"An important contribution to 21st-century baseball literature. . . Mr. Colletti's book might be even more groundbreaking [than Moneyball] in some ways: It's a nearly unprecedented opportunity to see what running a baseball franchise looks like through the eyeballs of an actual general manager. . . [Colletti] has a gift for entertaining storytelling. . . (Wall Street Jurnal re: The Big Chair)

Chicago-born Ned Louis Colletti Jr. is an American sports executive, three-time Emmy Award-winning baseball analyst, a professor of Sports Administration at Pepperdine University, a best-selling author of the book, 'The Big Chair" and a scout for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League.

He was general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 through 2014, and also served as an analyst for the Dodgers studio show on Spectrum SportsNet LA. Before moving to the Dodgers, he was assistant general manager of the San Francisco Giants. He is one of very few American sports executives to work in two major sports: Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.

Ned graduated from East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, Illinois, and attended Triton College before graduating from Northern Illinois University. He was inducted into the Triton College Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, the same year as Major League players Kirby Puckett, Lance Johnson, and Jeff Reboulet. In 2015, he was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was inducted into the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1982, Ned began his Major League career with the Chicago Cubs. He was a member of the front office when the Cubs won the National League East in 1984 and 1989. He was honored with Major League Baseball's Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence in 1990.

Colletti left the Cubs and joined the front office of the San Francisco Giants in 1994 as director of baseball operations. He was promoted to assistant general manager in October 1996. During his tenure, the Giants had an 813–644 overall record (.558), winning an average of 90.3 games per season. He was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005, becoming the 10th GM in Dodger history. During his tenure with the Dodgers (2005-2014), Colletti had the highest winning percentage of any general manager in the National League.

From June to December 2012, Colletti, with the backing of a new, aggressive ownership team led by Dodgers' president Stan Kasten, owners Mark Walter, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Peter Guber, and Guggenheim Baseball Management, spent more than $600 million to bring a parade of all-star players and prospects to Los Angeles. The wholesale makeover began in late June when the Dodgers spent $42 million to sign 21-year-old Cuban prospect Yasiel Puig to a six-year deal. On July 25, Ned brought in former National League batting champion Hanley Ramírez as the key to a four-player trade with the Miami Marlins.

On August 25, 2012, with the Dodgers three games behind the Giants in the National League West and 1½ games out of the final wild card spot, Ned completed a nine-player trade that the Los Angeles Times called a "block-buster" and a "stunning development". Key to the deal was the acquisition of four-time All-Star first baseman Adrián González from the Boston Red Sox. But the Dodgers also obtained the four-time All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, three-time All-Star pitcher Josh Beckett, and switch-hitting utility infielder Nick Punto.

In his last 24 seasons as an executive, Colletti built or helped to build teams that qualified for the postseason 15 times (with five other teams eliminated in the final game or two of the season), made 7 NLCS appearances, and appeared in four World Series, winning one World Series with a combined record of 2124-1701 (423 games over .500). During his time with the Dodgers, he and his staff drafted or signed players who won 3 Cy Young Awards, plus three runners-up; 2 Most Valuable Player Awards, plus one runner-up; two National League Rookies of the Year, two NLCS Most Valuable Players and one World Series Most Valuable Player.

In 2019, Colletti became a professional scout in the Sharks organization.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)