Michele Kang

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Michele Kang
Michelle Kang 220917-F-LE393-0304.jpg
Kang at a Washington Spirit game in 2022
BornJune 1959 (age 65)
South Korea
Occupation(s)CEO and founder of Kynisca Sports International
Known forMajority owner of Washington Spirit
Majority owner of OL Féminin
Majority owner of London City Lionesses
OL Groupe board director
Eagle Football Holdings director
Kang (far right) at President Joe Biden's signing of an executive order on advancing women's health research and innovation, March 18, 2024, in the East Room of the White House P20240318AS-1670 (53610885680).jpg
Kang (far right) at President Joe Biden's signing of an executive order on advancing women's health research and innovation, March 18, 2024, in the East Room of the White House

Yongmee Michele Kang [1] [2] (born June 1959) [2] is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, investor, and owner of multiple professional sports teams. She is the founder and former CEO of Kynisca Sports International, an umbrella company for her multi-club ownership, [3] and founded and was CEO of Cognosante, a medical technology company, [4] and Cognosante Ventures, a venture capital firm. [1]

Contents

Under the umbrella company Kynisca, Kang is the majority owner of Washington Spirit, which competes in the United States National Women's Soccer League; of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, which competes in the French Première Ligue; [5] [6] and of the London City Lionesses, which competes in the English Women's Championship. [7]

Early life

Kang was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States on her own as a student. [8] She earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management. [8] [9]

The problem was that I have never been very good at accepting what I “should” or “should not” do, especially when it came to what a woman can or cannot do. With my father’s reinforcement, I believed I could do anything a boy could do. I wanted something different from the future than what was expected of me.

— Michele Kang [10]

Business career

Ernst & Young, Northrop Grumman

Kang was a partner with Ernst & Young specializing in the high-tech and telecommunications industries. [11] She joined Northrop Grumman in 2000 as vice president of their e-Business unit. She later worked as vice president and deputy general manager of the Global Information Technology Division. In 2003, she became vice president of their Health & Science Solutions unit. [11]

Cognosante

In 2008, Kang founded Cognosante "to disrupt and challenge the status quo in the U.S. healthcare system". [12] The corporation works with federal and state health agencies to "expand access to care, improve care delivery, address social determinants of health, and ensure safety and security through multi-faceted technology and customer experience (CX) solutions." [13] Kang has said that she is focused on developing a pipeline of opportunities that "will directly improve the lives of veterans, military spouses, persons with disabilities, seniors and residents in underserved communities." [14]

On April 15, 2024, Cognosante announced that it signed an agreement to be acquired by Accenture Federal Services for undisclosed financial terms. The transaction was completed in May 2024. [15]

Kynisca Sports International

On July 27, 2024, Kang announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International, Ltd., a London-based company that would serve as the umbrella group for her multi-team sports ownership and sports science efforts. The company was named after Cynisca of Sparta, the first woman to win an event in the ancient Olympic Games. The announcement claimed that the organization was the first international group dedicated to women's association football. [16] Kang also announced the launch of $50 million in seed and matching funding for the Kynisca Innovation Hub, a non-profit research initiative specialized in female sports training. [3]

In October 2024, Kang's Kynisca hired former FC Barcelona Femení sporting director and Royal Spanish Football Federation women's football head Markel Zubizarreta to be Kynisca's global sporting director, overseeing all of its component clubs. [17] [18]

On October 31, 2024, Kynisca led a $2 million seed funding round for IDA Sports, a company producing cleats and turf shoes for female athletes. [19]

Sports ownership

Washington Spirit

On December 29, 2020, Washington Spirit announced that Kang had joined the club's ownership group. [20] Later reports confirmed that the stake was 35 percent, equal to former majority owner Steve Baldwin's stake though Baldwin retained control over the team. [4] Following Spirit coach Richie Burke removing himself from coaching duties in August 2021 and subsequent media reports alleging abusive behavior by Burke toward players, Kang began pursuing majority and controlling ownership of the club. [21] [22]

After a protracted negotiation process, [23] [24] Baldwin and minority owner Bill Lynch agreed to sell the club to Kang. [22] Following league approvals, Kang officially became majority owner on March 30, 2022. [25] [26] Kang became the first woman of color to be the majority owner of an NWSL club. [21]

During the negotiations, the Spirit won the 2021 NWSL championship on November 20, 2021, defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2–1. [27]

On May 24, 2023, Kang's acquisition of the Spirit was named the Sports Business Journal 2023 deal of the year. [28]

Olympique Lyonnais

Kang is an OL Groupe board director and a director in Eagle Football Holdings, the investment vehicle of OL Groupe chairman John Textor. [2] On May 13, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin won the Coupe de France féminine 2–1 over Paris Saint-Germain, its 10th victory in the competition, on a brace by Ada Hegerberg. [29] Kang attended the match and raised the trophy with Lyon. [30]

On May 16, OL Groupe and Kang announced the formation of a separate entity that would be composed of her stake in the Spirit and OL Groupe's Olympique Lyon Féminin. OL Groupe would retain a 48% stake in the resulting new entity, and Kang would become the club's majority owner and CEO. [31] [32] [33] [34] [5] The transaction was approved by regulators in February 2024. [6]

London City Lionesses

On December 15, 2023, London City Lionesses announced that Kang had acquired the independent women's football club. [7] [35] Following the purchase, the Lionesses hired Jocelyn Prêcheur as its coach, moved the club to Hayes Lane in Bromley, and announced plans for a dedicated training center in Aylesford of Kent. [7] [18] The club's opening match of the 2024–25 Women's Championship, a 1–1 draw against Newcastle United W.F.C., drew a club-record 1,781 attendance. [36]

