Lisa Baird

Lisa Baird is the Commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League. The NWSL is the premier professional women’s soccer league in the United States.

Previously, Baird served as Chief Marketing Officer for New York Public Radio until February 2020. Baird led the marketing and audience development, data, membership, sponsorship and communications teams.

Prior to this position, she was the Chief Marketing Officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee. As the USOC's Chief Marketing Officer, Baird directs the USOC's Sales and Marketing Division and oversees the development of innovative corporate sponsorship and licensing programs that deliver maximum return-on-investment to the USOC's family of Corporate Partners, while leveraging the unique attributes of the U.S. Olympic Team brand. A speaker exclusively represented by Leading Authorities, Lisa Baird addresses non-traditional marketing strategies and messaging.

Baird joined the USOC from Brand Value Advisors, a consultancy advising private equity, merger and acquisition, and venture capital clients. From 2005-07, Baird served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Consumer Products for the National Football League (NFL), where she directed the league's consumer products, direct marketing, e-commerce, entertainment marketing and advertising programs. She oversaw a portfolio of more than 150 licensees that delivered $3 billion in retail sales. Baird developed the league's first consumer generated ads for the 2006 Super Bowl, launched the league's first youth and Hispanic websites and helped develop NFLShop.com into one of the premier e-commerce sites in sports. She also launched the first virtual sports world for kids, NFLRushZone.com.

From 1999-2005, Baird worked at IBM, first as Vice President, Advertising and then as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing Communications. She led IBM's global marketing initiatives, including the development and execution of advertising, sports marketing, direct marketing, digital marketing and media campaigns in 70 countries. Additionally, she was responsible for the IBM e-business campaign which won the 2006 Grand Effie award as well as numerous advertising, direct marketing and web awards.

From 1996-99, Baird held a series of marketing positions at General Motors, including serving as Chief Creative Officer of e-gm. Prior to that, she worked in positions with leading consumer products companies including Bristol Meyers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

Baird is a graduate of Penn State University with both a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Business Administration degree. She was named one of the top Business-to-Business Marketers in 2004 and serves on the Penn State Center for Sports Business and Research Advisory Board. She and her husband, Bob Baird, live in Connecticut with their three children.