Bay FC hires new CEO Johns from LAFC

After hiring Emma Coates this offseason to direct the action on the field, Bay FC has hired a new mind to manage its business operations.

Stacy Johns is joining the club as its new CEO, Bay FC announced Tuesday.

Johns is currently the chief business officer at Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer and will officially join Bay on March 2, filling a role vacated when Brady Stewart stepped down as CEO in October ahead of the season finale.

Johns credited Bay FC’s starry Founding Four and the NWSL’s growth trajectory for making this a palatable leap to take now. Another soccer club’s start-up success also had something to do with it.

“I got this incredible front-row seat to watching and being a part of launching Angel City as a tenant in our building,” Johns said in an interview last week. “…I kind of had this itch for one day, if something great comes along in women’s football, I’m going to have to think about it.”

She’ll be entering a stadium situation somewhat similar to what she saw at BMO Stadium just outside LA’s downtown, except she’ll be on the other side, as Bay is a tenant of the Earthquakes at PayPal Park.

“My past experience will hopefully only allow me to be creative with how we can sell things together, how we can possible help each other, how we can market things together,” she said.

Bay FC’s announcement of Johns noted that she was involved in the naming rights deal for BMO Stadium, the largest in MLS history.

Along with Coates, Johns will seek to help Bay bounce back from a down second season, finishing second-to-last in the NWSL with 20 points from 26 games. Bay’s attendance took a step forward, but only because of a record-breaking match at Oracle Park. Johns acknowledged sophomore slumps are common for expansion franchises.

“I think you’re carrying on this trajectory and you’re not really spending the time sitting back, like what worked, what didn’t work, what can we make better, how can we improve?” she said.

Johns, an Indiana native, began her career in pro sports working for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. Soccer and LAFC enticed her after working inside the NFL’s “commercial machine” because it required experimentation and risk-taking, surely a familiar perspective to some in Silicon Valley.

Bay’s third season kicks off March 14 at 3:30 p.m. against the expansion Denver Summit.