Atlanta’s MLS franchise is looking for a president. While there is no deadline, those running the team would like to find that person sooner rather than later.
“It’s a very exciting position for someone to want to come in and work for a terrific owner, putting on a quality product and build a successful franchise,” Falcons vice president of marketing Jim Smith said.
The team, scheduled to play in 2017, is owned by Arthur Blank, who also owns the Falcons. Until a president is hired who can begin to hire necessary front-office staff, Falcons’ personnel are doing what they can for the soccer team.
The firm Korn Ferry has been hired to facilitate the search. Smith said Korn Ferry is identifying potential candidates. Smith declined to identify any of them.
Blank is looking for an experienced leader whose skills and knowledge include understanding the sport of soccer, being a part of a successful organization and having the technical knowledge to understand MLS, which has a single-entity ownership structure that is different from other professional sports leagues.
The president will be responsible for developing the strategic vision for a world-class soccer team and organization. The person will lead the implementation of the academy teams, build a winning technical team, develop relationships in the regional soccer community, ensure continuous engagement with fans and enhance the team’s visibility and brand awareness.
The president’s short-term and long-term goals are similar to what Blank expects of the Falcons: Put a winning team on the field, provide a great game-day experience for fans and be actively and positively engaged in the community.
There are a lot of things that must be done, but developing and engaging supporters in the long ramp up between now and 2017 might be one of the most important.
“You need someone who believes in the vision of Major League Soccer, someone who understands supporters’ group and how they can build a fan base,” said Dan Courtemanche, executive vice president of communications for MLS.
The team seems to be off to a good start developing its fan base. Through its website, mlsatlanta2017.com, the franchise has more than 3,637 members of the Founder’s Club, who have pledged to purchase 10,510 season tickets.
The MLS team will be structured slightly different than the Falcons. In the latter, president Rich McKay and general manager Thomas Dimitroff report directly to Blank. In the soccer structure, the team expects that the coach/general manager will report to the president, who will report to Blank.
“We think this will be important to attracting the very best talent we can find to run the club,” Blank said through a spokeswoman.
Though the roles of president and coach/general manager are similar throughout MLS, the hierarchy for Atlanta’s team may be slightly different than how other teams are structured.
For example, New York City FC hired former U.S. men’s national star Claudio Reyna as its director of football (competitive side) and former Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti as the Chief Business Officer. They co-report to the team’s CEO and owners in Manchester, England.
About the Author
