Wayne Gretzky and Miguel Patricio are two well-known figures whose names are often searched together, yet they built their careers in very different worlds. Gretzky is widely regarded as the greatest player in National Hockey League history, holding records such as 894 regular-season goals and four Stanley Cup championships. Patricio is a Portuguese-born executive who spent about two decades at Anheuser-Busch InBev before leading Kraft Heinz as chief executive from 2019 until 2024.
Despite these separate achievements, no documented friendship, partnership, or business collaboration between them has been established. Their only traceable link is indirect, through Kraft Heinz’s sponsorship of Kraft Hockeyville. This article separates verified facts from speculation, covering each career, the limited connection between the two men, and the answers to common questions.
Who Are Wayne Gretzky and Miguel Patricio?
Gretzky and Patricio built their careers in separate worlds. Gretzky made his reputation on the ice, while Patricio built his in marketing, brand management, and corporate leadership. Their names appear together mostly because they share a few loose public threads, such as hockey sponsorship and the business world. Those threads do not amount to a documented personal or professional relationship, and the clearest way to judge that claim is to look at each career on its own terms.
Wayne Gretzky’s Hockey Career and Greatest Achievements
Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1961 and became one of the most decorated players the sport has ever produced. He spent the first part of his professional career with the Edmonton Oilers, who won four Stanley Cup championships during the 1980s with him as their central player. In 1988, the Oilers traded him to the Los Angeles Kings, a move that shocked many Canadian fans and remains one of the best-known transactions in the country’s hockey history. He later finished his playing career with the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers and retired in 1999.
His nickname, “The Great One,” reflects the scale of his statistical record. The list below highlights some of his best-known achievements.
- Gretzky scored 894 regular-season goals, the most in NHL history.
- He recorded 1,963 assists, which is more than any other player’s total points in league history.
- He finished with 2,857 regular-season points, a total that stood as the league’s benchmark for decades.
- He recorded 215 points in the 1985–86 regular season, a single-season record.
- He scored 92 goals in the 1981–82 season, another single-season mark that still defines his legacy.
- He won four Stanley Cup championships, in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
- He received nine Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player.
- He won ten Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer.
Miguel Patricio’s Background and Business Career
Patricio is a Portuguese-born executive who studied business administration at Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil. The school is one of Brazil’s best-known institutions for business education, and its programs have trained many executives who later work for large multinational companies.
Patricio spent roughly two decades at Anheuser-Busch InBev, the global brewing group formed in 2004 through the merger of Belgium’s Interbrew and Brazil’s Ambev. Within that company, he held several executive positions and served as global chief marketing officer from 2012 to 2018. During that period, he helped grow major beer brands, including Corona, Budweiser, and Stella Artois. His marketing background shaped how he approached his later role at Kraft Heinz, where consumer behavior and brand strength were central to his leadership.
Miguel Patricio’s Leadership at Kraft Heinz
Patricio’s most visible role came at Kraft Heinz, a packaged-food company formed through the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz. The company owns well-known brands such as Kraft, Heinz, Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, and Lunchables. When Patricio took over as chief executive in 2019, the company was facing slowing sales and an inquiry from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into its procurement accounting and control policies. His leadership therefore began during a period of pressure, not growth.
His Role in the Company’s Strategy and Brand Development
Patricio succeeded Bernardo Hees as chief executive in 2019. In his early public comments, he said his priorities were improving the company’s speed, restoring organic growth, building its brands, and making the business more focused on consumers. Those priorities reflected his background at AB InBev, where marketing and consumer insight were at the center of decision-making.
Kraft Heinz’s lead director later credited Patricio’s understanding of marketing and consumers as an important factor in the company’s turnaround. The board also elevated him over time, first by nominating him to the board of directors in 2021 and later by appointing him chair. The company’s leadership structure changed several times during his years in charge, as the table below shows.
| Year | Milestone |
| 2019 | Became chief executive, succeeding Bernardo Hees |
| 2021 | Nominated to the board of directors |
| 2022 | Named to become chair of the board |
| 2023 | Announced that Carlos Abrams-Rivera would succeed him as chief executive |
| 2024 | Began serving as non-executive chair on January 1 |
| 2026 | Retired as executive chair as John Cahill became independent chair on January 1 |
Is Miguel Patricio Still CEO of Kraft Heinz in 2026?
No. Patricio is no longer the chief executive of Kraft Heinz. The company’s leadership has changed several times since his original tenure as CEO, and the most recent proxy statement describes him as retiring from his executive chair role. The steps below outline how his position changed over time.
- Patricio stepped down as chief executive when Carlos Abrams-Rivera took over the role in 2024.
- He then served as non-executive chair before taking the executive chair position later in his tenure with the company.
- The company named Steve Cahillane as chief executive late in the previous year, and John Cahill became independent chair effective January 1, 2026.
The company’s 2026 proxy statement is the most reliable source for the current board and leadership structure. Readers who need the latest status should check the company’s investor relations materials, since leadership roles can change again.
What Is the Connection Between Wayne Gretzky and Miguel Patricio?
The two men have no documented personal friendship, shared business venture, or professional partnership. Their only traceable link is indirect. Kraft Heinz sponsors hockey programs, and Gretzky is one of the most famous names in the sport, but the sources reviewed do not connect the two men directly through that sponsorship.
Is There Evidence That They Are Friends or Have Worked Together?
There is no reliable evidence that Gretzky and Patricio are friends or have worked together on a project. Public records about Patricio focus on consumer goods, beverage marketing, and food-company leadership. Public records about Gretzky focus on hockey, his family, and his public profile. Neither set of records mentions the other man as a collaborator, business associate, or personal contact.
| Category | Wayne Gretzky | Miguel Patricio |
| Primary field | Professional hockey | Marketing and consumer goods |
| Best-known role | NHL player and record holder | Chief executive of Kraft Heinz |
| Documented hockey ties | Central figure in the NHL | No documented personal role in hockey |
| Documented ties to the other man | None found | None found |
Does Kraft Heinz Have a Documented Connection to Wayne Gretzky?
