Ed Policy, an executive with significant sports and legal experience, is in his seventh year as the Green Bay Packers' chief operating officer and general counsel, a position he was promoted to on Jan. 17, 2018, after serving six years as the organization's vice president and general counsel.
Policy, who started with the Packers on Aug. 1, 2012, has an extensive background that includes work in professional football with the Arena Football League and the NFL, and broad legal experience with litigation, sports labor relations, sports facility construction and commercial real estate.
In addition to directing the organization's legal affairs, Policy represents the Packers at the NFL level on legal matters and leads the organization's communications, marketing and fan engagement, sales and business development, security, and development and hospitality departments.
Policy also leads the club's endeavors to develop Titletown, a 45-acre mixed-use real estate development immediately west of Lambeau Field. Titletown is maximizing its unique location to attract visitors, spur regional economic growth, offer amenities to residents and complement the greater Green Bay area's draw as an excellent location to live, work, play and visit on a year-round basis. A chief component of the development spearheaded by Policy is TitletownTech, a joint venture with Microsoft that consists of a venture capital fund, an innovation lab and a new-venture studio.
"Ed's been an outstanding leader for us and has shown tremendous growth in recent years," said Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy. "His work on Titletown has been excellent, and will be invaluable to the organization and community for years to come. I'm confident that Ed will continue to excel in his role."
Policy's professional sports experience includes nine years (2001-09) with the Arena Football League, including a period (2008-09) in which he served as commissioner, president and CEO. He also served as deputy commissioner and president (2006-08), chief operating officer (2004-06) and executive vice president-strategic league development and legal affairs (2001-04). During his tenure with the league, he oversaw all business and operations of the AFL, including strategic development, legal affairs, sales, finance, marketing, broadcasting, digital media, football operations, labor relations, events and human resources.
Policy also served as an executive consultant with the NFL (2009-10), a position in which he advised and assisted NFL senior management in strategic and development matters and also worked with senior executives on special projects within various business areas.
Before joining the Packers, the 53-year-old Policy served as president of a fully funded startup company developing a sports media and entertainment property. He had served in that role since September 2010.
Earlier in his professional career, Policy practiced law at Thompson Hine LLP in Cleveland (1999-2001), where his work included litigation, sports labor relations, sports facility construction and commercial real estate, and also at Heller Ehrman in San Francisco (1994-99). He is a member of the state bars of California and Ohio, and a member of the Sports Lawyers Association. He is a three-time recipient of the SportsBusiness Journal's Forty Under 40 award in recognition of his achievements in sports business, and a member of the Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame.
A Midwestern native, Policy was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree with honors in accounting with an emphasis in finance from the University of Notre Dame in 1993 and a law degree from Stanford University in 1996. In the Green Bay community, he serves on the boards of directors of the Brown County United Way, the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Green Bay YMCA, as well as on the community leadership council of Achieve Brown County.
He and his wife, Christy, have two sons, Carmen, 16, and Luke, 13.