Nashville SC Promotes Lindsey Paola To Chief Operating Officer

/in /by

Lindsey Paola. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Nashville Soccer Club is promoting current Chief of Staff Lindsey Paola to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Paola will assume her new role on Aug. 1, and will continue to work under Chief Executive Officer & President of Nashville SC and Huntsville City Football Club Ian Ayre.

“In the past five years, Nashville SC has undergone significant evolution and growth, marking milestones with GEODIS Park, our Vanderbilt Health Training Center, our academy and Huntsville City FC in MLS NEXT Pro,” Ayre says. “As we enter our next phase of development, it’s critical to adapt our operational strategies. Lindsey has been instrumental in our journey, constantly enhancing her contributions and role. Her core skills are invaluable and highly complementary to my own. As such, it’s with great pleasure that we appoint her as Chief Operating Officer. With Lindsey assuming daily operational responsibilities, I, as President & CEO of Nashville SC and Huntsville City FC, can dedicate more focus on future growth, which aligns perfectly with our long-term objectives.”

As the new Chief Operating Officer, Paola will take the reins of the day-to-day general business operations at Nashville SC, encompassing operational approvals and human resource matters. She will also play a pivotal role in leading inter-departmental projects and ensuring the development of junior staff members. Additionally, Paola will work closely with Ayre to develop and implement operating policies, oversee compliance with Nashville SC, Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer rules, and represent the club as a public spokesperson.

“Lindsey has been an important part of the growth and success Nashville SC has experienced to date and I am certain she is going to continue to make a difference for our club as Chief Operating Officer,” says Nashville SC Lead Owner John Ingram. “Her energy, smarts and now experience make her a terrific fit for our future.”

Following two seasons as the club’s Senior Director of Club Administration, Paola was promoted to Chief of Staff in 2019 as the club graduated operations from the USL Championship to MLS. She currently oversees the administrative, IT, human resources, private and major events sales teams. Paola was also responsible for bringing the first concert, Shania Twain, to GEODIS Park as well as a variety of other non-MLS programming.

Before joining Nashville SC, she worked in the public sector and the federal government, including Frontier Communications, the United States Department of State, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Noblis. Paola started her career on the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign and from there worked on the 55th Presidential Inaugural Committee. She then worked in the White House Office of Vice Presidential Advance and the White House Counsel’s Office during the Bush-Cheney Administration.

Paola holds a Bachelor’s degree in political communications from The George Washington University and a Master’s degree in General Psychology from The Catholic University of America.

Steven Boero
Latest posts by Steven Boero (see all)