Woman have rendered themselves successful in every role thrown at them, from homemakers to politicians. Sports is not immune to their charm as well. Here’s a list of 10 most successful women in sports:
1. Lesa France Kennedy
Managing over 1,000 employees and helping drive an estimated $700 million in annual revenues, racing heiress Lesa France Kennedy has established herself as the most influential female in the business of sports. She is CEO of International Speedway Corporation and also plays a key role in steering the multibillion-dollar juggernaut that is NASCAR as a member of its board of directors.
2. Michele Roberts
The recently appointed executive director of the National Basketball Players Association. Roberts, 59, becomes the first women to head a major professional sports union in North America. She joins NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith as the highest-ranking African-American executive in sports. A celebrated trial lawyer, Roberts began her career as a public defender in Washington, D.C
3. Christine Driessen
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ESPN. She is responsible for overseeing the network’s recent multibillion-dollar negotiation of programming rights deals with the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Major League Baseball, Monday Night Football, as well as the College Football Playoff. Driessen was also instrumental in the launches of ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes and espnW as well as negotiating agreements for ESPN’s foreign investments.
4. Venus and Serena Williams
With a combined 117 Grand Slam titles between them, and more than $150m in combined career earnings, the Williams sisters have firmly cemented themselves as the top women’s sports icons of this generation.
5. Kim Ng
An American executive in Major League Baseball. She is currently the Senior Vice-President for Baseball Operations with Major League Baseball and the highest ranking Asian American female baseball.
6. Jeanie Buss
Co-Owner and President, Los Angeles Lakers, She is the most powerful women in basketball, Jeanie took over as Lakers team president after her father Jerry Buss passed away in 2013. A beloved figure throughout the City of Angels, Jeanie’s influence reaches far beyond the hardwood.
7. Dawn Hudson
EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, NFL she is the former CEO of PepsiCo North America, the NFL recently tapped Hudson to lead their marketing efforts. Now the highest ranking female in professional football, Hudson is tasked with helping expand the leagues $10 billion footprint onto a global scale.
8. Billie Jean King
A global icon, King parlayed her athletic success to found the Women’s Tennis Association, World TeamTennis and Women’s Sports Foundation. Voters agree that no person has done more for females in sports in the last 50 years than King.
9. Amy Brooks
Professional basketball’s highest ranking female executive, Amy Brooks heads the NBA’s vaunted TMBO unit, which has played a key role in the league’s seemingly exponential growth over the last few decades.
10. Val Ackerman
The WNBA’s first president, Ackerman became commissioner of the new Big East Conference in 2013 and is considered by many as college athletics most influential female.
Here’s more power to women in every field!!!
Source : Forbes