Karina Herold

Chief Operating Officer

Karina Herold is a sports business executive, event operations expert, mentor, and teacher who values the development of students and young professionals through the unique power of the sports business. Herold specializes in building high performing teams and systems through relationship-building and operational efficiency and leads through a culture of trust, creativity, and collaboration. Herold is strategic and detail-oriented, and she manages multiple complex and cross-functional projects that drive economic, social, and community impact.

Herold currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at the Bay Area Host Committee, a 501c6 non-profit corporation focused on bringing world-class sports and entertainment events to the Bay Area that drive economic vitality, community-wide engagement, civic pride, and global recognition. Herold is responsible for all business operations of the company as well as event operations functions for the major sports events committed to the area including the 2025 NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center, 2026 Super Bowl LX and six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Levi’s Stadium.

In her previous role as Vice President of Major Events at the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC), Herold was responsible for operations, special events, legacy programming, workforce development, and impact programs. During her time at LASEC, she worked on several high-profile major events like Super Bowl LVI, College Football Playoff National Championship, and WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium and the 2023 USGA U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

Prior to joining LASEC in 2020, Herold served as the Deputy Director of Athletics at Pepperdine University and was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the athletics department including external operations, facilities operations, business operations and compliance as well as the student-facing units of academic support, leadership development, sports medicine, sports performance, mental health and diversity, equity and inclusion. As the department’s senior woman administrator (SWA), Herold served as one of Pepperdine’s representatives on the West Coast Conference’s Executive Council. Herold has proudly served as Tournament Manager for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Region Championship at STAPLES Center/Crypto.com Arena in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2024 (as a consultant).

In 2016, Herold was named the Division I Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA). The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at UMass Amherst named Herold an Alumni-on-the-Rise Award winner in 2017. She is an adjunct professor in the Sports Management Department at California Lutheran University and serves as the Executive Director of her family’s philanthropic foundation, the M3K Foundation.


Herold graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Sport Management and the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Business where she was a member of the women’s basketball team. Herold and her husband, Glen, have two children. Herold enjoys riding her Peloton, coaching her children in various sports (especially basketball), and teaching and mentoring college students interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry.