The surprising departure of Ron Raccuia from the Buffalo Bills nonfootball operations has accelerated the growing influence of John Roth, a longtime friend and investment manager of team owner Terry Pegula.
Six months ago, Roth was a high-profile portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments who had never worked in professional sports.
By last week, Roth took over for Raccuia as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Bills, on top of the similar role he’s held since January with the Buffalo Sabres and Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which runs the day-to-day operations for the teams’ owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
It’s a rapid ascension that has made Roth the most influential executive outside of the Pegula family on the business side of both the Bills and Sabres. He reports directly to ownership and is at the top of the leadership chain for day-to-day business operations for the PSE offices as well.
While Roth was hired without having any professional sports experience, he was a known-quantity for Terry Pegula. Roth and Pegula, a billionaire who made his fortune in the oil and natural gas industry, knew each other for about 12 years through Roth’s money management work at Fidelity.
During that time, Roth has “continuously shown exemplary leadership traits,” Pegula said in a statement earlier this year when Roth first joined the Sabres and PSE. “He brings to the table a vast wealth of knowledge and business experience.”
Even if that has not been in a professional sports setting.
Roth, who was not immediately available to comment after the Bills announcement last week, said previously he would lean on knowledgeable people already with the Sabres and PSE as he learned the business of professional sports. That should continue to be an emphasis for him with the Bills.
“As far as business, I bring a broader perspective, with a combination of a seasoned leadership team that’s been in the…
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