Stacy Sonnenberg, Head of Goldman Sachs Global Sport Finance, Named as Fourth McCormack Scholar

The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management is proud to announce Stacy Sonnenberg, head of Global Sport Finance for Goldman Sachs, as its fourth McCormack Scholar. Sonnenberg will visit UMass Amherst on October 21 and 22 to meet with students and faculty and deliver a keynote lecture on sports industry leadership.

“We are honored to welcome Stacy to the Isenberg School of Management for what promises to be an inspiring and high energy two days of connection and mentorship,” said Jeffrey Pollack, professor of practice in the McCormack department and co-founder of the McCormack Scholars program. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Stacy over the years and know firsthand that her energy, intellect, and global perspective will have a powerful impact on our students.”

As head of Global Sports Finance at Goldman Sachs, Sonnenberg and her team raise debt for teams, leagues, facilities, and sports-adjacent businesses. Stacy has a passion for project finance and has worked on dozens of stadium and arena financings, including Yankee Stadium, Intuit Dome, and Spotify Camp Nou. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2003 as an associate and was named managing director in 2017.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Sonnenberg was a civil engineer for the City of New York's Parks and Recreation Department, where she oversaw large infrastructure projects and was responsible for over 70 facilities, including the old Yankee and Shea Stadiums. Stacy is a founding board member of the Natural Areas Conservancy. Stacy earned a BS in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Sonnenberg is the fourth McCormack Scholar and second this semester. The previous scholars are Li Li Leung, president and CEO, USA Gymnastics (fall 2025); Kim Davis, senior executive vice president, National Hockey League (fall 2024); and Jennifer Todd, senior vice president, Boston Celtics, and co-founder of The Basketball Tournament (fall 2024).

Launched in 2024, the McCormack Scholars program was established to honor and engage accomplished sports industry leaders and innovators. Each year, McCormack Scholars are invited to campus for a structured day of impact. Participants share their professional story for the McCormack Archive, meet with faculty to spotlight and discuss research relevant to the scholars’ interests, and give a keynote lecture to students and faculty on leadership, or any other topic for which the scholar feels a passion.

Industry leaders invited to participate in the McCormack Scholars program must have a proven track record of accomplishment, including but not limited to at least 10 years of impactful senior leadership, demonstrated innovation and creativity in their work, game-changing entrepreneurial achievement, and passion for advancing the sports industry. Scholars must also demonstrate a commitment to equity, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability. 

The McCormack Scholars program was conceived by Pollack; Will Norton, graduate program director and senior lecturer; and Nicole Melton, PhD, associate dean of undergraduate programs and former McCormack department chair. It is administered by Norton and Pollack as part of their popular graduate course “ProSem,” which is a dynamic professional development seminar conducted for McCormack master’s degree students and dual-degree MBA students.

Sonnenberg will visit campus October 21 and 22, 2025.