Kim Ng – 2021 Gala Honoree
Kim Ng is the General Manager of Major League Baseball (MLB) team Miami Marlins. She made history in 2020 as the first woman to become a general manager of a men’s team in major North American sports, as well as the first female Asian-American and first East Asian-American general manager in the MLB. Her 30 years of experience working in baseball includes eight postseason appearances, three World Series titles and six League Championship Series appearances during her time as a club executive.
Ng’s career began as an intern with the Chicago White Sox after graduating from the University of Chicago. She was hired full-time in 1991 as a special projects analyst and was later promoted to Assistant Director of Baseball Operations. During her time with the team, she became the youngest person, and the first woman, to present a salary arbitration case in the major leagues and win. Ng left the White Sox in 1997 to work briefly in the American League as the Director of Waivers and Records, which required her to know all the Major League rules and help interpret them for General Managers. It was through this that she was recruited to work for the New York Yankees as an Assistant General Manager in 1998, achieving another first as the youngest person in the role at that time and second woman to ever hold the position.
Ng worked for the Yankees through the 2001 season after which she joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as Vice President and Assistant General Manager. She stayed with the Dodgers through the 2010 season and in 2011, joined Major League Baseball as Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations, becoming the highest-ranking woman working in the Commissioner’s Office. She held that position until the Marlins hired her in November 2020.
Throughout her career, Ng has been recognized for her many achievements. In 2015, Forbes ranked her #13 on its list of the most influential minorities in sports and #5 on its list of the most powerful women in sports. She was also named one of the most powerful women in sports by Adweek in 2017. In 2021, Ng was selected for the inaugural Forbes 50 Over 50, which is made up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators who are over the age of 50.