The Pittsburgh Penguins have promoted Tracey McCants Lewis to chief people officer and general counsel.

McCants Lewis succeeds Kevin Acklin, who was named president of business operations in June. Acklin joined the organization in 2018 as senior VP and general counsel and spent the past two seasons as the team's chief operating officer and general counsel.

McCants Lewis joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019 as VP of human resources and deputy general counsel. She joined from Peoples Gas Co., where she was director of human resources.

In this new role, McCants Lewis will have responsibility over the development of the former Civic Arena site, where the Penguins played until 2010, and will handle all HR-related matters and legal affairs.

McCants Lewis is in her 12th year as an adjunct professor of law at Duquesne University, where she has also served as adjunct clinical professor and acting director of clinical legal education.

Previously, she was an attorney at law firms Berry & Associates, and K&L Gates, and associate specialty claims examiner at the property-and-casualty insurance company Chubb.

McCants Lewis' promotion is among a number of executive appointments announced by the Penguins as the team continues its transition under new ownership.

In December, Fenway Sports Group, owned by billionaire John Henry, acquired controlling interest in the Penguins. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, the Pittsburgh Penguins was recently valued at $845 million by Sportico, making them the NHL's 15th-most-valuable team.

Fenway Sports Group's portfolio includes the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool of the Premier League and Roush Fenway Racing in NASCAR. NBA superstar LeBron James is a part-owner. FSG also has 80% ownership of New England Sports Network and the Salem Red Sox, a minor league baseball team.