Another year, another leadership change at Bay FC.
The club announced Tuesday that it has hired Stacy Johns as CEO, effective March 2. Johns, 48, is chief business officer at MLS team Los Angeles Football Club and is also president of the board of directors of Grasshopper Club Zurich, the Swiss team that LAFC purchased in 2024.
Before working in soccer, Johns spent 16 years in financial roles with the Indianapolis Colts.
The hiring follows two exhilarating and tumultuous years for Bay FC, which debuted in 2024. The highs included making the playoffs in its maiden season and selling out a match at Oracle Park.
But Bay FC has also experienced near constant turnover in its front office. GM Lucy Rushton, the architect of the first-ever team, abruptly left the organization less than halfway through the first season. And after a disappointing Year 2, CEO Brady Stewart and head coach Albertin Montoya left by mutual consent.
At the center of these decisions are majority owners Sixth Street Partners, a global private equity firm based in San Francisco. Until recently, these sort of investors — who generally have to sell their assets within a fixed timeframe — have been barred from ownership by professional sports leagues.
Johns sat down with The Standard to talk about those concerns, her hiring process, and how she intends to approach her new job.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
You were in a good place with LAFC. Why take on a new job?
I got a front-row seat to Angel City FC’s growth trajectory, and we helped them sign their lease [at BMO Stadium]. That allowed me to see how the [National Women’s Soccer League] shaped itself in those years, and I have since gotten close to some people in that league, including Jess Smith, who is now with the Valkyries.
You know, I’ve been in men’s sports for over 20 years, growing the value of men’s sports franchises, which has been incredible. But as a woman, I wanted to really make a difference and have a long lasting legacy in my career that is dedicated to elevating the women’s game. I’ve been approached by several women’s teams over the years, but this one was incredibly interesting to me because of the founding four’s incredible vision and the backing of Sixth Street’s investment on top of that. The Bay Area’s market for women’s sports is incredible.
What was the hiring process like?
Ty Gold of [consulting firm] Spencer Stuart and I are old friends. He has known my vision for a long time. From the moment he called me, I started talking pretty quickly with Sixth Street. I know some people have differing opinions about private equity in sports, but the culture that the firm has is incredible and was felt by me instantly. From Jenny Walsh to Alan Waxman, I just really felt connected to what they had to say about how they do things and why this particular investment for them was so special and why they hold it so dearly.
Bay FC played in San Francisco for the first time in August and sold out Oracle Park. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
When did you first hear about the job and when did you get the offer?
I would say the first text came in late September, and I made the decision a couple of weeks ago, after thinking about it over the holidays.
How does working with Sixth Street influence how you think about planning at Bay FC?
I think of Sixth Street as purely additive. It’s like a bonus. Some people see it as threatening or changing of sports culture, but it also professionalizes it a bit more than what you might have seen in the past, in my opinion. [Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman] wants this to be like his other investments, where he’s a part of it and gets to enjoy it on match day, but he also allows for those he’s hired to really run and operate it the way you would any other sports team.
I had a lot of questions about [private equity] too, but I feel very comfortable and clear that this situation is only additive. They have so many experts internally across industries, whether that be government or real estate, things that we want to do one day, so it’s nice for us to have all of those resources in house.
What assurances did you need from ownership before taking the job?
I have a lot of experience and feel like I have a lot of good ideas. So I wanted to make sure that I had some autonomy to make decisions as I’ve had [at LAFC]. They’ve already done such an incredible job in this crazy startup phase. … They made it clear to me that they’ve had to be more involved than they would have liked to be, but moving forward, they wanted to bring someone in who has expertise, who can take what’s been built and take it to the next level.
What are your immediate biggest to-do’s?
They’ve already done incredible things, such as what they did at Oracle Park and what they’re doing at Treasure Island, but we have to grow revenue. Because if you don’t grow revenue, then you can’t pay players in the future and build additional resources for them. Driving revenue isn’t just going to be about saying it. It’s going to come down to creating a fan experience that people want to be at. Like, how do we create that FOMO?
We also want to take care of the players. Teach them how to be adults. Teach them how to do their banking, investing, or think about their careers post-playing. We want to create this place where everyone who crosses our path leaves in a better place. Because if we’re doing that, people will share with others and bring more back. The key will be how to unlock that.
You joined LAFC after it had two seasons under its belt, similar to Bay FC now. What lessons did you learn that you can bring to the new role?
Both clubs have incredible brands. I haven’t been in it fully, but from what I understand, there just needs to be a little bit more professionalism, organization, and process to help [Bay FC] work in the most efficient way.
This sounds weird to say, but I feel like I actually got to benefit from the pandemic. It allowed LAFC to hit pause and really dig into what had gone wrong and what went right. That was incredibly beneficial. I won’t quite get the luxury of that this time around, but I do have a sense of what I need to do, and since I’ve done it before, I’ll probably be a little bit faster.
I also don’t have to deal with a stadium yet, whereas if we did [own our own building], we would have to manage stadium staff and deal with how to use it when it’s offline. Not that this makes the job easier, but it has a little less scale.
Kay Cossington, right, head of women’s football at Sixth Street, hired Emma Coates, left, as Bay FC coach. | Source: Amber Pietz/The Standard
What did your experience with Grasshopper teach you about the global soccer landscape and the direction of women’s soccer?
Some of these clubs are more than 100 years old. So that experience made me excited for what we’re building. But it also made me slow down and realize that you can’t build these institutions overnight. LAFC also bought a fifth-division club in Austria that’s in the third division now, and I will say, of all the things, this will be the thing I’m sad to leave behind.
There’s much more multiclub ownership in the men’s space, so the women’s professional game is a little bit behind that. As you see the transfer market grow, I think you’ll see more women’s sports team owners pursue that also. Youth development in the women’s game also needs to be more organized. How we develop talent around the world in a salary-cap environment is going to be super difficult.
BIO
Age: 48
Hometown: Indianapolis
Family: Two daughters, one son, a partner, and two rescue dogs
Favorite Athlete: Mia Hamm
Non-sports obsession: Lagree fitness training
Best last thing I saw was: “Heated Rivalry”