Michele Kang

Yongmee Michele Kang (born 1 June 1959) is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, investor, and owner of multiple association football teams. She became vice president of the e-Business unit of Northrop Grumman in 2000. In 2008, she founded Cognosante, a medical technology company, and Cognosante Ventures, a venture capital firm. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Kang attended the Ewha Womans University. During her first year of business administration studies at the Sogang University in 1980, the student-led protest for democracy, the Gwangju Uprising, broke out, which prompted her to move to the United States. She entered the University of Chicago, and graduated in economics. She then obtained her master's degree in public and private management (MPPM) from the Yale School of Management. Since 2020, Kang has turned her attention to promoting and investing in women's football. In 2022, she became the majority owner of Washington Spirit, which competes in the NWSL; the London City Lionesses, which was promoted to the Women's Super League at the end of the 2024–25 season; and OL Lyonnes, formerly known as Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, which competes in the French Première Ligue and the record winner of UEFA Women's Champions League. In 2024, she established London-based Kynisca as an umbrella management group for her multi-club ownership structure. In 2025, she became president of Olympique Lyonnais (the men's club), and the majority owner in 2026. Kang has been described as "the first tycoon of women's football."