Atlanta United chief executive officer Garth Lagerwey will not return to the club, according to an Atlanta United spokesperson.
In October, Lagerwey and Atlanta United announced that the former Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders executive would take an indefinite leave of absence to “fully focus on medical treatment and recovery,” following a cancer diagnosis in July.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported on Monday that Lagerwey’s short tenure with Atlanta United had concluded. Lagerwey joined Atlanta United in November of 2022. The CEO role was a new one for the club and one that Lagerwey was certainly qualified to undertake.
The 52-year-old was part of three MLS Cup-winning teams in Salt Lake and Seattle. When he was hired by Atlanta, it felt like the right time and the right fit for both parties.
His background as a pragmatic squad builder, and his deep knowledge of the league’s intricate roster rules, were among the reasons why Lagerwey and Atlanta United came together when they did.
Atlanta needed an MLS guru-type leader inside their facility after the club’s initial success from 2017 to 2019 was halted by several mediocre seasons. It became a norm for the club to pay record fees for players who didn’t always live up to the investment. Lagerwey introduced a data-backed approach to scouting that was meant to coincide with a reevaluation of the club’s player development model and its designated player strategy.
“We came in and, as happens with regime change, I had a little bit different approach about what I wanted to do long term,” Lagerwey told The Athletic in 2023. “I have some idea of how to do this. I’m bringing some expertise to the table along with some soccer knowledge.”
While Lagerwey’s ambitious turnaround made strides internally from an organizational perspective, it struggled to manifest itself on the field during match days.
Atlanta finished in sixth (2023), ninth (2024), and 14th (2025) in the Eastern Conference during Lagerwey’s short stint. The upset of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami side in the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs stands as the main highlight during that stretch.
The addition of an NWSL club to Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank’s sporting enterprise (set to debut in 2028) has added increased responsibilities at the executive level. Per the club’s spokesperson, a global search is underway to fill Lagerwey’s position in an elevated role that will oversee both Atlanta United and the expansion NWSL side.
It will be interesting to see how Blank and AMB Sports and Entertainment envision this hire, one that will have a different title but a larger scope of work than Lagerwey’s role as CEO.
Experience in women’s professional sports should be high on the list of priorities, but that will not be the only point that Blank and his team will consider. Ultimately, the new hire will supervise two separate sporting entities with their own strategies and front offices.
Atlanta United chief soccer officer Chris Henderson, who Lagerwey hired in December of 2024, is well-placed to continue the men’s team rebuild under head coach Tata Martino.