Excel Search & Advisory Leading Search for Next WNBA Commissioner
October 23, 2026 – The WNBA has begun the search for its next commissioner as the league prepares for a leadership transition at the end of the year. The NBA has retained Excel Search & Advisory, formerly Nolan Partners, to identify a successor to Cathy Engelbert, according to The Athletic. The assignment comes as the league continues to experience significant growth in viewership, attendance, sponsorship activity, franchise valuations, and expansion. For the WNBA, the search comes at a pivotal moment. Ms. Engelbert has said her successor will need to sustain the league’s growth while supporting teams that are themselves expanding rapidly.
As the process advances, Excel will be charged with helping the NBA assess candidates capable of leading the league through its next phase of growth and organizational development, The Athletic reported.
The NBA and Excel reached an agreement after the league evaluated roughly a dozen executive search firms. The selection of Excel represents the first formal step in the succession process, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver expected to play a key role in choosing the league’s next commissioner.
Ms. Engelbert announced in September that she plans to retire at the end of 2026 after seven years at the helm of the WNBA. She became the league’s first commissioner in 2019 after previously serving as CEO of Deloitte. During her tenure, the WNBA has seen significant growth in television viewership, digital engagement, attendance, merchandise sales, corporate partnerships, and franchise valuations, while also launching an expansion that is expected to increase the league from 12 to 18 teams by 2030.
The search is already underway. Ms. Engelbert recently said she has met with Excel and is receiving periodic updates as the firm begins reaching out to prospective candidates. She also noted that she and others have submitted potential names for consideration and that there has been substantial interest in the position.
Ms. Engelbert described the commissioner position as a multidimensional leadership role requiring confidence, resilience, and an ability to build relationships across the league’s broad stakeholder base. The next commissioner will inherit a league experiencing rapid commercial growth while also managing relationships with players, agents, team owners, the board of governors, and other key constituencies.
Sports Search Experience
Excel Search & Advisory is a partner for teams, clubs, leagues, governing bodies, venues, media companies, brands, and investors seeking best-in-class executive talent. Past completed searches include: President, Detroit Pistons; COO, Arizona Cardinals; chief revenue officer, Chelsea; and women’s head coach, Arsenal. Excel Search & Advisory also offers leadership consulting and culture optimization expertise, in partnership with change management firm Deutser, providing organizational solutions that build high-performing cultures.
Related: Investigative Diligence Moves Earlier in Executive Search
Chad Biagini serves as president of Excel Search & Advisory and has more than 20 years of experience in executive search and leadership consulting. According to the firm, he has recruited more than 400 senior executives across sports and entertainment globally. Paul Nolan, who founded Nolan Partners, serves as chair and brings extensive experience in executive search, human resources, and sports leadership.
millionways Brings a New Behavioral Intelligence Lever to Executive Recruiters
Hunt Scanlon Ventures has completed its investment in millionways, a New York-headquartered company that builds a behavioral intelligence layer of AI for human agent workforces, utilizing a proprietary Large Psychology Model called Thorsten-4. The platform focuses on understanding human signals, motives, and behavior patterns, with applications used across AI governance, executive hiring, talent management, and enterprise environments.
“millionways is a trailblazer in this newly emerging space,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO and co-founder of Hunt Scanlon Ventures and a senior advisor to company co-founders Martin Cordsmeier and Max Weidemann. “As investors, we see behavioral intelligence as a new layer of AI infrastructure, giving artificial intelligence a missing layer – the ability to interpret the human dynamics behind communication and decision-making. In our view, organizations that can better understand the convergence of leadership and human behavior patterns will create meaningful competitive advantage in the years ahead. Behavioral intelligence will become central to everyday enterprise decision-making,” he said.
Mr. Scanlon noted that artificial intelligence is already making big inroads and reshaping the human capital sector. “Organizations have embraced AI to automate workflows, improve performance, and generate insights on people. As those capabilities mature, the next phase is poised to move beyond productivity and efficiency toward improving the quality of human judgement,” he said. “Reducing this friction is an essential next step for businesses in general, but a critical one for the human capital ecosystem.”
The firm has previously worked with a range of professional sports organizations on senior leadership assignments. Hunt Scanlon previously reported that Nolan Partners assisted the Chicago Bears in recruiting Kevin Warren as president and CEO in 2023.
Past Rebranding
Last year, Excel Sports Management announced Excel Search & Advisory, an executive search and leadership consulting practice that formerly operated as Nolan Partners. Mr. Biagini, who has been with Nolan Partners for nearly 10 years and led the practice in the U.S., now leads all global business. Stewart King, who has been with Nolan Partners for nearly eight years, leads the international business out of the U.K. as managing director, international, Excel Search & Advisory. Mr. Nolan serves as executive chair.
Excel Sports Management is a sports agency representing top-tier talent, blue-chip brands and marquee properties. The agency has offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Geneva, and London.
Related: Executive Search Gets ‘On the Ball’ In Sports Recruitment
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
