Florida Panthers announce hiring of Michael White as business president The Florida Panthers have named tech and guest-experience executive Michael White as their new president of business operations SUNRISE, Fla. -- Michael White got a call a few weeks ago from someone in Italy who was offering to provide any insight he could about how the Florida Panthers do business. The caller was Bill Zito, the Panthers' hockey operations president. And that's when White knew he'd fit in as the team's business operations president. The Panthers officially announced White, who has spent a 25-year career working in the technology and guest experience worlds, as their new business chief on Tuesday. He will oversee “all business aspects,” the team said, of its four facilities — Amerant Bank Arena, Baptist Health IcePlex, Panthers IceDen and War Memorial Auditorium. White said the idea to work alongside Zito, the architect of the team that won Stanley Cup titles in 2024 and 2025, was a major factor. Zito called him last month from Italy, where he was part of the leadership for the U.S. men's hockey team that won gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics. They've been off and running ever since. “We clicked automatically. Our first meeting was supposed to be 30 minutes, went an hour and a half and we probably could have talked another two hours," White said. "And we just stayed in touch throughout the process. I would say that we’re off to a really great start together and he was one of the primary reasons I came over here. He's one of one, a legend, but also somebody that you want to partner with.” White came to the Panthers after most recently serving as Chief Product Officer at Amazon’s autonomous vehicle company, Zoox — helping to develop an autonomous robotaxi.