Pacers Sports and Entertainment CEO Mel Raines has been named to Forbes 50 under 50, a list compiled with journalist Mika Brzezinski's Know Your Value initiative recognizing impactful women over 50.
Raines is actually one of 200 names on the total list, which was divided into four categories of 50 each -- lifestyle, impact, innovation and investment. Raines was placed in the lifestyle category, which was described as "visionaries reshaping entertainment and culture."
Raines, who was named CEO of Pacers Sports and Entertainment in June of 2024, is one of just two women who are active CEOs of NBA teams according to Raines' entry in the Forbes list. Raines oversees the Pacers and the Fever as well as the G League's Noblesville Boom and Gainbridge Fieldhouse. According to the Forbes story, the Pacers are valued at $4.2 billion and the Fever are valued at about $500 million, which makes them the third highest valued WNBA franchise.
Raines has been with Pacers Sports and Entertainment since 2015. She was president and chief operating officer before she was promoted to CEO upon the retirement of Rick Fuson in 2024. She oversaw the $400 million renovation of Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 2022, and is currently overseeing the plans for the Fever's training facility, set to be built in downtown Indianapolis prior to the 2027 WNBA season. A South Bend native and Indiana University graduate, Raines was part of the team that brought Super Bowl XLVI to Indianapolis in 2012. Prior to her entry into sports, she worked in politics and had roles in six Republican National Conventions and served on the staffs of Congresswoman Susan Brooks, Senator Dan Coats and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Raines is joined on the lifestyle list by numerous CEOs and several women in sports including former Olympian Janet Evans -- now the Chief Athlete Officer for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 -- and Kwanza Jones, the singer-songwriter who is purchasing the San Diego Padres along with her husband Jose Feliciano, which makes her the first Black woman to be a majority owner of a Major League Baseball team. Also on the list are famous women in entertainment, including Whoopi Goldberg, Demi Moore, Rosie Perez, Tracee Ellis Ross and CeCe Winans.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers' CEO Mel Raines named to Forbes 50 over 50
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