<\/p>\n
Michele Kang is a billionaire entrepreneur who has used her fortune to uplift women in sports. She built her business career by working in consulting for various <\/span>Fortune 500 companies<\/span><\/a> and eventually founded <\/span>Cognosante<\/span><\/a>, a healthcare information technology company, in 2008. <\/span>She ended up selling the company to <\/span>Accenture<\/span><\/a> in 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Good morning from Michele Kang and our Olympic Gold Medalist Trinity Rodman \ud83e\udd47\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 pic.twitter.com\/m90z159Lv0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) August 11, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Long before she started her business career, Kang was conquering the streets of Seoul, South Korea. She is the youngest of three daughters and grew up in a lively household. Every evening, her family ate dinner together where her parents encouraged Kang and her siblings to share about their day. Alongside her sisters, Kang led a very active life as a child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was what one could say, a tomboy,\u201d Kang said in an <\/span>interview with Forbes<\/span><\/a>. \u201cI loved playing outside and\u2026all kinds of sports.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout her childhood, Kang had many career goals, including becoming <\/span>an opera singer, a professional basketball player, and a teacher. Her ambition persisted as she figured out where she wanted to go to college.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Inspired by her father, Kang set her sights on moving to the United States to pursue a business degree. In 1950, Kang\u2019s father also relocated to America to receive a college education during the United States\u2019 <\/span>Japanese relocation efforts<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After some pushback from her parents, Kang was able to convince them to loan her the money to pay for her schooling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI went to my parents and told them that if they loaned me the money they were saving for my future wedding, it would pay for one year of college in America,\u201d Kang said to the <\/span>Horatio Alger Association<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> \u201cAfter that, I would find a way to pay for the rest of my education.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kang attended the prestigious University of Chicago, where she graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in Economics. She went on to get a master\u2019s degree in Public and Private Management at Yale University. After graduating from her master\u2019s program, Kang pursued a career in consulting, because to her, it was a multi-faceted way to get into business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her career skyrocketed when she founded her technology firm in 2008, but Kang is well known for her role in the development of womens soccer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kang was introduced to the world of professional women\u2019s soccer during the <\/span>FIFA Womens World Cup<\/span><\/a> in 2019. Some of her peers encouraged her to join the Washington Spirit\u2019s ownership group, and she officially joined in 2020. She later became the <\/span>Spirit\u2019s majority owner<\/span><\/a> in 2022 and the first woman of color to be a majority owner of a NWSL team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2023, she became a majority owner of the <\/span>OL Lyonnes<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>London City Lionesses<\/span><\/a>. Earlier this month, she also bought Lyonne\u2019s male counterpart team, <\/span>Lyon<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from her involvement in team ownership, Kang has led multiple efforts to increase visibility and resources for female athletes. In 2024, she launched <\/span>Kynsica<\/span><\/a>, which is a multi-team organization dedicated to fostering a winning culture, proving the commercial value of women\u2019s sports, and improving training for female athletes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, US Soccer announced the launch of the <\/span>Kang Women\u2019s Institute<\/span><\/a>. The institute is backed by Kang\u2019s investment and designed to advance womens sports through <\/span>\u201c<\/span>science, innovation, and elevated best practices.\u201d<\/span> She has also made impactful donations to multiple women\u2019s sports organizations, most notably, USA Women\u2019s Rugby.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kang hopes to continue advocating for womens sports and growing the world of womens professional soccer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping that I could do more and hopefully to move the needle, and it encourages other people to do the same and more,\u201d Kang said to <\/span>Forbes<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Featured image via Scott Taetsch (The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
_<\/h4>\n
GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS<\/h4>\n