Robert E. "Bob" Harlan is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Green Bay Packers, an American professional football team. He is a graduate of Marquette University, where he was the Sports Information Director for many years. He is also the father of sports announcer Kevin Harlan. Harlan joined the Packers as an assistant general manager on June 1, 1971. He was named corporate general manager in 1975, corporate assistant to the president in 1981 and executive vice president of administration on February 16, 1988. On June 5, 1989, he was elected the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Green Bay Packers, Inc. In 2006, he stepped down from his role as president and was succeeded in that capacity by John Jones. Selection of Next Packers President and CEO On May 26, 2007 the Packers announced that John Jones would be taking an indefinite "leave of absence" only days before Jones was scheduled to succeed Harlan as new CEO of the organization. While health concerns where the major reason sited for Jones' departure, Harlan suggested in subsequent public comments that other officials in the Packers front office lacked confidence in his ability to manage and lead the team. In late July 2007, the Packers and Jones officially cut ties and a new search for the Packers President and CEO commenced. Harlan retained his position as CEO throughout the search, although the President position remained vacant. On December 3, 2007, the Green Bay Packers announced Mark H. Murphy, the Northwestern University Athletics Director, as its new President and CEO effective January 1, 2008. Harlan will remain as Chairman-Emeritus and advisor to the team through the 2008 season, afterwards he will remain Chairman-Emeritus and serve as a goodwill ambassador for the team. Success Bob Harlan is credited with keeping the Packers competitive in the era of free agency and the salary cap, and for creating the foundation for the Packers' twelfth World Championship in Super Bowl XXXI. Among Harlan's most notable accomplishments are:
- Building the Don Hutson Center, the first indoor practice facility in professional football.
- The decision to move all home games to Lambeau Field, creating season ticket packages for the Milwaukee fans who had previously attended three games a season at Milwaukee County Stadium;
- Renovating Lambeau Field into a state-of-the-art facility, with increased game day capacity and a year-round Atrium housing restaurants, the Packer Pro Shop and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame;
- Launching the fourth stock sale in the team's history in 1997, a mechanism which raised more than $20 million and brought more than 100,000 new shareholders to the organization;
- Hiring Ron Wolf, who traded for Brett Favre, signed free agent Reggie White and began the chain of events that led to a World Championship;
Harlan was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame on July 17, 2004.