Baltimore Orioles

Kang is part of the ownership group that bought the Baltimore Orioles in January 2024. [37] [38]

Just Women's Sports

In June 2022, Kang was announced as an investor in Just Women's Sports, an American media company dedicated to women's sports. [39]

Investments

On July 30, 2024, Kang announced a donation to the USA Women's Rugby Sevens team of $4 million over four years. [40] [41] On November 19, she also announced a $30 million donation over five years to the United States Soccer Federation to be used specifically on funding training and talent identification camps for the federation's junior national teams, and developmental programs for female coaches and referees. The donation was the largest ever made to the federation's women's programs. [42]

Honors and awards

Personal life

Also a philanthropist, Kang created the Cognosante Foundation and is an active supporter of The Kennedy Center, [47] [48] which also was a front-of-jersey sponsor of the Washington Spirit in 2022. [49] She has served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Washington National Opera, Northern Virginia Technology Council, and Palm Beach Symphony. [50] She has served as Co-chair of the American Enterprise Institute National Council. [12]

In 2019, she was awarded the American Free Enterprise Medal by Palm Beach Atlantic University. [47]

Kang's $15 million sale of her condominium in Palm Beach, Florida was the third largest in Palm Beach history for an oceanfront apartment. [1] [51]

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 "AP 01 Appointment Of A Director". Companies House . Retrieved April 12, 2023.
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  12. 1 2 "Board of Directors". Northern Virginia Technology Council. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
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  15. ↑ Wakeman, Nick (2024-05-20). "Accenture Federal closes Cognosante deal". Washington Technology. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  16. ↑ "Michele Kang Announces Launch of Kynisca Sports International, LTD" (Press release). Washington Spirit. July 27, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
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  18. 1 2 "London City aim to reach WSL 'as fast as possible'". BBC Sport . October 9, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
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  24. ↑ "After months of friction, Michele Kang becomes controlling owner of Washington Spirit". NPR. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
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  26. ↑ "Spirit's Michele Kang becomes first woman of color to own NWSL team". The Washington Post. March 30, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Washington Spirit wins NWSL Championship over Chicago Red Stars in extra-time thriller". ESPN . Associated Press. November 20, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  28. 1 2 Mishra, Abishek (May 25, 2023). "American Businesswoman's $35 Million Investment in Trinity Rodman's Washington Spirit Trumps Phoenix Suns' $4 Billion Takeover to Win Major North American Award". EssentiallySports. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  29. ↑ Boutonnat, Victor (May 13, 2023). "Coupe de France féminine. Lyon prend le dessus sur le PSG et remporte sa 10e Coupe de France". Ouest-France . Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Spirit owner Michele Kang attends Lyon women's match, hoists trophy with team amid takeover reports". The Athletic . May 13, 2023.
  31. ↑ "OL Groupe and Michele Kang Form Global Multi-Team Women's Football Group" (Press release). Washington Spirit. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  32. ↑ Caron, Emily (May 16, 2023). "Spirit's Michele Kang adds Lyonnais Feminin to Women's Soccer Venture". Sportico . Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  33. ↑ Hess, AJ (May 16, 2023). "Spirit owner Michele Kang buys Lyon to build first international women's soccer empire". Fast Company . Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  34. ↑ Guillement, Hugo (May 16, 2023). "Michele Kang, nouvelle actionnaire majoritaire de l'OL féminin : " Il n'est pas question de changer l'OL "" [Michele Kang, new majority shareholder of OL Women: “There is no question of changing OL”]. L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Washington Spirit owner Kang buys London City Lionesses". ESPN . ESPN News Services. November 20, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  36. ↑ Garry, Tom (September 8, 2024). "London City Lionesses and Newcastle embark on 'beautiful' journey". The Guardian . Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  37. ↑ Cahill, Calder (2024-07-30). "USA Rugby announces transformative gift from Kynisca's Michele Kang". usa.rugby. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  38. ↑ Andrejev, Alex. "Michele Kang to donate $4 million to U.S. women's rugby". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  39. ↑ Tan, Gillian (June 9, 2022). "Billionaire Joe Tsai, Billie Jean King Back Just Women's Sports" . Bloomberg News . Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  40. ↑ Andrejev, Alex. "Michele Kang to donate $4 million to U.S. women's rugby". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  41. ↑ Cahill, Calder (2024-07-30). "USA Rugby announces transformative gift from Kynisca's Michele Kang". usa.rugby. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  42. ↑ Cattry, Pardeep (November 19, 2024). "Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang makes $30 million investment in U.S. Soccer women's and girls' programs". CBS Sports . Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  43. ↑ "2023 Horatio Alger Award Recipient". Horatio Alger Association. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  44. ↑ "EARN ABOUT THE 2022 LAUREATES: MICHELE KANG, THE WASHINGTON SPIRIT AND COGNOSANTE". Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  45. ↑ "EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners announced". Virginia Business. June 19, 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  46. ↑ "100 Women Leaders in STEM" (PDF). STEMConnector. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  47. 1 2 "University to Honor Health IT Entrepreneur on American Free Enterprise Day". Palm Beach Atlantic University. October 15, 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  48. ↑ "REACH Supporters". The Kennedy Center . Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  49. ↑ "Kennedy Center to sponsor NWSL Spirit jersey". Sports Business Journal . April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  50. ↑ "Y. Michele Kang". American Red Cross . Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  51. ↑ Hofheinz, Darrell (June 17, 2022). "UPDATE: $15M sale in Kirkland House is third-priciest beachfront condo sold in Palm Beach". Palm Beach Daily News . Retrieved April 12, 2023.
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