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Kim Ng broke a major barrier by becoming the Miami Marlins GM. These female executives may get their own chance.

Next General Opportunity


This story appears in the Nov. 23-29 issue of Sports Business Journal.

When the Miami Marlins announced the hiring of Kim Ng as their new general manager on Nov. 13, the longtime baseball executive quickly found herself deluged by a sea of correspondence from people who reached out to congratulate her. By the time of her introductory press conference at Marlins Park three days later, more than 1,000 people had emailed and texted Ng on becoming the first woman to hold a GM role in any of the five major men’s sports leagues in North America. Some called and said they couldn’t wait to tell their wives and daughters the news. Some baseball executives had tears of joy over what it meant for the national pastime and for society that the 52-year-old Ng had broken through one of the most significant gender barriers in sports.

Kelly Krauskopf has been a fixture with pro teams in Indiana since 1999.getty images

“It made me realize it really was a glimmer of hope and inspiration for so many,” Ng, who also received congratulations from Michelle Obama and Billie Jean King, among others, said at a press conference. “That if you work hard and persevere and if you’re driven and just keep going, that eventually your dream will come true.”  

Ng started her baseball career as a Chicago White Sox intern 30 years ago and had joined Major League Baseball as a senior vice president in 2011. But over the past 15 years, she had been turned down for high-ranking executive jobs by at least five other teams before Marlins CEO Derek Jeter reached out. She said some teams in the past that interviewed her didn’t really seem interested in hiring her.

“It’s like what we tell the players — you can mope and sulk for a few days, but that’s it,” she said. “You’ve got to come back, and that’s what I’ve been able to do. I’ve been defeated and deflated numerous times, but you keep hoping. … You’re bearing the torch for so many. That’s a big responsibility, but I take it on.”

Ng’s hiring naturally raises the question of whether it will open doors for other women to break through, not just in Major League Baseball but in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS as well. Here are some other female executives in those leagues who sources said could one day follow Ng as a general manager.

MLB

Jean Afterman, Senior Vice President, Assistant General Manager, New York Yankees

Afterman replaced Kim Ng as the team’s assistant GM in December 2001 and added senior vice president to her title in 2012. She has long encouraged more women to pursue careers in baseball operations. In 2019, Afterman was honored with Baseball America’s first Trailblazer of the Year Award. She has praised Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and [former owner] George Steinbrenner for hiring two female assistant general managers.

Raquel Ferreira, Executive Vice President, Assistant General Manager, Boston Red Sox

Now in her 22nd year with the Red Sox, Ferreira is just the fourth woman to hold the title of assistant general manager in a baseball operations department. She was promoted to her current title in December 2019 and assists in all areas of baseball ops. Among her most prominent duties: Overseeing the baseball operations budgets and the team’s major and minor league operations. She was one of seven nominees for the WISE 2020 Women of the Year Award.

Eve Rosenbaum, Director, Baseball Development, Baltimore Orioles

A Harvard graduate and Bethesda, Md., native, Rosenbaum was hired by the Baltimore Orioles in November 2019 for the newly created position of director, baseball development. She oversees the alignment of methods across baseball operations, and is tasked with enhancing the coordination between the scouting, player development and analytics department. Rosenbaum worked under Mike Elias, the Orioles’ general manager and vice president of baseball operations, while he was with the Houston Astros. After being hired by the Astros in early 2015 as coordinator for international baseball operations, Rosenbaum became manager of international scouting in August 2017. 

Corinne Landrey, Manager, Baseball Operations, Philadelphia Phillies

After starting as an analytics intern, Landrey has been elevated to manager of baseball operations. She analyzes players, assists in salary arbitration cases and works with the research and development team. Before joining the Phillies, Landrey in 2016 authored “When the Sport You Love Doesn’t Love You Back,” which explored sexism in baseball, for The Hardball Times. She graduated from Ithaca College in 2008.

NFL

Dawn Aponte, Chief Administrative Officer, Football Operations, NFL

A former executive vice president of football administration at the Miami Dolphins, Aponte now handles day-to-day football matters from the league level. That puts her in frequent contact with top officials at nearly every team, and her prominence has grown this season as she oversees the fine-point details of COVID-19 mitigation.

