Dodgers Hire Caroline Perry Away From the Padres to Be Their COO

Perry, the highest-ranking woman in Padres history, replaces the retiring Bob Wolfe as the Dodgers' executive vice president.

Caroline Perry spent 16 seasons in the Padres' front office. She started as a team lawyer and finished as the highest-ranking woman the franchise has ever had. On Nov. 30, she goes to work for the Dodgers.

Monday's announcement from the Dodgers makes Perry the club's chief operating officer, with the rank of executive vice president, the Los Angeles Times reported. She takes over from Bob Wolfe, the longtime Dodgers executive who's retiring and moving into an advisory role. Royce Cohen, a Dodger since 2014, moved up too: he'd been the senior VP for business strategy and is now chief business officer, also with an executive VP title.

Perry learned the job on the other side of the rivalry. Born in San Diego, she was hired by the Padres in April 2011 as an associate general counsel and rose to COO in January 2023, ClutchPoints reported. In San Diego she oversaw ballpark operations, finance, legal and government affairs, and she worked on the renovation of Gallagher Square at Petco Park. The Times reported that she's one of three women who are COOs in Major League Baseball.

The job she's taking has had one occupant for a long time. Wolfe, 69, followed team president Stan Kasten to every one of his stops and came to the Dodgers with him in 2012, Dodgers Nation reported. Perry's statement on her hiring thanked Kasten, and also owner Mark Walter.

Walter is the rest of this offseason's front-office story. He's selling the Lakers and his share of Chelsea, the Premier League club, the Times reported in a column Monday. Sales of the Sparks and of his piece of the Cadillac Formula One team are being explored, too. Sportico first reported the Formula One talks Monday, according to the Times.

The Lakers sale isn't closed, but it's close. The Times reported Oct. 30 that the $12.5-billion deal had cleared its last open terms. The buyer is Josh Kushner.

The Formula One stake is the complication. In August, Walter's TWG Global holding company said the Dodgers were "not being sold" and that it wasn't considering getting out of the racing team, according to the Times column.

Walter told the California Post last week that he's keeping the Dodgers "no matter what," as the L.A. Times reported. In August, his company sounded just as sure about the race team.

Source: Los Angeles Times, retrieved November 3, 2026. Other sources: sports.yahoo.com, dodgersnation.com, Los Angeles Times (2).