The Chicago Bears have promoted Karen Murphy to a newly created position: executive vice president of stadium development and chief operating officer.
Murphy has been with the Bears since 1999 and for the last eight years has been the senior vice president of business strategy and chief financial officer.
The Bears said in a statement that in her new role Murphy will work with President and CEO Kevin Warren to “drive forward the Chicago Bears’ long-term vision and strategic objectives of developing a new, world-class stadium for Chicagoland.”
When Warren joined the Bears last spring, Murphy said she sat down and walked Warren through her vision and ideas. She presented “binders and binders of information” from her time with the organization.
“We really just clicked from that day on, and we’ve been talking all along about what could be my role?” Murphy said. “Once we got through the season, we started talking in earnest about how important it was to have me as one of his right-hand people to really run point on the stadium development project.”
The Bears are weighing options for a new stadium. They have proposed a $5 billion development for a closed-roof stadium and entertainment and housing complexes on the site of the old Arlington International Racecourse. But amid property tax disputes over the 326-acre Arlington Heights property they closed on last winter, the Bears have explored other options, including a site adjacent to Soldier Field, where they currently play.
Murphy said the Bears’ next step in the project is to continue to look at their best options “from the lens of how do we build the most state-of-the-art stadium for our fans? Because they deserve it.” She said she would provide institutional knowledge to Warren and his executive leadership team while also helping them to focus on “innovation, our brand health and global leadership.”
https://bancodeprofissionais.com/2024/01/31/what-to-know-about-the-chicago-bears-possible-move-from-soldier-field-and-which-other-suburbs-are-vying-for-the-stadium/
“Karen is an exceptional and innovative leader and has been a positive force for both the Chicago Bears and the National Football League,” Warren said in a statement. “When I joined the Chicago Bears in April of 2023, I had a primary focus on fortifying our front-office leadership team and cultivating a culture of exceptional talent, diversity, innovation and hard work. From the moment I met Karen, it was clear that she was an individual who would focus on being excellent every day and operate with a championship mindset. Karen will do an exceptional job as we work collaboratively on building a stadium for the Chicago Bears.”
Murphy said she has been energized by Warren’s focus on that “championship mindset.”
“I was just so naturally drawn to that,” she said. “He doesn’t accept anything but the goal of winning Super Bowls, that we’re going to bring a new stadium to our fans. And he does it in such a way that he energizes everyone. He brings the best out of everyone.”
Murphy, who is from Sun Prairie, Wis., began her career as an auditor for Ernst & Young and Disney, where she begged to be put on the ESPN and then-Anaheim Angels accounts, she previously told the Tribune. She joined the Bears as controller in 1999 and played a large role in the Bears’ 2003 renovation of Soldier Field and the Halas Hall renovation and expansion projects in 2013 and 2019.
“I didn’t honestly ever think I’d be building a second stadium in an NFL career, but I appreciate that I learned so much,” Murphy said. “These projects are complex. There are so many different stakeholders. I’m glad I get to use those skills again.”
The Bears said Murphy’s “visionary leadership has driven the club to leverage technology as a competitive advantage, integrate analytics into decision-making processes and prioritize the recruitment, development and retention of top-notch and diverse talent.” She launched the Bears’ business analytics department.
She will continue to lead across multiple departments — finance and accounting, stadium and event operations, building operations, information technology, purchasing and innovation, the Bears said.
Two years ago, Murphy spoke with the Tribune about her goal of becoming an NFL team president. Under Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, Murphy is the highest-ranking woman in the Bears organization. And she said Tuesday she proudly takes on being a leader for other women in sports.
“I want to continue to change the narrative. I don’t want that to be a story any longer,” Murphy said of being a top-level woman executive. “So I think it’s important for me that I am a mentor, that I can cultivate more female leaders in sports. And I really relish that role. Women reach out to me all the time: ‘How do you do it? How do you manage being a mom? How do you manage all the hours? You’re the only woman in a room for most meetings, how do you do it?’ I love sitting down and walking people through what my journey has looked like, and how I navigated that. For me to give that back, that’s leaving your mark.”
