The 2024 recipients are: Ayala Deutsch, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, National Basketball Association; Kate Johnson, Director and Head of Global Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Google; Michele Kajiwara, Senior Vice President, Premium and Events Business, Crypto.com Arena & Peacock Theater; and Renee Chube Washington, Chief Operating Officer, USA Track & Field. 

WISE members across North America had the opportunity to nominate women for their achievements and significant contributions to the business of sport, and the honorees were selected by the organisation's National Board of Directors.

"WISE is thrilled to honour four women who embody what it means to be a leader in our industry. Ayala Deutsch, Kate Johnson, Michele Kajiwara, and Renee Chube Washington are not only leading the way, they are paving it for other women. We look forward to celebrating each of the honorees and the great work they do at our annual luncheon," said Kathleen Francis, National Board Chair and President of WISE.

-Ayala Deutsch, EVP and Deputy General Counsel, NBA

She is responsible for managing the commercial legal affairs and intellectual property affairs of the NBA and its affiliated leagues, including the global acquisition, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. She joined the NBA in 1998 and was appointed to her current position in January 2016, after serving as senior vice president and deputy general counsel and senior vice president and chief intellectual property counsel.  

A former associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York, Deutsch previously served on the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Public Advisory Committee, was an adjunct professor of sports law at Cardozo School of Law and was president of the International Trademark Association. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy at New York University School of Law where she received her J.D. in 1989.

-Kate Johnson, Director and Head of Global Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Google 

She is responsible for developing and executing Google's strategic approach to sports and entertainment marketing partnerships across its many business verticals. Prior to joining Google, she was vice president of global partnership marketing at Visa, where she oversaw the company's global partnership portfolio, including its partnerships with the IOC, FIFA, the NFL, and other verticals. Johnson began her career in sports marketing at IMG's Global Consulting Group, where she worked in New York, Vancouver and London, developing and implementing sponsorship marketing platforms for a variety of clients.

Recognised by Adweek as one of the Most Powerful Women in Sport in both 2022 and 2017, Johnson is also a recipient of the 2017 Sports Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award and the 2017 Leaders Under 40 Award. She is a member of the IOC Commission Member for Marketing and Digital Media and is a former professional rower and Olympic medallist. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Johnson is an advisor to the Women's Sports Foundation, the Gatorade Women's Board, the University of Michigan Sports Management Program, and the Youth Sports Alliance.

-Michele Kajiwara, SVP, Premium and Events Business, Crypto.com Arena & Peacock Theater 

Michele Kajiwara oversees more than 2,400 premium seats and more than 150 private and event suites at the Peacock Theater and Crypto.com Arena - home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. Both venues are owned and operated by AEG, the world's largest sports and entertainment company. She leads a team of world-class executives in all areas of sales, service, analytics, database marketing, hospitality and event management, and serves as the executive leader of several AEG employee network groups. including the AEG Women's Leadership Council, the AEG Global Partnerships Inclusion Council and the AEG Asian and Pacific Islander Employee Network Group.

Kajiwara joined AEG in 2003 and began her career in entertainment at New Regency Productions before moving to New York to join Chelsea Piers. She holds a BA from the University of Southern California and has served on the board of directors of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors for more than 10 years, including four as president. She is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including being named to Sports Business Journal's Game Changers and Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report.

-Renee Chube Washington, Chief Operating Officer, USA Track & Field:

Washington joined USATF in June 2012 and as COO, manages the organisation's record $40 million budget and 68-person national staff, and works with the CEO to develop and implement corporate strategy and direction. She has broad corporate oversight of all departments. Since her appointment as COO, USATF has been awarded six US Olympic Team Trials, secured the World Athletics Indoor and Outdoor Championships on US soil for the first time, and competed in three Olympic Games and ten World Championships. 

Prior to USATF, her career spanned a variety of corporate and government roles, including time with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, CICOA (a private, non-profit aging advocacy organization), as a staff attorney in the Indiana Attorney General's Office, and in various roles at the U.S. Department of Labor. Washington was named a 2017 Sports Business Journal Game Changer and a 2019 Cynopsis Top Women in Sports. A graduate of Georgetown University Law and Spelman College in Washington, D.C., she has been active in a variety of causes, including the Junior League of Indianapolis, Wishard Memorial Hospital, the Girl Scouts, the American Cancer Society Guild.