Kimmo Leinonen

Kimmo Leinonen (born 30 August 1949) is a Finnish ice hockey executive and writer. He was the director of public relations and marketing for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1995 to 2007, and held similar positions for SM-liiga and Ilves. He served as general secretary of the 2012 and 2013 Ice Hockey World Championships co-hosted in Finland and Sweden. He also coached junior ice hockey for Ilves, managed the Ilves Naiset who won three Naisten SM-sarja championships, was a scout for the New York Rangers, and a sports commentator for hockey broadcasts in Finland.

Leinonen was a founding member of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979, and helped establish the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1996. He served as chairman of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame from 2011 to 2018, and has written multiple books on the history of hockey in Finland. He was inducted into the builder category of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011, and was named the 2023 recipient of the Paul Loicq Award from the IIHF.