Cleveland Browns make Canadian Catherine Raiche the highest-ranking female executive in the NFL

Courtesy: Philadelphia Eagles

The Cleveland Browns have hired Canadian Catherin Raiche as assistant general manager and vice-president of football operations, making her the highest-ranking female executive in the NFL.

A rising star among NFL front office executives, Raiche joins the Browns after serving as vice-president of player personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Montreal native was promoted to that role in May of 2021 after two seasons as the team’s football operations and player personnel coordinator.

Before joining the Eagles, the 33-year-old spent five years in the CFL working for the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes and held the title of assistant general manager with the Als.

Raîche was hired by Jim Popp, then the general manager of the Alouettes, as an unpaid intern in 2015. Following the season, Popp offered her a paid job as coordinator of football administration. When Kavis Reed replaced Popp before the 2017 season, he promoted Raîche to assistant GM responsible for daily operations, managing the salary cap, determining the value of players and handling contractual duties.

Throughout her career, Raiche has been involved in all areas of football operations and player personnel, including pro and college scouting, contract management, player and staff development, and football research. In Cleveland, she will help manage the day-to-day operations of the team and contribute to all strategic roster decisions across the player personnel and football ops verticals.

Raiche has a law degree from the University of Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Quebec Bar Association in 2012. She practised corporate and tax law for three years at the law firm Gascon & Associates but left to achieve her pro football dream.