Sports Business Executive & Women's Sports Advocate; President of Golden State Valkyries; WNBA Business Executive Leadership Award Winner

San Francisco, CA, USA

Jess Smith Biography

Jess Smith is a sports business executive whose career spans more than 18 years across professional leagues, including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, and the Women's National Basketball Association. Smith serves as president of the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the State University of New York and a Master of Science degree from Ohio University. Her academic background in journalism and sports administration has shaped a career focused on strategic storytelling, revenue innovation, and advancing women's sports.

Before joining the Valkyries, Smith worked for the Oakland Athletics in ticketing and sponsorship roles, then joined the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. She later served as vice president of sponsorship at the San Jose Earthquakes, where she secured the largest academy-specific jersey partnership in Major League Soccer history. Smith subsequently joined Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League as head of revenue, overseeing partnerships, ticketing, commerce, operations, data and analytics, broadcast, and strategic alliances. During her tenure, she renewed more than 90 percent of season ticket members and developed a partnership model integrating revenue with community impact. Her work at Angel City earned her recognition on the Sports Business Journal 40 Under 40 list and the Leaders in Sport Under 40 class.

As leader of the WNBA's first expansion franchise since 2008, Smith guided the Valkyries to become the first women's sports team valued at $1 billion. In Golden State's inaugural season, she assembled a full-time front office staff of more than 60 employees dedicated to advancing women's sports and fostering organizational growth. Under Smith's leadership, the Valkyries became the first team in women's sports history to surpass 20,000 season ticket deposits and the first WNBA team to reach over 10,000 season tickets. The Valkyries set all-time WNBA records for both average attendance and total attendance, selling out all 22 home regular-season games at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Smith's approach to partnership building draws on nearly two decades of experience in professional sports revenue operations. Upon joining the Valkyries, she paused all partnership discussions to develop a values-aligned sponsorship framework. She established a roster of founding partners, including CarMax, JP Morgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, OLLY, PG&E, Sephora, United Airlines, Rakuten, and Waymo. The Valkyries sold merchandise in all 50 states and 70 countries. The team set the WNBA expansion record with 23 wins and became the first expansion franchise to secure a playoff berth in its inaugural season.

Smith was named the inaugural recipient of the WNBA Business Executive Leadership Award presented by Deloitte. The award recognizes a WNBA team president who demonstrates leadership in business transformation, with evaluation across people and culture, revenue generation, stakeholder engagement, and innovation. Smith has also been reported as a candidate for the role of WNBA commissioner, reflecting her influence on the league's growth and the broader women's sports industry.

BOOK Jess Smith

Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 10/06/2026.

Jess Smith Videos

Dean's Speaker Series | Jess Smith & Ohemaa Nyanin

Dean's Speaker Series | Jess Smith & Ohemaa Nyanin

The Golden State Valkyries, an expansion team of the WNBA, will debut in the 2025 season. President Jess Smith oversees all WNBA business...

President Jess Smith: Golden State Valkyries

President Jess Smith: Golden State Valkyries

President Jess Smith: Golden State Valkyries Media Availability on September 23rd, 2025. For more exclusive content, subscribe to our YouTube...

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  • What topics does Jess Smith speak about?

    Jess Smith is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Basketball, Female Leadership, Influential Women, Sports, Women in Business
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Jess Smith is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Jess Smith for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Jess Smith generally travels from San Francisco, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Donna Orender, Molly Fletcher, Cathy Engelbert, Chiney Ogwumike and Michelle Marciniak. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Jess Smith for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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