Alumna and former president and CEO of the Milwaukee Brewers received honor on October 6
Wendy Selig-Prieb, J82, former president and CEO of the Milwaukee Brewers, received the 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award presented by the Tufts Athletics Department on October 6.
The Distinguished Achievement Award was established to recognize extraordinary contributions to sports by individuals with Tufts and/or New England connections. Selig-Prieb joins luminaries such as Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach and New England Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft, as well as former Tufts president Larry Bacow and former student-athlete, coach and director of athletics Bill Gehling, A74, AG79, A05P.
Wendy Selig-Prieb“Wendy epitomizes the very best qualities of what our current students and our many alumni of Tufts University represent,” said John Morris, Tufts director of athletics. “She has achieved success as an innovative business leader and entrepreneur in multiple professions, helped break gender barriers, served as an advocate for women and children through her community service, and accomplished all of this by creating and fostering an inclusive, empowering culture for all under her leadership.”
After graduating magna cum laude from Tufts, she earned a J.D., magna cum laude, from Marquette University Law School in 1988. Selig-Prieb first worked as a corporate attorney for Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee.
From 1990 to 2004, Selig-Prieb had a 15-year career as general counsel, president and CEO, and then chairman of Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers. During her tenure, Selig-Prieb was the only female president and chairman of a MLB team. She led the development and design of the Brewers’ Miller Park, which was essential to ensuring the team’s survival and long-term success. Now among the elite franchises, the Brewers have drawn three million fans three times, a feat the team had never previously accomplished.
Selig-Prieb was a member of the baseball commissioner’s Initiative on Women and Baseball, and a driving force in efforts to bring more women and families to the game. As part of management’s labor committee, she was the first woman to represent Major League Baseball in its collective bargaining with the MLB Players Association (1994-1995). The Brewers also enhanced their community support through various initiatives under her leadership, including the creation of the Brewers Community Foundation. Her final achievement was leading the sale of the club to a group led by current owner Mark Attanasio.
In 2005, Selig-Prieb transitioned to a new role: entrepreneur. She started a business representing fashion retailer Worth New York; in 2012, she became the president of the Worth New York. Under her leadership, the business achieved double-digit growth. In 2015, she joined Worth’s board of directors.
