Pete Ward, COO
Pete Ward enters his 33rd season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013. Ward was promoted to chief operating officer in 2010 after serving as the club’s senior executive vice president since 2001. His duties and experiences have been wide-ranging and diverse and touch all areas of the organization. Ward began his affiliation with the Colts in 1981 as a summer and seasonal intern in the team’s public relations department. Following his graduation from the University of Virginia in 1982, he was hired as the club’s administrative assistant. Ward was promoted to director of operations shortly after the team’s arrival in Indianapolis in March of 1984. He was then named vice president of administration in 1997. In addition to general administrative management, Ward served as the point-person for the team on the design and construction of Lucas Oil Stadium. In March of 2012, he was named the chairman of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center development board. In this role, Ward leads a 42-person panel. He serves on the boards of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indiana Convention and Visitors Association and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. Ward also served as the team’s liaison with the City of Indianapolis as it hosted its first ever Super Bowl (XLVI). Ward and his wife, Lena, have two children, Mady and Sam. Lena is also a member of the IU Simon Cancer Center development board, raising support for the Cancer Center’s breast cancer research program. Ward was born in New Orleans and was raised in Carmel, Calif.
