Charlotte Checkers announce a change in leadership as longtime COO moves on
Fresh off a run to the Calder Cup Finals, the Charlotte Checkers are making a change in leadership.
The American Hockey League team announced Monday that Tera Black will be stepping away from her post as chief operating officer and will continue to work with the team “in an advisory role,” according to a release.
She will be succeeded by longtime executive Shawn Lynch, who will take the title as president.
“After 19 incredible seasons with the Charlotte Checkers, I’ve decided it’s time for a new chapter — one that gives me more time to focus on life outside the arena, especially my family and pursuing new interests,” Black wrote in a statement.
The news comes less than a month after the Checkers finalized one of their best seasons to date, riding the tide of an electric playoff run all the way to the Calder Cup Finals, but losing to the Abbotsford Canucks in six games.
It also comes about a year after the franchise was acquired by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, which is owned by Aundy Kaufmann, and minority ownership that includes Carolina Panthers long snapper JJ Jansen.
Black joined the Checkers as vice president in September 2006 and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2008, when she was tasked with overseeing the day-to-day business operations. Upon her departure she was the only woman COO in the AHL and was the league’s first and only woman to sit on the Executive Committee for the league’s Board of Governors. She’s also the first woman to have her name engraved on the Calder Cup — a trophy that was first awarded in 1936.
Her credentials go on, which includes winning the AHL Eastern Conference’s Award of Excellence in Community Service four times. In 2023, about half of the Checkers’ front office was comprised of woman, The Charlotte Observer previously reported, a standout in this regard in hockey and in sports in general.
“This team, (founding owner) Michael Kahn and his family, the staff, our relationship with the (Checkers’ NHL affiliate) Florida Panthers, and this community have meant the world to me,” Black wrote. “And being part of the Checkers’ story has truly been one of the great joys of my life.”
Meet the ‘mega talented leader’ to replace Tera Black
The person tabbed to replace Black has one thing in common with her:
He has been with the Checkers for a long time.
Lynch, 43, is the Checkers’ longest tenured employee, according to a release. He started his career as an intern with the Checkers in 2003 and progressed to his most recent role as senior vice president, which he’s held since 2013.
“We are so proud to be announcing Shawn Lynch as the President of the Charlotte Checkers,” Kaufmann wrote in a statement. “Shawn is a mega talented leader and I am excited to see him in his new and well deserved role in leadership.”
In Lynch’s 20-plus-year span with the franchise, the Checkers have done a lot.
They moved up from the ECHL to the AHL, moved from the Bojangles Coliseum to Spectrum Center and then back again, captured the 2019 Calder Cup championship and put on Charlotte’s first outdoor hockey game at Truist Field in January 2024. The team also posted record revenue across all categories during the 2024-25 season, the release states.
“My 21 seasons here have allowed me to grow an immense respect for the Checkers organization and the city of Charlotte that supports it,” Lynch wrote in a statement. “I never thought I’d spend my entire career within one organization. I am grateful for all of the support from Tera and the team these past several years and am grateful and excited for the opportunity that has been offered by Zawyer Sports to take the next step in my career with the team and community that I cherish and love.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to lead the next phase of Checkers hockey while continuing to honor the traditions that Tera implemented day after day. Tera’s tenure has been remarkable and I was lucky to have a front row seat for every minute of it. She has shown us all what true leadership looks like. The foundation has been set and I look forward to building upon our relationships with our fans, partners, the CRVA and the Florida Panthers organization.”
