Mollie Marcoux Samaan is the ninth Commissioner of the LPGA since its formation in 1950. Her journey to the LPGA began at Princeton University where she was a two-sport varsity athlete in soccer and ice hockey before graduating cum laude in 1991. In her senior year, she was awarded the Otto Von Kienbusch Sportswoman of the Year Award given to the University’s top female athlete. Following graduation, Marcoux Samaan served as assistant athletic director, assistant dean of admissions and coach of girls’ ice hockey and soccer at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.
She then began a 19-year career with Chelsea Piers Management, the company that owns and operates two world-class sports complexes, Chelsea Piers New York and Chelsea Piers Connecticut, becoming executive vice president of Chelsea Piers’ 400,000-square-foot multi-venue complex in Connecticut, a facility with more than 300 employees, including professional athletes, Olympians, former collegiate coaches, former Division I athletes and sports industry leaders.
In 2014, Marcoux Samaan was recruited back to Princeton as the University’s Ford Family Director of Athletics. In her seven years as Director of Athletics, Princeton teams won a league-leading 65 Ivy League Championships and finished as high as 30th in the prestigious Learfield IMG Cup standings, which measures overall success of all Division I Athletics programs. During her tenure, Marcoux Samaan developed and executed a 5-year strategic plan that included the development of Princeton Tiger Performance, a holistic athletic performance initiative, and the design and development of over $200 million in facility renovations and new construction. In 2020-2021, Marcoux Samaan received the NACDA (National Association of College Directors of Athletics) Athletics Director of the Year Award.
A passionate golfer from a young age, Marcoux Samaan has taken that same strategic thinking to the world’s oldest independent professional women’s sports league. In her tenure as LPGA Commissioner, she defined the Association’s six strategic pillars and instituted a BeGREAT performance model. She has worked closely with players, board members, partners, and independent advisors to crystalize the core purpose and values of the LPGA, which includes a firm commitment to being the global leader in women’s golf and using that platform to inspire, empower and transform the lives of girls and women on and off the golf course.
With a partner-centered, team approach, the total prize fund across the LPGA Tour, which spans 35 events across 10 countries, now exceeds $125 million for the first time in history, representing a more than 75% increase over her tenure.
Marcoux Samaan, in partnership with Chevron, created The CoMission, a first-of-its-kind gathering of influential leaders, icons in the game and advocates of women’s golf, who meet annually during The Chevron Championship. The goal is accelerating change and leveling the playing field for women’s sports. Under her leadership, the LPGA also entered a sales alliance with Fenway Sports Management focused on developing next-level tour marketing partnerships. Marcoux Samaan also spearheaded a partnership with Hana Kuma, the brand enhancement and marketing company co-founded by tennis great Naomi Osaka, to help players maximize their individual brands.
As a collegiate athlete herself, Marcoux Samaan understands the importance of mental and physical wellness and, as such, implemented a holistic program focused on helping athletes reach peak performance. She increased player-support services and staff, increased athlete’s health insurance stipend, enhanced nutritional resources, improved strength and conditioning offerings, and improved the mental-health resources for all LPGA athletes and staff.
With back-to-back Solheim Cup years in 2023 and 2024, Marcoux Samaan remains committed to elevating that marquee match-play event in ways that broadens the reach of the LPGA. She has become a leader for all of women’s sports, assuming the spokeswoman mantel on issues related to equality and inclusion. She is a leading advocate for increasing investments and growing opportunities for women and girls in every field of sports and entertainment.
She and her husband, Andrew Samaan, reside in Florida and are the parents of Maddie, Catie and Drew.