Marlins Become First Major Sports Team To Have Women As President, General Manager

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The Miami Marlins are the first major U.S. sports franchise to have women as both their president and general manager.

The team announced Monday that Caroline O'Connor will be the new president of business operations. The move comes just two years after the Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager in 2020.

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The Miami Marlins have hired Caroline O'Connor as their new president of business operations. (Marlins.com)

"We are fortunate to have someone with Caroline's business acumen and vision leading our day-to-day business operations," Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said on O'Connor's hiring.

As president, O'Connor will run the business side of things such as sales and partnerships. Ng will continue handling baseball operations like trades and signing players.

'A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY'

O'Connor is the second woman to serve as president of a Major League Baseball team, following last year's hiring of Catie Griggs by the Seattle Mariners.

When the Marlins hired Ng as their GM in 2020, she became the first woman to hold the position in one of the four major sports leagues.

The organization now becomes the first to have women in both senior roles of president and general manager.

Caroline O'Connor became the Miami Marlins new president of business operations. (Lynne Sladky, AP)

O'Connor has been with the team since 2017, most recently as the team's COO since 2019. She has a business background, previously working as a director at UBS Investment Bank.

Under Caroline's leadership, the Marlins found a way to increase revenue stream. Attendance increased 12% in 2022 compared to 2019. She also introduced new promotions such as $1 single-game tickets for kids on Monday, as well as 4 tickets for $44.

Prior to this season, New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter stepped down as the Marlins CEO after four years.

The franchise's women-led duo will look to help the team turn things around after missing the postseason the past two years. In 2022, the Marlins finished 4th out of 5 in the National League East, with a record of 69-93.