A Quiet Powerhouse in the NFL’s Backroom
At 34, Hedy Chen serves as the NFL’s Chief of Staff and Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, a role that places her at the intersection of finance, strategy and the league’s most consequential decisions.
Born in Beijing and educated at the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a political science degree, Chen later completed an MBA at Harvard Business School, equipping her with a blend of analytical rigor and strategic vision.
From Media Strategy to Commissioner’s Office
Before joining the NFL, she honed her skills in media strategy at Warner Bros. and Disney, experiences that later informed her entry into the league’s media strategy and business development team in 2020.
The following year, she became a linchpin in negotiating the NFL’s 10‑year, $110 billion media‑rights agreements, a negotiation she describes as the most demanding chapter of her career.
On the night before the deals were announced, Chen stayed up late on a Zoom call with Amazon, navigating the final hurdles that would seal the agreement.
In 2025 she moved into the commissioner’s office, assuming the title of Chief of Staff to Roger Goodell. Her mission is to offload routine operational tasks, giving Goodell the bandwidth to focus on the league’s long‑term vision.
Chen’s approach is deliberately pragmatic; she leverages her background in media and business to translate complex financial data into actionable insight, a skill that has earned Goodell’s trust.
Off the field, she is married to Andrew Jeanguenat and is expecting her first child in August, a personal milestone that underscores the balance she maintains between a high‑pressure career and family life.