Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Karen Lynch’s CVS considers a break up, ladies boomers are flooding into the inventory market, and the job of WNBA commissioner is difficult because the league soars in reputation. Have a terrific Thursday!
– Play ball. Cathy Engelbert arrived on the WNBA in 2019 to a second she known as “existential.” The previous U.S. CEO of Deloitte, Engelbert had left a job overseeing $20 billion in income and 100,000 workers for a workers of 12 because the WNBA’s first commissioner. When the pandemic hit months after her arrival, 5 to 6 groups out of 12 within the league would have folded with no season, she estimated.
This yr, the WNBA has risen to highs that may have appeared near-impossible at that low level 4 years in the past: 21 common season video games with greater than 1 million viewers, 400,000 tickets bought in a single month, and a rush of sponsors—all pushed by a surge of curiosity in ladies’s sports activities and a famous person rookie class together with gamers Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
It’s an thrilling and high-stakes second for the 28-year-old league. And it’s one which has led to debate all through the sports activities world about how finest to satisfy this heightened curiosity, as I discover in a brand new characteristic for the October/November concern of Fortune.
Mackenzie Stroh for Fortune
As commissioner, Engelbert is tasked with a balancing act between serving gamers, house owners, followers, and the NBA, which owns 42% of the WNBA. That act has solely turn into extra delicate with the calls for of this season’s consideration—and accompanying frustrations. As agent Allison Galer places it: “Every metric is up—except player compensation.” Salaries are collectively bargained, so that they received’t change till 2026 on the earliest and nonetheless common $135,000. With thousands and thousands of recent viewers, too, has come elevated on-line trolling, hate, and racism—and debates over how the league and Engelbert have handled that actuality.
Regardless of the meteoric rise in media consideration, the WNBA remains to be a comparatively small enterprise. Its groups and leagues took in $200 million in income in 2023, and whereas ticket gross sales and sponsorships are up this yr, the true cash—from a brand new $200 million-a-year media deal—received’t begin coming in till 2026. The league and its groups are projected to lose $40 million this yr.
Within the meantime, the league and Engelbert are caught in a messy center—with a number of eyeballs and opinions, however not essentially the sources to totally meet this historic second within the methods the game’s many stakeholders are demanding.
Learn the total story right here.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s publication for and in regards to the world’s strongest ladies. Right this moment’s version was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe right here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
– It is not you, it is me. CVS, beneath CEO Karen Lynch, is reportedly contemplating numerous choices to show round its struggling enterprise, together with breaking apart into separate insurance coverage and retain models. CVS acquired insurer Aetna in 2018. If the corporate goes via with the separation plan, CVS would want to decide on which aspect its prescription drug supervisor Caremark would take. Axios
– Taking inventory. Older ladies are taking cues from their daughters and granddaughters by getting into the inventory market. A brand new Constancy examine finds that the share of boomer ladies who’re investing rose a staggering 23% from 2023 to 2024. Seventy-one % of all ladies say they put money into the inventory market, up from 60% final yr. Fortune
– Prepared for launch. Meng Wanzhou is again in cost at Huawei beneath the Chinese language telecommunications gear big’s rotating chair system. She’s anticipated to supervise the corporate’s subsequent main smartphone launch throughout her six-month time period. South China Morning Submit
– Spill the tea. Actress Kerry Washington has invested in Spill, a Black-owned social media platform based by Twitter’s former international head of editorial. Washington, an lively member of the Spill group and an angel investor in different early-stage firms, stated, “In a digital world where marginalized groups, especially Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA folks, rarely feel prioritized, Spill stands out.” TechCrunch
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Clue, a menstrual and reproductive well being monitoring app, appointed Rhiannon White as CEO. Beforehand, she was the corporate’s chief product officer.
Rome2Rio, Omio Group’s trip-planning platform, named Wendy Olson Killion chief govt officer. She beforehand served as Expedia’s international senior VP and GM.
SMCP, the guardian firm of manufacturers Sandro, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot, named Ida Simonsen president and chief govt officer for North America. Beforehand, she served as president at Stella McCartney.
Genesco, a footwear retailer, named Cassandra ‘Sandra’ Harris senior vp of finance and chief monetary officer. Most just lately, she was CFO at Artisan Design.
Newsweek appointed Megan Knapp as senior vp of occasions. Beforehand, she was president of occasions at Digiday.
Panasonic Properly, Panasonic’s wellness-focused enterprise and enterprise incubator, added Elise Neel as international head of technique and innovation, Sandy Anuras as international head of engineering and AI, Stacey Burr as international head of product administration, and Maggie Stanphill as international head of design. Beforehand, Neel was SVP, new enterprise incubation at Verizon. Anuras served as CTO at Sunrun. Beforehand at Google, Burr was GM/vp and Stanphill was senior UX director.
CNO Monetary Group, an insurance coverage, advantages, and monetary providers supplier, appointed Jess Turner to its board of administrators. She was govt vp and international head of open banking and API at Mastercard.
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PARTING WORDS
“To have someone look at you and say, ‘Hey, the thing that you think is weird about you, that’s actually what’s going to save you as a grown up.’ … To give that to someone else would be the honor of my life.”
— Actor and comic Kate McKinnon on her new youngsters’s e book, The Millicent Quibb Faculty of Etiquette for Younger Girls of Mad Science
