Kim Stone
Chief Executive Officer
Washington Spirit
Kim Stone is the chief executive officer of the Washington Spirit, bringing nearly 30 years of leadership in professional sports and arena management. Since joining the Spirit in January 2024 as the club’s first CEO, Stone has overseen a period of remarkable growth, working alongside team owner Michele Kang to ambitiously rewrite the playbook for women’s sports and position the Spirit as one of the most forward-looking organizations in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Under Stone’s leadership, the Spirit set new benchmarks across business operations. The 2025 home opener drew 19,254 fans—the largest in team history—and marked the club’s third consecutive sellout at Audi Field. Attendance has risen 14 percent year-over-year, with average attendance up by 1,850 fans. The Spirit lead the league in year-over-year full season ticket revenue growth and maintain a 90 percent renewal rate. Corporate partnerships revenue grew 50 percent from 2024 to 2025, with 10 new partners joining the roster, bringing the total to 19. In recognition of her impact, Stone was named a 2025 Washington Business Journal Women Who Mean Business Award recipient.
Stone’s career has been defined by her ability to lead through complexity and deliver results at scale, consistently guiding organizations through periods of growth and transformation. Prior to the Spirit, she served as president of UBS Arena and executive vice president of Oak View Group East, overseeing business operations including corporate partnerships and premium ticketing. She previously led the launch of Chase Center in San Francisco as its first general manager, where she guided the venue to earn Sports Business Journal’s 2019 Venue of the Year and GBAC Star facility accreditation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stone spent 23 years with the NBA’s Miami HEAT, rising through the ranks to become executive vice president and general manager of American Airlines Arena (now Kaseya Center). She directed major events including four consecutive NBA Finals and two championship celebrations and led the arena to become the world’s first LEED Gold-certified sports and entertainment facility. Her leadership during the 2006 championship parade, coordinating dozens of agencies in just three days, cemented her reputation as a decisive and visionary operator.
Throughout her career, Stone has earned numerous accolades, including being named to Billboard’s Women in Music Top Executives, Pollstar, and Venues Now’s Women of Live in 2023. She has also been recognized as a Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Power Player in acility Management, a Woman of the Year by Women in Sports and Events (WISE), and an SBJ Game Changer.
A North Carolina native, Stone holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from the University of Miami. She serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Miami and was inducted into the University of North Carolina Public Relations Hall of Fame.
