Timbers name new club Chief Executive Officer

The Timbers have appointed Heather Davis as the club's new CEO this week. Davis was previously the interim CEO but has been rewarded for her hard work with the permanent position.

The off-field trials and tribulations of PTFC have been no secret in recent years. With scandal after scandal rocking both the Timbers and the Thorns, the PTFC faithful have suffered more than most fanbases in American soccer. Some of those scandals have forced the club to part ways with some senior executive members, including former president of business operations Mike Golub, and CSO Gavin Wilkinson in the Autumn. As a result, sweeping changes have been made to the front office landscape for the club.

Earlier this year the club announced that they had hired former player Ned Grabavoy to take over the CSO role permanently, making Grabavoy only the second person to hold that role since the club joined Major League Soccer. Continuing on with their new hires, the club announced this week that they have given the CEO role to Heather Davis on a permanent basis, as the former NFL employee was in the job on an interim basis in recent months.

“I am incredibly grateful for the support of our staff and for the confidence that Merritt [Paulson] has shown in me to lead this club,” Davis said in the club's official announcement. “It is an extraordinary privilege to be entrusted to lead such a storied and successful franchise that means so much to so many in my home state. We will continue to do the work to be a first-in-class club that everyone can be proud of.”

Davis will join a list of only four other women in Major League Soccer to hold the CEO or president of business operations role. On top of that, she will become one of the highest ranking female executives in the history of Oregon sports.