Source: John Lamparski / Getty
Cathy Engelbert, who served as the Deloitte CEO since 2015, has been selected by the WNBA to serve as the League’s fifth president and first commissioner, Michelle Voepel of ESPNw reports. The announcement came Wednesday afternoon from sources close to the situation.
Engelbert will replace Lisa Borders, who resigned in October following the 2018 season. She has spent 33 years at Deloitte, a multinational accounting organization that works with Fortune 500 companies. Before her four-year stint as the first female CEO, Engelbert was chairman of audit subsidiary.
“I’m very excited to be doing something I have a huge passion for, and bring a business lens to the WNBA,” Engelbert said on SportsCenter. “These are world-class athletes, and the game of women’s basketball is on the rise. As we think about fan engagement, fan experience, player experience — these are all things I’ll be looking at once I transition into the role.”
The Berkeley Heights, NJ native attended Lehigh University where she captained both the basketball and lacrosse teams. With her experience in accounting and working with hundreds of professionals, Engelbert’s selection could usher in new business proposals for the basketball league. Along with it
The WNBA made headlines recently securing a television deal with CBS at the start of its 23rd season. In the new deal, CBS Sports Network will broadcast 40 games, starting with the Minnesota Lynx vs. Chicago Sky on Saturday, May 25.
“Through our partnership with CBS Sports Network, the WNBA is joining an elite lineup of premium sports programming,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We thank CBS Sports for making such a meaningful commitment to women’s basketball and for providing another platform to showcase the world-class athletes of the WNBA.”
Engelbert takes over as WNBA commissioner July 17.
