49ers CFO CIPORA HERMAN "blazed an uncommon trail" in becoming the first female to serve in the position in franchise history -- "zooming through the technology world, from Hewlett-Packard to Yahoo to Facebook, before tackling the daunting task of financing Levi’s Stadium," according to a profile by Ron Kroichick of the S.F. CHRONICLE. She joined the organization two years ago to help "lead the effort to arrange permanent financing" for the new stadium. Her style "is a mix of patience and feistiness." Herman worked at Yahoo with GIDEON YU, who eventually went to the 49ers and "served as team president" from February '12-January '14. In Herman, Yu saw a "distinctive mix of numbers-crunching intelligence and people skills." Yu: "Cipora can forge relationships and speak the right language to the right person. She’s not a financial person who always shoves numbers in your face." Kroichick noted she is "one of six women CFOs in the league." She "was skeptical when she interviewed with CEO JED YORK." Herman: "I told Jed the one concern I have is what it’s like to be a senior woman in this organization. He walked me through how he thinks about it, and the way he presented it has played out. I’ve never felt like it’s been an obstacle." Herman "found most colleagues around the NFL view her Silicon Valley background as refreshing." She serves on the league’s Club Technology Advisory Board, "comprised of six to eight senior-level executives charged with aligning technology and business objectives among the 32 teams." York: "We’re much more analytical now because of Cipora" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/16).
