Lehigh alumna Cathy Engelbert '86 appointed first WNBA Commissioner
5/15/2019 1:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The WNBA is getting its first commissioner and it is Lehigh alumna and current Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert '86, officially announced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the league, she will join the WNBA on July 17 and report to Silver once her four-year term as CEO of Deloitte concludes. The 2019 WNBA season begins on May 24.
Engelbert graduated from Lehigh in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. She was a member of the Engineers' women's basketball and lacrosse teams and served as a senior captain for both squads. On the court, she played for former Lehigh coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw, helping lead Lehigh to an East Coast Conference title in 1986 and was a Second Team All-Conference honoree in 1985. She finished her career with 861 career points, an average of 8.8 points per game, averaged 2.9 rebounds per game and held a career field goal percentage of .498.
After graduating from Lehigh, she went to work for Deloitte in New York City, rising through the ranks before being named the company's CEO in 2015. Deloitte is one of the "Big Four" accounting agencies, providing audit, tax and consulting services to more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. She has been recognized in many publications for her work including being named one of Fortune's Most Powerful Women three years in a row, has made Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards list of 50 Highest Rated CEOs, been recognized as one of New York's 50 Most Power Women by Crain's, and was named on Working Mother's 50 Most Powerful Moms. She is the first female to be appointed CEO of a Big Four firm.
"We're very excited and proud of Cathy's appointment as commissioner to the WNBA," said head coach Sue Troyan. "In Cathy, the WNBA is getting an outstanding leader with a proven business mind, a competitor who understands how to handle challenges in a team environment and a women who will empower and lead people to be their best."
Engelbert came back to Bethlehem to deliver Lehigh's commencement address in 2018.
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According to the league, she will join the WNBA on July 17 and report to Silver once her four-year term as CEO of Deloitte concludes. The 2019 WNBA season begins on May 24.
Engelbert graduated from Lehigh in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. She was a member of the Engineers' women's basketball and lacrosse teams and served as a senior captain for both squads. On the court, she played for former Lehigh coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw, helping lead Lehigh to an East Coast Conference title in 1986 and was a Second Team All-Conference honoree in 1985. She finished her career with 861 career points, an average of 8.8 points per game, averaged 2.9 rebounds per game and held a career field goal percentage of .498.
After graduating from Lehigh, she went to work for Deloitte in New York City, rising through the ranks before being named the company's CEO in 2015. Deloitte is one of the "Big Four" accounting agencies, providing audit, tax and consulting services to more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. She has been recognized in many publications for her work including being named one of Fortune's Most Powerful Women three years in a row, has made Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards list of 50 Highest Rated CEOs, been recognized as one of New York's 50 Most Power Women by Crain's, and was named on Working Mother's 50 Most Powerful Moms. She is the first female to be appointed CEO of a Big Four firm.
"We're very excited and proud of Cathy's appointment as commissioner to the WNBA," said head coach Sue Troyan. "In Cathy, the WNBA is getting an outstanding leader with a proven business mind, a competitor who understands how to handle challenges in a team environment and a women who will empower and lead people to be their best."
Engelbert came back to Bethlehem to deliver Lehigh's commencement address in 2018.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
A message from Cathy Engelbert, the first-ever WNBA Commissioner 🗣 pic.twitter.com/Nbw7mW0MJW
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 15, 2019
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