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U.S. Soccer taps former WWE, ManU exec as CMO

In the U.K., Catherine Newman most recently served for two years as Manchester United’s first-ever CMOU.S. Soccer
U.S. Soccer has named former WWE and Manchester United marketer Catherine Newman to the position of CMO. Newman, who started in her new role yesterday, will be tasked with ensuring soccer’s national governing body capitalizes on the 2026 FIFA World Cup being held in North America. 

"We are running pretty hard and fast to the World Cup, so we need to make sure that both our partners and our fans are having the best experience they can and also that we are working closely with our players and making sure that they're represented to the best of our ability,” Newman told SBJ from U.S. Soccer’s pre-Olympic media event at the Nike House of Innovation in N.Y. 

Newman hails from Hertfordshire, England, a county just north of London. She moved to the U.S. in 2022 after accepting a position as WWE’s EVP/Marketing. She served in that role for more than a year, focusing on growing fan engagement and managing media partners to increase viewership. She departed WWE following Endeavor’s acquisition of the wrestling promotion closed last September.  
In the U.K., Newman most recently served for two years as Manchester United’s first-ever CMO, a role in which she helped drive adoption of the club’s mobile app and grow its digital footprint. Her previous experience is largely in the media realm, including at Times Newspapers, News Corp. and the Financial Times. 

Of her priorities at U.S. Soccer, Newman said, “What I want to be able to do is to grow our digital presence and to make sure that we can have a more in-depth and engaged relationship with our fans, both on and off the pitch." 

Newman is among a cohort of U.S. Soccer staff relocating to Atlanta later this month ahead of the official opening of the federation’s National Training Center and business headquarters in 2026. She will report to U.S. Soccer Chief Commercial Officer David Wright, who has built up the organization’s commercial capabilities since joining the organization in 2020. 

Newman’s hiring follows VP/Marketing Kay Bradley’s departure earlier this year to become CMO of the NWSL Chicago Red Stars. The federation retained CAA to lead its search.

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