Bay FC is continuing to build out its front office — and with the latest hire, the club has poached someone from a different pro sports team in the Bay Area.
Former top Golden State Warriors marketing executive Jen Millet will be the new soccer team’s chief operating officer on Monday, the team announced on Tuesday. Her first day with Bay FC was Monday.
Millet joins after spending most of six years with Golden State, working up to becoming the Warriors’ chief marketing officer before she left for Bay FC. While she acknowledged it was hard to leave the Warriors, Bay FC provided her with a “perfect storm” to jump into women’s sports.
“I’ve had conversations in the past about working in women’s sports, and this conversation with Bay FC was the first I’ve ever had where the business case was sort of front and center,” Millet told this news organization Monday. “The approach wasn’t led with a philanthropic, mission-driven [approach] — all of that is still there, but the conversation was really about, ‘This is going to be an amazing business and women’s sports is a profitable business venture.’
“That was an empowering and inspiring mindset coming in.”
Millet was a key part of the team that has helped the Warriors capitalize on their move from Oakland to San Francisco’s Chase Center, helping to create the marketing events around the Warriors’ open area outside the area, known as Thrive City.
“Jen’s reputation for growing and elevating global sports franchises is second to none, having made a remarkable impact for the Warriors both here in the Bay Area and on the global stage,” Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart said in a statement. “As we build out the Bay FC team with top-tier talent both on and off the pitch, Jen will be an incredible asset ramping up operations to create a world-class organization.”
Warriors president Brandon Schneider said in a statement provided to Bay Area News Group: “Jen Millet has been an incredibly prominent and valuable figure in the Warriors organization over the last six years. Her accomplishments during this time have been nothing short of remarkable, including numerous sports business industry awards and accolades, the opening of an award-winning arena in Chase Center, helping establish the Warriors as a global brand and, of course, multiple NBA championships. We’re sad to see Jen leave, but this is an amazing opportunity for her to be an integral part of the Bay FC launch and the organization’s long term development.”
A San Francisco resident, Millet believes that experience, plus her prior experiences with companies such as Pandora, Stubhub, Rdio and LiveNation, will help her acclimate well to a brand-new sports team like Bay FC.
“Brady and I have talked about this idea that, for better or worse, we get to build it all — it’s empowering and it’s nerve-wracking at the same time,” Millet said. “That we get to build this and really have an impact on the culture and values of the organization, that’s huge for me.”
Bay FC will kick off its inaugural season in the National Women’s Soccer League next spring, with an expansion draft in the fall. The club has yet to announce where it will train and play its matches, though the team’s initial home stadium appears likely be San Jose’s PayPal Park.
