A day of exits and promotions for the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC

Driving the news: TSE, the parent organization of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC announced several executive-level changes Tuesday.

Why it matters: These changes come a few weeks before the Major League Soccer expansion franchise’s inaugural season kicks off. The team’s technical director Marc Nicholls, their second hire, left last month for the same role in Columbus.

Who is leaving: Tom Glick is no longer with TSE. He joined the organization in 2018 as Panthers team president before becoming TSE president.

• The team statement said he is “stepping aside to pursue other opportunities.” 

Who is getting promoted: Nick Kelly has been promoted to TSE CEO. Kelly, a former Anheuser-Busch InBev marketing exec, was hired in December 2020 as Charlotte FC’s inaugural president.

Other promotions include:

• Joe LaBue will replace Kelly as Charlotte FC president after 11 years with the Panthers. His most recent role was vice president of ticket sales and services. 
• Kristi Coleman has been named Panthers president. She’s been with the team for eight years, most recently serving as chief financial officer.

Of note: Coleman is the first woman with the Panthers to hold the title of team president, but the first woman to control day-to-day operations for the team was Tina Becker, who served as COO from December 2017 until July 2018 and ultimately resigned.

Who is joining: Nicole Tepper, wife of owner David Tepper, was named TSE’s chief administrative officer and will be responsible for “further engrain[ing] the organization in the Carolinas community,” the statement said. 

What we know: Kelly will still have a hand in soccer. Charlotte FC’s new president, Joe LaBue, will handle FC’s business side and report to Kelly. The team’s sporting director Zoran Krneta will continue to handle the technical side (on-field stuff) and report to Kelly.