The Orioles hired Katie Griggs as president of business operations on Monday, making the former Seattle Mariners executive the first female president in franchise history.
Griggs, 42, will oversee the business side of the franchise, a responsibility previously held by former Chairman and CEO John Angelos before he sold the team to an ownership group led by David Rubenstein in January.
She resigned from her position with the Mariners on Friday, saying she wanted to move closer to her family on the East Coast. A North Carolina native and Dartmouth College graduate, she spent three years in Seattle running the club’s business operations, notably overseeing the hosting of the MLB All-Star Game and NHL Winter Classic less than a year apart at T-Mobile Park.
“Katie’s track record of success, diverse business experience and commitment to excellence made her the perfect fit to lead the next chapter of our Baltimore operations,” Rubenstein said in a statement. “The entire Orioles organization welcomes Katie as we continue to elevate every aspect of our business.”
Rubenstein said in May that he wanted to hire a new executive to run the business side of the team, saying, “I’m not going to fill that role that Mr. Angelos held.” After hiring a recruiting firm, Rubenstein and the Orioles landed on Griggs, who was named to the Sports Business Journal’s 2022 40 Under 40 honors. She is Rubenstein’s first big hire since taking over the Orioles.
Griggs is one of only two women in MLB history to hold a team president role, joining the Miami Marlins’ Caroline O’Connor, and joins an Orioles front office that also includes Eve Rosenbaum, one of baseball’s few female assistant general managers, and two female senior vice presidents.
“We are the most progressive team in baseball,” she said during her introductory press conference with the Mariners in 2021. Griggs also stressed the importance of thinking forward, holding two town hall meetings with fans in her first offseason to get feedback.
The Mariners hired Griggs to replace former president and CEO Kevin Mather, who resigned after comments made on a Zoom call with the Rotary Club were leaked on social media and sparked a fan backlash. Seattle split the CEO job into two positions, opting to have then-general manager Jerry Dipoto run the operations of the team and hand the business side over to Griggs.
Griggs, considered a rising star in the sports business industry, was home-schooled, earned his high school diploma at age 14, and enrolled at North Carolina State University before transferring to Dartmouth College at age 17. He earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA from Dartmouth, during which he spent two years working as a strategy consultant.
Prior to his time in Seattle, Griggs spent four years as chief business officer for MLS club Atlanta United FC, helping to grow the team into one of the most recognizable brands in American soccer, and also held leadership positions at Turner Broadcasting and Futures Sports & Entertainment.
“I am thrilled to join the Orioles organization,” Griggs said in a statement. “It is an incredible honor to support this historic franchise, the city of Baltimore and its passionate fans.”
“I look forward to contributing to the team’s success on and off the field.”
This story may be updated.
