Group, LLC (ImpactX), a privately held operator, investor, and strategic advisor focused on the global sports industry. Founded in 2024 by Mr. Gutierrez, ImpactX partners with private equity firms, family offices, and sports enterprises to unlock value through strategic investment, operational excellence, and transformational growth. Operating across three integrated platforms — Operator, Investor, and Strategic Advisor — ImpactX targets proprietary and off-market opportunities across teams, leagues, universities, real estate platforms, venues, and operating businesses.
Mr. Gutierrez has more than 30 years of experience as a business executive, investor, and dealmaker focused on investment management, corporate strategy and operations, finance, business development, and sports management. He served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Alternate Governor of the Arizona Coyotes Hockey Club from June 2020 until July 2024. In that role, he oversaw all business operations, strategic planning, significant organizational decision-making, and government relations for the club. In June 2024, Mr. Gutierrez helped negotiate and close what was then the largest control sale of an NHL franchise, at $1.2 billion.
Prior to the Coyotes, Mr. Gutierrez was a Managing Director at Clearlake Capital Group, where he focused on investments, operations, strategic development, and investor client servicing and outreach. He was based in the firm’s Santa Monica, California headquarters and was a member of Clearlake’s Executive Committee and a contributor to its Investment Committee. Clearlake is a leading private investment firm founded in 2006, managing more than $90 billion of institutional capital since inception, whose senior investment principals have led or co-led more than 500 investments in technology, industrial, and consumer companies. Mr. Gutierrez continues to serve as a member of Clearlake’s Executive Council, comprised of senior business and investment executives who provide strategic counsel to Clearlake and its portfolio companies.
Previously, Mr. Gutierrez served as Chief Investment Officer of Meruelo Group, the family office of U.S. Latino business executive and former Coyotes Chairman and Governor Alex Meruelo, and as President and Chief Investment Officer of Meruelo Investment Partners, the firm’s investment affiliate. At Meruelo Group, he oversaw investments and acquisitions and was responsible for deal origination, underwriting, execution, and capital sourcing. He also helped lead the strategic management of more than 40 portfolio companies across industries including banking and financial services, hospitality and gaming, media, infrastructure, restaurant and food services, real estate, public equity, and private equity.
Prior to Meruelo Group, Mr. Gutierrez was Principal and Managing Director with Phoenix Realty Group, a national real estate private equity firm managing approximately $1 billion in institutional capital from leading public pension funds, banks, and insurance companies. In addition, Mr. Gutierrez has held positions with Latham & Watkins, Lehman Brothers, and the League Office of the National Football League, where he worked as a financial analyst.
Mr. Gutierrez currently serves on the Board of Directors of Janus International Corp. (NYSE: JBI) and is a Board Advisor for Trinitas Capital Management, a privately held credit investment manager with $49 billion in assets under management. He was previously a shareholder and served on the Board of Directors of Commercial Bank of California (CBC), a privately held, full-service commercial bank based in Los Angeles/Orange County with more than $2 billion in assets, making it the largest Latino-owned bank in California.
In 2020, Mr. Gutierrez co-founded and currently serves as Board Chairman of SUMA Wealth, an innovative financial technology company focused on eliminating the Latinx wealth gap by engaging, educating, and empowering this cohort through culturally relevant content, financial tools, and services.
In 2024, Mr. Gutierrez partnered with Guerrero Media and Hispanic Executive Magazine to launch LiS: Latinos in Sports, a multi-strategy platform focused on the power of Latinos in the global sports industry through convenings, content, and careers.
Frequently sought after for speaking opportunities and media interviews, Mr. Gutierrez has been profiled in outlets including Bloomberg, ESPN, CNBC, Fast Company, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times.
Mr. Gutierrez has also been active with several nonprofit, academic, and philanthropic organizations. He currently serves on the Aspen Institute Latinos & Society Program Advisory Board, which is committed to increasing Latino access to opportunity and inclusion in the economy by gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders to address U.S. Latino economic development. He also serves on the Advisory Board for Pro Sports Assembly, a community of leaders in professional sports dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion within the league’s organizations.
In addition, Mr. Gutierrez serves on the Advisory Council for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the national organization focused on providing financial support for U.S. Latinos to pursue higher education. He also serves on the Stanford Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors, and the Board of Regents of his high school alma mater, Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California.
From January 2016 until September 2017, Mr. Gutierrez was appointed and served as a voting member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies, which provided a formal mechanism for the SEC to receive advice and recommendations on privately held small businesses and publicly traded companies with a market capitalization of less than $250 million. In addition, Mr. Gutierrez previously served on the Board of Directors of Sizmek, Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: SZMK), an advertising technology company.
Previously, Mr. Gutierrez served on the Board of Directors and Investment Committee for the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), a public charitable foundation managing approximately $1 billion in assets to improve the quality of life in Arizona by promoting and facilitating effective philanthropy. He also served as a member of Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL), an organization of leading CEOs in the business, education, philanthropy, and public policy sectors to improve economic vitality and quality of life in Phoenix, Arizona. He also served on the Board of Directors of Teach for America Arizona.
Mr. Gutierrez also served on the Board of Directors and the Investment Committee of the California Community Foundation (CCF), a public charitable organization founded in 1915 that stewards nearly $1.7 billion in assets and manages more than 1,600 charitable foundations, funds, and legacies for the greater Los Angeles community. In addition, he served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the national organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the 4 million-plus Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses in the United States.
Mr. Gutierrez also previously served on the Board of Trustees for Southern California Public Radio, on the Board of Regents of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, the Board of the Harvard Club of Southern California, the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors, and the Young Alumni Committee of the Harvard Alumni Association. Mr. Gutierrez previously served as a Professor of Practice in the Department of Finance at the Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business.
Mr. Gutierrez is a proud graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory, an all-boys Jesuit high school in San Jose, California. He received his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Government from Harvard University and his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. Mr. Gutierrez, his wife Jericca, and son Xavi live in Pasadena, California.