Jacqueline Davidson, Director of Football Research, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Hired by the Buccaneers in July, Davidson previously served as the chief contract negotiator for the New York Jets. In Tampa, she now oversees all research and analytics with the resurgent Bucs. She also assists GM Jason Licht and director of football administration Mike Greenberg with cap management and contracts.

Melanie Marohl, Director of Football Administration/Player Finance, Green Bay Packers

A 19-year veteran of the club, Marohl is a salary cap analyst who tracks player compensation across the league, handles salary and cash budgeting and manages aspects of player compensation.

Kirsten Grohs, Manager of Football Administration, Atlanta Falcons

Since the 2018 season, Grohs has administered player contracts and consults on all personnel decisions with salary cap research and analysis, reporting directly to the (currently vacant) GM position. In her prior role as scouting coordinator, she served as the primary liaison between the team, scouts, schools and agents on scouting logistical issues.

Salli Clavelle, Pro Personnel Analyst, San Francisco 49ers

Now in her third season with the 49ers, Clavelle is the league’s only full-time Black female scout. Her stated goal is a GM position, and she participated in the league’s Women’s Careers in Football Forum, a developmental project.

NBA

Kelly Krauskopf, Assistant General Manager, Indiana Pacers 

The Pacers named the trailblazing Krauskopf as the NBA’s first female assistant general manager in December 2018. A former basketball standout at Texas A&M, Krauskopf was the longtime president and general manager of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and she knows how to run both the basketball and business operations of a franchise. 

Under her leadership, the Fever made the playoffs 13 times and won the WNBA title in 2012. Prior to her time at the Fever, she was the WNBA’s first director of basketball operations. 

Kim Ng began her baseball career in 1990 as a White Sox intern and also worked for the Yankees, Dodgers and at MLB before becoming the first female GM of a team in a major men’s league.getty images

Becky Bonner, Director of Player Development and Basketball Operations, Orlando Magic

From player evaluations to helping run drafts, Bonner has myriad responsibilities in her role with the Magic and many see her job as a primer for becoming a general manager. 

She knows the game as well as anyone given that she played at Stanford University and Boston University and was a college assistant coach. She spent six years working in basketball operations for the league office before joining the Magic in 2017. 

NHL

Florence Schelling, General Manager, SC Bern 

Schelling, a 31-year-old former Swiss national team goalie, is the first woman globally to hold the position with a men’s pro ice hockey club. She played college hockey at Northeastern (2008-12) and competed in three consecutive Olympics from 2006 to 2014, and is now running one of the top clubs in all of Europe for a team in the Swiss National League.

Cammi Granato, Scout, Seattle Kraken 

The two-time Olympic medalist and Hockey Hall of Famer is a full-time pro scout for the expansion Kraken, making her the first woman to hold that title in NHL history. Granato is arguably the most decorated player in women’s hockey history and will be one of the key decision-makers for the Kraken while they build their roster heading into the inaugural 2021-22 campaign. 

Noelle Needham, Assistant General Manager, Chicago Steel

Before joining the Steel — which plays in the United States Hockey League, the top junior league in the U.S. — Needham served as a Midwestern-based amateur scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs for two seasons after playing forward at Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Jill Ellis coached the U.S. Women’s national team to consecutive World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.getty images

MLS

Jill Ellis, Coach 

The England native coached the U.S. women’s national soccer team to back-to-back FIFA World Cups in 2015 and 2019 before retiring a year ago. Earlier this fall, she reportedly met with D.C. United about the team’s coaching vacancy, marking the first time a woman has been considered for the position in MLS. Could she become the first woman to soon head up the sporting side as well?

Meghan Cameron, Assistant Director of Player Personnel, Sporting KC 

Three years ago, Sporting KC tapped Cameron for her current role, where she works side-by-side with Brian Bliss, technical director and vice president of player personnel. Cameron played soccer at Rutgers and graduated in 2005 and now assists in roster and budget management and scouts for all Sporting clubs, including the MLS team. She’s one of the highest-ranking women in MLS on the technical side of the business.

Staff writers Mark J. Burns, Ben Fischer and John Lombardo contributed to this report.