Events & Media Archive | 2026

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Published Sept 26, 2026

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“He’s the spark plug that makes all this go,” Becher told Bay Area News Group on Friday, after Celebrini was officially introduced as the 11th full-time captain in Sharks history.

Becher said all of the Sharks’ business metrics last season — merchandise, food and beverage, and season and individual ticket sales — rose 50% year over year from the season before. He also said the Sharks were among the top three NHL teams in season ticket renewal rates and new ticket sales, although the organization has stopped providing specific numbers.

Read the full article here.

State of the Sharks: Jonathan Becher

Published Sept 16, 2026

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Why Not San Jose? The Question That Started PWHL San Jose Six Years Ago

Published Sept 4, 2026

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Jonathan Becher asked “why not us?” in 2019, long before the PWHL existed. Six years later, San Jose has a professional women’s hockey team, and the Sharks are helping make room for it.

Jonathan Becher, President of Sharks Sport & Entertainment, remembers watching Kendall Coyne Schofield race in the fastest-skater competition at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center and thinking about more than her time on the clock.

Coyne Schofield had been added to the event after Nathan MacKinnon withdrew, putting the U.S. national team star on the ice with some of the NHL’s fastest players. She didn’t win, but the response from the crowd caught Becher’s attention.

“She was clearly fast, she was basically as fast as McDavid,” Becher told The Hockey News. “The applause from the crowd was the loudest I had heard in that building in quite some time. It was Sharks loud, it was playoff hockey loud.”

Read the full article here.

Six Leaders Share the Habit That Changed Everything

Published June 22, 2026

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Enable Leaders spoke with six leaders whose careers span financial services, business strategy, organizational design, higher education, and the C-suite. Their answers don’t converge on a formula. But taken together, they reveal something more useful than a checklist: a picture of presence as something you build from the inside out — and from the outside in.

The habit which has had the biggest impact on my career is consistent, authentic listening,” Becher says. “Early on in my career, I focused on preparing talking points, making me sound rehearsed and disconnected in meetings. Over time, I learned to listen first, then speak only when I had a clear, thoughtful response that added to the discussion.”

Read the full interview here.

Growing the Game: Jonathan Becher

Interview May 22, 2026

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How San Jose landed a PWHL expansion team, and how the Sharks were involved

Published May 19, 2026

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Jonathan Becher watched Olympic gold-medal-winning hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield become the first woman to compete in the NHL All-Star Game’s skills competition at SAP Center in 2019.

While the event itself was historic, Becher specifically remembers the sold-out crowd’s raucous reaction.

“I turned and looked at the people I was sitting next to,” Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, said, alluding to Sharks owner Hasso Plattner and former general manager Doug Wilson, “and I said, ‘We’ve got to get a women’s hockey team here in San Jose.’ ”

Over seven years and multiple inquiries by SS&E later, San Jose has its own professional women’s team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, with the league officially announcing Tuesday that SAP Center will host the league’s 12th team, starting this fall.

Read the full article here.

PWHL San Jose Video: Sharks President Talks Women’s Hockey

Interview May 19, 2026

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The 12th team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League is here, and PWHL San Jose hosted its launch event on Tuesday.

In partnership with the San Jose Sharks, the new franchise will play at the SAP Center, officially marking the third professional hockey league in San Jose. Sharks president Jonathan Becher spoke to the media afterward. The president shed light on information regarding some logical questions and fun notes about PWHL San Jose.

Here is the full transcript from his media scrum: https://sharkshockeydigest.com/pwhl-san-jose-video-sharks-president-talks-womens-hockey-becher/

Kurtenbach: With PWHL expansion, the Bay Area is now the undisputed capital of women’s pro sports

Published May 19, 2026

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San Jose landing a Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise clinches an upgrade for the Bay Area after a pair of high-profile pro sports departures from the region.

The Bay has gone from zero to three top-flight women’s pro teams in a flash: Bay FC of the NWSL (2024), the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA (2025) and now the PWHL, which arrives later this year.

San Jose is now the only city in the United States that has the top three North American hockey leagues within its borders: the NHL, the AHL and now the PWHL.

‘Jonathan Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, and Amy Scheer, Senior Vice President of Business Operations for the Professional Women’s Hockey League, laugh during a press conference announcing San Jose’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team in San Jose at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)’

Read the full article here.

2026 ACI-NA/AAAE Airport Customer Experience Symposium (ACES) Keynote

Presentation April 8, 2026

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Opening Keynote Address
“Emerging technology has a powerful influence on customer expectations–and how airports can exceed them.
Hear from an executive who has built successful careers on both sides of the equation: a seasoned Silicon Valley tech executive who now leads a major league sports franchise with a primary focus on creating memorable customer experiences.”
Jonathan Becher, President, Sharks Sports & Entertainment

Feedback

Organizer: “On behalf of our entire team, thank you again for your outstanding keynote at the 2026 Airport Customer Experience Symposium. It was the perfect start to the program. I heard from many attendees who found it engaging and insightful, and several speakers referenced your remarks in their own presentations—clearly your words resonated.”

Attendee 1: “A standout takeaway from keynote speaker Jonathan Becher: growth doesn’t come from big leaps alone, but from consistently taking small, smart risks. Try things.”
Attendee 2: “The keynote from Jonathan Becher was fantastic.”
Attendee 3: “Thank you Jonathan Becher for speaking at the AAAE symposium providing us with great information and insight. It was great to see you again on my way out at Gate 13″

How Sharks Plan To “Sharkify” Renovated SAP Center

Published April 1, 2026

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And there’s more still to come from the San Jose Sharks, both on the ice and at SAP Center. There’s still hope, in the near-future, for a sports and entertainment district anchored by the renovated arena.

“This is not the end. This is the beginning,” Becher said. “The Shark Tank has always been the convening place for the City of San Jose. We think it’ll be the convening place for all of Silicon Valley, coming forward. And so we start today, but this is the beginning of a journey, and you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Read the full article here.

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