Major League Soccer today announced two key leadership appointments:
- Charles Altchek has been named Executive Vice President, Club Performance & League Growth.
- Ali Curtis has been appointed President of MLS NEXT Pro and Executive Vice President of MLS Sporting Development.
In his new role, Altchek will lead the League’s Club Performance group, focusing on driving team business performance. The group works closely with club owners, chief business officers, and executives across MLS to identify strategies, share best practices, and implement performance metrics to drive long-term growth and value for the League and its teams. Altchek will also oversee club-related strategic transactions and consider potential markets in the event the League decides to pursue expansion in the future.
Altchek succeeds Chris McGowan, who departed MLS at the end of July to launch a new sports industry advisory firm.
Altchek brings more than a decade of experience at MLS, including his most recent position as President of MLS NEXT Pro. He led the new League’s successful launch in 2022 and led expansion from 21 teams to 29 clubs, with five more joining in the next few years. In addition to his role with MLS NEXT Pro, he has overseen the entire MLS player development pathway, which also includes MLS NEXT, the elite youth development platform for top boys' academies across the U.S. and Canada, and MLS Go, a recreational program designed to introduce young players to the game in local communities.
Altchek has also served as Executive Vice President of Major League Soccer, leading expansion strategy and playing a role in the establishment of nearly a third of the league’s teams. Altchek joined MLS’s Commissioner’s Office in 2014, after previously serving in business development roles with the New York Red Bulls and the MLB's New York Mets. He began his career with Goldman Sachs.
"Charles has played an integral role in the growth of Major League Soccer over the past decade," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
"His leadership in launching and expanding MLS NEXT Pro, his work with clubs across our ecosystem, and his experience at the team level make him uniquely qualified to lead our efforts in club performance. I’m confident he’ll bring the same focus and strategic vision to this role as we continue to drive growth across the League."
As President of MLS NEXT Pro, Curtis will lead all business and sporting operations for the league, furthering its mission to develop top-tier talent and create new opportunities for clubs, players, and communities. Curtis will report to MLS Executive Vice President, Sporting & Competition, Nelson Rodriguez.
Curtis, a seasoned executive with experience at the league and club levels, most recently served as Senior Vice President of Sporting Development at MLS. In that role, he led all aspects of MLS NEXT, oversaw the sporting operations of MLS NEXT Pro, and directed On-Field Innovation initiatives that helped advance the game across the MLS ecosystem. In his new role, he will continue to lead these areas and serve as a leader with MLS ADVANCE, the League’s initiative to increase representation of underrepresented candidates in sporting leadership roles across the MLS ecosystem.
A former All-American at Duke University and the second overall pick in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, Curtis played four seasons in MLS. After Curtis's playing career, he worked for JP Morgan before transitioning back to soccer when he joined MLS’s player department in 2007. He held executive leadership roles at MLS clubs when he served as Sporting Director of the New York Red Bulls from 2014-17 and General Manager of Toronto FC from 2019-21. He joined MLS NEXT Pro in 2022 as Senior Vice President of Competition and Operations.
“Having contributed to our sport as a player, a club executive, and a league executive, Ali has the experience, strategic mindset and vision to lead MLS NEXT Pro,” said Rodriguez.
“He has been instrumental in bringing innovative changes to MLS and is the ideal leader to guide MLS NEXT Pro into its next chapter of growth.”
