Caroline O' Connor and Kim Ng

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Caroline O'Connor and Kim Ng
Miami Marlins 

Friday, March 3, 2023 at 12:00 pm

The Forum Club of the Palm Beaches will present Caroline O'Connor and Kim Ng of the Miami Marlins on Friday, March 3, at Noon at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Just a few months ago, the Miami Marlins made history as the first major sports franchise to have women operating the entirety of team day-to-day business. O'Connor is the second woman to serve as president of a Major League Baseball team, and Ng is the first woman to hold the position of general manager in one of the four major sports leagues. 

Caroline O'Connor

Caroline O’Connor was appointed as President of Business Operations in November 2022, becoming the second current woman in Major League Baseball to ascend to the level. Now in her sixth year with the Marlins, she originally joined the organization in October of 2017 as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff before serving for three years as Chief Operating Officer.

O’Connor oversees all of the club’s business operations, including Sales, Partnerships, Marketing, Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Finance, Legal, Communications, Community Outreach, Technology, Security, Ballpark Facilities, and Special Projects. She guides the Marlins’ leadership team to execute organizational objectives and goals, focusing on innovative means to grow lines of business and create a model of sustained success.

Under O’Connor’s leadership, the Marlins developed strategic initiatives to increase revenue streams and exposure to Marlins baseball and the loanDepot park experience. Attendance at loanDepot park increased 12% during the 2022 season when compared to 2019 (the last time there was open seating year-round) – one of the largest increases in Major League Baseball last season – through a combination of Member base growth (season-ticket holders) and single-game ticket offers. This included the implementation of the popular $1 kids nights on Monday and the return of 4 for $44.

With a focus on establishing loanDepot park a year-round destination, O’Connor has ventured to bring major music acts and entertainment to the ballpark. This year will see the return of the World Baseball Classic in March with loanDepot park becoming the first-ever venue to host all three rounds, including the championship game. As the “Home of Béisbol,” loanDepot park will also host the Caribbean Series in February 2024, the first time the event will take place at a Major League Baseball facility.

Under O’Connor’s leadership, the Marlins have continued to expand their efforts to create a workforce consisting of fair treatment, respect, a sense of belonging and access to opportunity; while also establishing enhanced security measures in and around the ballpark and making additional investment in technology infrastructure. She has also focused on guiding initiatives to continue the organization’s investment in improving the Marlins’ baseball facilities in South Florida and the Dominican Republic, as well as providing impact with the youth and future leaders in our community. Employee Committee (DIBs, Employee Engagement and Innovation

O’Connor has played a significant role in guiding initiatives to continue the organization’s investment in improving the Marlins’ baseball facilities in South Florida and the Dominican Republic. Additionally, she has placed a focus on providing impact with the youth and future leaders in our community through outreach initiatives, including the Marlins’ signature tee-ball initiative, which has nearly doubled in size since it was established in 2019. 

O’Connor is a member of the Florida Council of 100 and sits on the Board of Directors of the Florida Sports Foundation, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade County. She was recognized in 2021 as an Influential Businesswoman by the South Florida Business Journal. Prior to joining the Marlins, O’Connor spent five years as Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and six years as Director at UBS Investment Bank. She graduated from Rutgers University and received her Master of Business Administration in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business. She and her husband reside in Coral Gables with their two sons.

Kim Ng

Kim Ng is now in her third season as General Manager, having joined the Marlins organization in November 2020 and becoming the fifth person in club history to hold the top position in baseball operations. She is the highest-ranking woman in baseball operations among the 30 MLB teams and was the first woman hired to the General Manager position by any of the professional men’s sports teams in the North American Major Leagues. In 2021, she was recognized as the Best Hire in sports by the Sports Business Journal, the Trailblazer of the Year by Baseball America, a Game Changer by the Asia Society and received the Billie Jean King Leadership Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation as well as the Lou Gehrig Sports Award from the ALS Association of Greater New York .

Ng owns nearly 35 years in Major League Baseball, including a combined 21 years of previous experience in the front offices for the Chicago White Sox (1990-96), New York Yankees (1998-2001), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2002-11). She has been an integral part of eight postseason appearances, including six League Championship series and three World Championships (all with the Yankees, ‘98-’00).

Ng joined the Marlins having spent her prior nine years as Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations with Major League Baseball and the highest ranking Asian-American female baseball executive. During her tenure at MLB, she directed international baseball operations, working with the front offices of the 30 Major League Clubs and many other baseball leagues and entities around the world. In this capacity, she led a team that set policy for and enforced international signing rules, established MLB’s first system for registering international players for signing and managed protocols for signing international players, raised the standards for international baseball academies, and negotiated agreements with international winter leagues. She also focused her efforts on growing the game of Baseball, leading MLB’s efforts to improve the quality of play, caliber of talent, and rate of participation for amateur baseball around the world while also supervising MLB playing initiatives for girls and women. Additionally, Ng served on MLB’s Diversity Pipeline Advisory Committee.

After beginning her baseball career as an intern with the White Sox in 1990, she ascended to Assistant Director of Baseball Operations. She then spent one season as the Director of Waivers and Records for the American League Office in 1997, before taking on the role as Assistant General Manager of the New York Yankees from 1998-2001. At the time Ng was hired, she was the youngest Assistant General Manager in Major League Baseball at 29 years of age, and only the second woman to attain the position with a Major League Baseball club.

During her nine-year tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers as Vice President and Assistant General Manager, Ng’s primary duties included assisting in all player transactions, trades, and free agent signings, while also overseeing the club’s arbitration efforts along with the pro scouting, medical, and video departments. In 2004, she served as the Club’s interim Farm Director, overseeing all player development.

Ng graduated from the University of Chicago, where she played softball and earned a degree in Public Policy. She has appeared on Forbes’ list of the Most Influential Minorities in Sports, Forbes’ list of the Most Influential Women in Sports, Adweek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports, included as one of InStyle Magazine’s Badass 50 Women, and included among the South Florida Business Journal’s Power Leaders. She also serves on the Anti-Defamation League’s Sports Leadership Council. Ng also took part in the 2021 Presidential Inauguration as part of the Celebrating America event.

About the Moderator
Keli Ferguson

Keli Ferguson, née Fulton, is an Emmy award-winning sports anchor for ESPN 106.3 on WPTV and FOX29 in West Palm Beach, FL. The move to the Palm Beach County duopoly is actually Ferguson's second stint with the TV station. From 2011-2014, Keli was the morning traffic and noon anchor for WPTV/FOX 29.

Before returning to West Palm Beach, Keli spent 16 months as an anchor/reporter at CSN Mid-Atlantic. Keli has also covered sports in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jackson, TN, Little Rock, AR, and New Orleans, LA where she covered the Saints run to the Super Bowl in 2009. 

When she is not on air or acting as the office manager at her husband's law firm, the Whittier College graduate spends time relaxing with her husband Edwin and their son Xavier and daughter Abby.

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