Catie Griggs

42, President of Business Operations, Orioles

The first big splash the Orioles’ new ownership group made after taking over the team this season wasn’t on the field. Catie Griggs officially joined their front office in August as the first female president of business operations in club history, relocating back to the East Coast after three years of overseeing the business side of the Seattle Mariners.

“I was extremely impressed by her,” Mike Elias, the Orioles’ executive vice president and general manager, said in July. “I can’t wait to work with her, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful, fresh look and addition of somebody who’s kind of been at the top of the field, best practices, and a lot of skill and vision. All accounts are we’re going to be making some heavy changes to the ballpark here over the next several years, and I think she’s going to be perfect for that.”

Griggs, a 2022 Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 honoree, led Seattle’s efforts to host both the MLB All-Star Game and the NHL Winter Classic at the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park. As the Orioles’ “Next Chapter” under David Rubenstein gets underway, Griggs will be one of the chief decision-makers guiding the page as it turns.

— Matt Weyrich