The Quebecer with the extraordinary rise Catherine Raîche is already impressing her colleagues at the Cleveland Browns. According to head coach Keven Stefanski, it’s only a matter of time before she becomes general manager.
• Also read: Finding the balance between the role of the CEO’s assistant and that of the mother
The former Montreal Alouettes, who has been the Cleveland team’s assistant GM and vice president of soccer operations since last June, has had time to adjust to her new surroundings. Raîche, the star of a short Browns documentary airing this week, received compliments from everyone as part of the 2023 NFL Combine.
“She’s going to be general manager in the NFL. She is capable of that. That’s not a question for me, Stefanski said in this nine-minute video posted to YouTube. The impact on our game will be immeasurable. Young girls will see Cath as an example to follow.”
This is also Raîche’s first media appearance since he was hired as Andrew Berry’s right-hand man. While sharing Stefanski’s goals, the new mom wants to take the days one at a time.
“I want to be a manager one day. I’ve always set goals for myself in terms of my career, but what’s important is what I’m doing right now. I like to stay in the present,” she said.
Exemplary employee
Before joining the Browns, Raîche worked for the Philadelphia Eagles for three years. She left a nice business card when she was playing football. So much so that General Manager Howie Roseman is a bit bored.
“You can tell pretty quickly how smart she is, how much she loves football. She helped us create plans for the team and worked on very important files like a CEO would.”
“That’s why Andrew stole it from us,” he finished with a smile.
Berry agrees with his counterpart. By entrusting tasks to Raîche, he understood how much the Montreal native knew about football. The former lawyer completed her career change wonderfully in 2015.
“Catherine is one of the most talented employees I have had the pleasure of working with. There’s nothing she can’t do. She can judge, she can lead, she can lead. She’s very good at contract management, very smart and very strategic,” he explained.
Recording
Raîche said she was very well received by the NFL football community, which is still a male-dominated environment. In her opinion, diversity is the most beautiful and effective thing in today’s sports world.
“People like Andrew and Howie look beyond the person,” she said. We often talk about diversity and inclusion, but it’s about diversity of thought and experience [qui est importante]. […] Creativity and different approaches and qualities are now giving rise to new ideas.”