Golden State Valkyries
Jess Smith
President
Jess Smith is all about turning startups into forever mores. In 2020, she helped launch Angel City FC in a market already inundated with pro franchises and watched it climb into relevance. As head of revenue for four years, Smith had her hands in Angel City partnerships, ticketing, commerce, operations, data and analytics, broadcasting and strategy alliances. Now it’s on to her next launch: The WNBA’s expansion Golden State Valkyries. As president of a franchise that begins play in 2025, Smith has seen season-ticket deposits soar to a record 20,000 and struck deals with JPMorgan Chase and Kaiser Permanente as founding partners. A state-of-the-art practice facility is also coming soon in Oakland. — T.F.
