Angel City FC is completing a major executive housecleaning. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise has appointed former Zevia chief executive Amy Taylor as its new CEO, effective July 27. The move marks a total leadership overhaul for a club that is still actively working to wash away the stains of the heaviest sporting penalty in NWSL history. Taylor steps into the vacuum left by co-founder Julie Uhrman, who announced in January that she would transition into a background advisory role.
The need for corporate discipline in Los Angeles stems from a compliance nightmare that rocked the franchise. In October 2024, an NWSL investigation revealed that Angel City had circumvented salary-cap rules by entering into five undisclosed side agreements with players, pushing the club roughly $50,000 over the cap during the 2024 season. The league acted swiftly and ruthlessly, docking the team three points, handing down a $200,000 fine, and barring executives from player transactions. The sanctions—the steepest in league history—landed at the worst possible time, right as Willow Bay and Bob Iger were closing their record-shattering $250 million takeover of the club.
Taylor arrives with three decades of heavyweight experience spanning sports, consumer brands, and media. Before her five-year stint as CEO of beverage company Zevia, Taylor built her foundations in sports during the 1990s as the director of game operations for the Atlanta Hawks and working on the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. She then spent over two decades climbing the ranks at Red Bull, eventually becoming president and chief marketing officer for North America, where she also oversaw ownership interests in MLS side New York Red Bulls.
In a statement that read like a pointed acknowledgement of the club’s recent compliance failures, co-owner Willow Bay emphasized that Taylor brings the “governance experience and financial rigour” the club desperately needs as it scales. For Angel City, Taylor’s arrival is less about a change in corporate culture, and more about establishing one where rules are actually followed.