Heather Davis, who has served as the interim president for the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns for three months, has been named the chief executive officer who will oversee all business and operations aspects for the Timbers, the Thorns and Providence Park.
The club announced Wednesday morning that the woman who has been the acting president for the Timbers and the Thorns since October has been selected to lead the organization going forward.
Davis is one of five women who oversee MLS clubs as either president or CEO.
Davis joined the organization in May of 2022 as general counsel. She was named the organization’s interim president when owner Merritt Paulson stepped away from the CEO role on Oct. 11, 2022, after an investigation led by former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates found that systematic failures within the Thorns organization contributed to Paul Riley continuing to coach after he’d been accused of sexually coercing and emotionally abusing players.
“Heather has been nothing short of remarkable during her time here,” Paulson said in the club’s press release. “She joined us during a challenging period and has overseen significant positive change for the club. We had tremendous external interest in this position, but Heather has earned the trust of our staff and I could not be more pleased to remove ‘Interim’ from her title. She will be an outstanding leader for our organization.”
A native of Aloha who graduated from Hillsboro High and the University of Oregon, Davis spent nine years as an internal lawyer for the NFL, where she served as lead counsel for the NFL’s international operations. In that role, she led the negotiation for the league’s stadium partnership with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Davis also worked on major events including the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft the Pro Bowl and international games.
Before joining the NFL, Davis worked at law firms in New York and in Washington D.C.
From 1998 to 2001, Davis was a Special Assistant to the President and the Deputy Director of Scheduling during Bill Clinton’s second term as president.
She also worked as the scheduling director for Hillary Clinton from 2001-2002 while Clinton was in the Senate.
In the statement announcing her as CEO, Davis said:
“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.”
Other women in the president/CEO position for MLS clubs are Shari Ballard (Minnesota United),Kristen Bernert (Columbus Crew), Ishwara Glassman Chrein (Chicago Fire) and Danita Johnson (DC United).
Davis is to be introduced at a Thursday press conference.
"As a sports fan, working in sports journalism and telling the stories of athletes and teams from the school level to the elite/professional level is rewarding. Games are fun! So is meeting and introducing readers to driven, uniquely talented and often just plain fun humans. Sports bring together communities. Often, unexpected or unique connections are made through sports. To witness and to recount myriad dramas of human competition is a hoot.”
