Recapping TSE and Charlotte FC's executive and front office shakeups
By Ryan Donahue
Charlotte FC's owner David Tepper (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC)
Earlier this month, Tepper Sports & Entertainment (TSE) issued a statement acknowledging the organization's plan to restructure some of its key leadership positions to enhance collaboration and streamline its operations with changes effective immediately. Some key members of the shake-up include former Charlotte FC President Joe LaBue who will now move into a consultant role. Kristi Coleman was also announced as TSE’s Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for the success of all TSE operations, which includes being the executive head of Charlotte FC.
Before Coleman started in her new role, she previously served as President of the Carolina Panthers. She is expected to continue fulfilling this obligation as she will report directly to Tepper on both fronts. While Coleman is now the third CEO under TSE’s ownership to take the Crown forward superseding LaBue and Nick Kelly, Coleman has been with the Carolina Panthers for over 10 years, serving many positions from Controller to Director of Finance to CFO. Although success is not guaranteed, Coleman does possess a high degree of experience working within TSE and the city of Charlotte, which could make her an exciting fit for the upcoming role.
Coleman’s addition to the Charlotte shake-up is not the only change. TSE has added a new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) position and aligned all of its revenue departments underneath the position which has been filled by Eric Sudol.
TSE also plans to establish a Chief Business Officer (CBO) for Charlotte FC who will be responsible for leading all business operations on the soccer side of the company. The role is expected to fill many similar responsibilities that were previously occupied by LaBue. Both the CBO and CRO will report directly to Coleman. Charlotte FC's current Vice President of Business Operations, Natalee Jarrett will act as interim CBO until the new role is filled.
Some other notable shifts in the front office include David Nelson and Bonnie Almond who each were promoted to new roles as Vice President of Sales & Services and Vice President of Venue Operations.
While the changes to the front office are significant, TSE isn't stopping there. Former president of Crown Legacy FC’s Darrius Barnes who joined the club in 2021 also departed and the role is not expected to be filled. In 2023, Barnes was named 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year for his work leading Charlotte’s new MLS NEXT Pro team who excelled both on and off the field and was a key figure responsible for bringing in some of Charlotte’s key players including Patrick Agyemang, Andrew Privett, and Nikola Petkovic. With Barnes departing from the Crown Legacy, all eyes will be on the other key leaders in TSE for how they continue to build a strong pipeline environment for prospective young players of the quality that Barnes was able to create.
Further changes to Charlotte’s talent sourcing include Thomas Schaling, Director of Scouting who is departing the club to join PSV Eindhoven as Head of Recruitment. Schaling joined Charlotte from Eindhoven in 2020 where he previously served as an international senior scout. It is unclear at this time how Charlotte’s leadership intends to fill the vacancy. The club may plan to hire a fresh face to continue performing the same functions as Schaling but further structural changes or a new position have not been announced.
Ben Green, Charlotte FC International & Emerging Talent scout is also leaving for a new role with DC United. While at Charlotte, one of Green’s focuses was on college recruiting which was vital to the club’s early success in the SuperDraft. Players like Agyemang and Privett were identified in college before signing professional contracts and were drafted directly by Charlotte making Green’s impact significant on the early shaping of the club.
Additionally, Green’s work to identify players as part of the initial Crown Legacy roster build paved a pathway for players to move from the club’s NEXT Pro team to the first team which included four promotions in 2023. It is unconfirmed what the next steps for Charlotte will be regarding filling Green’s position.
While David Tepper has historically been controversial among Charlotte sports fans, it is evident that TSE is moving fast with its intent to reshape the club. For most supporters, these changes will likely be disregarded if the club continues to perform well next season but if instability is detected based on early season results, this restructuring could be another situation where Charlotte fans blame Tepper’s leadership. Especially since many of the changes made have been adding business-centric leaders while losing MLS experienced leaders and strong soccer minds.
