The Broncos and Denver met their new public trustees Wednesday.

The franchise’s principal owner, and the richest owner in the NFL, told me he never has seen his team play in person, and he will miss all three exhibitions against the Cowboys, the Bills and the Vikings.

Samuel Robson Walton, who turns 78 on Oct. 28, funded the vast amount of the $4.65 billion Broncos purchase price. But, unlike Pat Bowlen, he won’t be an unequivocal, hands-on owner or a managing general partner.

The former Walton board chairman from 1992 to 2013 will be more of an observant owner involved only in major franchise decisions.

After the official closing of the deal Wednesday morning at Dove Valley and a media conference to introduce the Walton et al. ownership group, Rob Walton told me he is departing for a previously scheduled trip to South Africa and nearby countries. He expects to attend some Broncos games during the regular season.

Walton announced Wednesday that his son-in-law Greg Penner, who will be 53 in December, has been named the Broncos’ chief executive officer, and Penner later said he will hire a team president – who will replace Joe Ellis and run the business aspects of the franchise while general manager George Paton is in control of the football operations.

Walton, Penner and Carrie Walton Penner, Rob’s daughter, and the associate owners in the alliance – Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Sir Lewis Hamilton – have no NFL experience, so they mostly will rely this season on the Broncos’ staff.

Neither John Elway nor Peyton Manning, who were both at the Broncos’ headquarters and practice Wednesday, would be suited for or interested in the (non-football) president’s position.

Penner took over from Walton as the chairman of the Walmart board, and he is also co-founder of an investment firm based in northern California. I asked if he would be stepping aside from other commitments to be a full-time owner, as Pat Bowlen was, and if there would be a board of directors.

“We’re not planning to have a board of directors. You can probably consider this (group) to be our informal board.’’ Penner then said: “I do have the necessary time to spend here, and this is a very high priority for us. And I will give it the energy and time it needs. Again, we’re all about empowering people, and having the right people in place for us here will be an important part of the equation.’’

Penner referred to the ownership amalgamation as “stewards.”

Although Walton and Penner, as Bowlen, competed and completed the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, Walton, who played college football, won’t be running around the practice fields. And Penner isn’t anticipated to be joining players in the weight room.

It was assumed that Carrie Walton Penner might have a title as executive vice president. But she is on the board of the Walton Family Foundation and is a prominent proponent of the charter school movement. Carrie told me she is also focusing more on national “mental health’’ issues.

The Gazette reported months ago that members of the Walton-Penner group had close connections to Colorado. Carrie told me Wednesday that she attended elementary school in Boulder after her mother (Walton’s ex-wife) moved to Colorado. Carrie and Greg own a home near downtown Aspen, and Rob visited Colorado for years to ski, then bought a home he owns in Snowmass. Walton, who said he flies his own plane and a helicopter and has raced cars, and his wife Melani Lowman Walton, live primarily in Scottsdale, Ariz. And the Penners have a home in Atherton, Calif. But the Walton family has purchased four properties in Cherry Hills, and the Penners plan to live here.

Dr. Rice moved to Denver with her family at 12 and attended St. Mary’s Academy, then received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Denver, dated Broncos star receiver-returner Rick Upchurch and became a Broncos fan during what she termed the “Orange Crush’’ era.

Hobson, who lives in Chicago, met future husband George Lucas at a business conference in Aspen in 2006. She recommended Sir Lewis Hamilton to Walton-Penner as a minority owner. The greatest Formula One driver in history was knighted last year by Queen Elizabeth. He owns a home in Bachelor’s Gulch at Beaver Creek and has said he wants to retire in Colorado.

Five of the six owners (Hamilton is in racing season) convened at Dove Valley Wednesday – and were presented team jerseys with their names on the back.

They are now a public trust, and the public trusts them to win championships.

Editor’s note: Mellody Hobson was misidentified in earlier versions of this story.