Klein, Utah chief communications officer, dies at 40

Caroline Klein, the chief communication officer for the Utah Mammoth and Utah Jazz, died Thursday due to complications from lung cancer. She was 40.
© Utah Mammoth

“Utah lost a legend yesterday in the passing of Caroline Klein,” said Ryan Smith, charman and CEO of the Smith Entertainment Group, which owns both the Mammoth and Jazz. “She was truly one of a kind. [Ashley, my wife] and I and the rest of the SEG team will miss her every single day.”

Klein was hired by the Smith Entertainment Group in 2022, working across public relations, community relations and broadcasting for both the Jazz and the soon-to-be-launched Utah Hockey Club, which became the Mammoth recently.

Despite her short tenure with SEG, Klein accomplished a great deal.

She helped develop SEG+, a state-of-the-art streaming platform for the Jazz and Mammoth. She was instrumental in the production of “Note Worthy: 50 Seasons of Jazz Basketball,” which launched in the summer of 2024.

Also in 2024, she was named to Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40,” an award for executives recognized for achievement and innovation in their careers, all before the age of 40.

And she was front and center in getting the Utah Hockey Club off the ground after the NHL approved the establishment of a franchise on April 18, 2024, to be owned and controlled by SEG.

The franchise, with the assets from the Arizona Coyotes, who suspended operations at the same time, began play less than six months later, competing in the 2024-25 season.

Klein asked her family to post a message on LinkedIn following her death.

“I had so many people tell me they were inspired by my story, and every one of your messages brought a smile to my face,” she said. “If one positive thing was going to come from my tragic situation, I hoped it would be that people stopped waiting for permission to truly live and started doing the things that brought them joy instead of constantly focusing on satisfying the expectations of others.”

A native of Wisconsin, Klein earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

She began her career working for several public relations firms on the East Coast.

Before joining SEG, she spent the previous decade working in hospitality and tourism ventures while based in California.

Klein is survived by her husband, Mike Gartlan. They were married last August.

“The National Hockey League family is deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, Caroline Klein,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “Caroline’s effervescence and her tireless work to establish the Utah franchise were marvels in themselves, but all the more remarkable given the valiant fight she was waging with cancer.

“Our time working together, like Caroline’s life, was too short. But we and everyone fortunate enough to have met her are endlessly richer for the experience. We send our condolences to her family, the Utah Mammoth and Jazz organizations and her many friends throughout the sports world.”