The Miami Marlins made sports business history again Monday when the team promoted Caroline O’Conner to President of Business Operations, becoming the first professional U.S. sports team to have women serving simultaneously as president and general manager. Kim Ng was named GM in 2020, the first woman to hold that position.
The announcement was posted to the Marlins’ official Twitter account, accompanied by a statement from Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman.
“We are fortunate to have someone with Caroline’s business acumen and vision leading our day-to-day business operations. Her passion and drive for success are unmatched in our game and the South Florida market.”
In a news conference via the Marlins’ website, O’Conner said, “I’ve always worked for first-class organizations, and that’s certainly what Bruce [Sherman] wants to see here and really what the mandate is […] I think using best practices and being the kind of organization that people want to work for and want to support the community, that’s exactly what we want here, and a lot of where I came from.”
O’Connor, who used to work for the likes of IBM and Morgan Stanley before being brought into the fold by then-CEO and Yankees legend Derek Jeter, is the second woman to serve as president of an MLB team after Catie Griggs of the Seattle Mariners. But the Marlins stand out as the first major U.S. sports franchise to have women as both president and general manager. Miami hired Kim Ng as GM in 2020, making her the first woman to hold the position among the four major sports leagues.
“When I talk to young girls, I really like them to see me in my role because I didn’t feel like I had that role model,” said O’Connor, who’d served as Miami’s chief operating officer since 2019. “And I want people to see themselves when they see me and know that it is a possibility.”