Kraft Heinz has a documented connection to hockey through Kraft Hockeyville, an annual community competition. The program is sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League, and the NHL Players’ Association.
It began in Canada in 2006, and the company expanded it to the United States in 2015. The first U.S. winner, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was named in May 2015 and hosted a preseason NHL game along with an arena upgrade funded by the company.
The program offers several benefits to winning communities, including an NHL game and funding for local rinks. The sources reviewed show that the program is a corporate sponsorship with the league and the players’ association. They do not show that Gretzky personally participates in Kraft Hockeyville or that Patricio has a documented role in it.
That distinction matters because a sponsorship can link a company to a sport without linking the company to a specific athlete. In this case, the connection between Kraft Heinz and Gretzky is indirect and limited to the broader hockey world.
Wayne Gretzky’s Personal Life and Public Profile
Gretzky has kept much of his family life private, but several facts are well documented. He married the American actress Janet Jones on July 16, 1988, at St. Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton, Alberta. Many Canadian media outlets described the event as the country’s “royal wedding” because of its scale and public attention. The couple has five children: Paulina, Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma.
Jones is known for films including The Flamingo Kid and A League of Their Own, and she has remained a visible presence in her husband’s public life. Their relationship has been widely covered for decades, yet the details of their private life are not always publicly confirmed. The questions below address the most common claims about Gretzky’s personal circle.
Who Was Wayne Gretzky’s Best Friend?
No reliable source names an official best friend for Gretzky. The most often-cited personal connection is the actor Alan Thicke, who attended the 1988 wedding and is described in several accounts as a longtime friend of the Gretzky family. One account also says Thicke hosted the wedding reception. Janet Gretzky has described her husband as treating her not only as his wife but also as his best friend, but that statement describes their marriage rather than a friendship outside it.
Because no source establishes a single best friend, any claim naming one should be treated with caution unless it is supported by a credible report.
Who Was Wayne Gretzky’s Best Man at His Wedding?
Accounts about the best man differ. Several reports name Eddie Mio, a former Oilers goalie, as Gretzky’s best man at the 1988 ceremony. Another report says the groom’s father, Walter Gretzky, served in that role. Because the sources conflict, this article does not treat either account as settled. Readers who need a definitive answer should look for contemporary wedding coverage from a major Canadian newspaper or broadcaster.
Did Wayne Gretzky Attend His Father’s Funeral?
Walter Gretzky died in March 2021. Reliable public reporting confirming whether Wayne Gretzky attended the funeral was not identified in the sources reviewed, so this article makes no claim either way. Public figures often keep attendance at family funerals private, and no verified account should be presented as fact unless a credible source confirms it.
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Wayne Gretzky’s Political Views and Public Associations
Gretzky has rarely spoken publicly about politics in detail. His most visible public association has been his relationship with Donald Trump, which has drawn attention in Canada because of Trump’s comments about the country and its political future. Gretzky holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship and has lived in the United States for decades, which has added to public interest in his views.
Does Wayne Gretzky Still Support Donald Trump?
Gretzky’s documented association with Trump is well known, but the sources do not confirm his current position in his own words. Reports say he attended a private election-night event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after the 2024 presidential election, and he attended Trump’s second inauguration in January of the following year. Trump has since praised him in social media posts, calling him one of Canada’s greatest figures and suggesting he could enter Canadian politics.
Those posts drew strong criticism in Canada. An online petition called for Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky Drive to be renamed, and some fans and commentators said his ties to Trump were inconsistent with his image as a national hockey figure. Janet Gretzky responded publicly, saying the criticism had hurt her husband, and Hall of Fame player Bobby Orr defended him. Gretzky himself declined to make a public statement on the matter, and Trump’s posts characterized his views in ways the sources do not verify directly.
The most recent documented appearances in the reporting reviewed date to the period around Trump’s second inauguration. Because Gretzky has not made a clear public statement of his own, readers should treat any claim about his current political views as unconfirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wayne Gretzky and Miguel Patricio
What Is Wayne Gretzky’s Most Famous Hockey Record?
Gretzky’s most famous record is his 2,857 career regular-season points, including 894 goals and 1,963 assists. His 215-point season in 1985–86 is another remarkable NHL record.
Why Are Wayne Gretzky and Miguel Patricio Mentioned Together?
No reliable source confirms a connection between them. There is no documented partnership, friendship, or joint project, so their names appearing together does not prove a relationship.
What Is Miguel Patricio Known For?
Miguel Patricio is known for marketing and corporate leadership. He worked at Anheuser-Busch InBev for about 20 years, serving as global chief marketing officer from 2012 to 2018. He later became Kraft Heinz CEO in 2019, a role transferred to Carlos Abrams-Rivera in 2024. He is recognized for brand building and consumer insight.
Conclusion
Wayne Gretzky and Miguel Patricio built careers in very different fields. Gretzky, known as “The Great One,” holds NHL records including 894 regular-season goals and four Stanley Cup championships. Patricio, a Portuguese-born executive, spent about two decades at Anheuser-Busch InBev before serving as CEO of Kraft Heinz from 2019 until 2024.
The two men have no documented friendship, partnership, or business relationship. Their only traceable link is indirect, through Kraft Heinz’s sponsorship of Kraft Hockeyville, a hockey program the company runs with the NHL and its players’ association. Patricio is no longer Kraft Heinz’s CEO, and Gretzky’s current political views remain unconfirmed by his own public statements.
