Per Team Release
After four successful seasons with Sounders FC, Tomozawa departs to become SEA 2026 Chief Executive Officer, assuming oversight of all administrative, commercial and operational elements of SEA 2026, as the world’s biggest sporting event comes to Seattle in just over three years’ time. While he is remaining part of the club as Sounders FC owner, Tomozawa is moving on from his day-to-day duties as the team’s President of Business Operations.
As part of the overall effort to bring the FIFA World Cup 2026™ to Seattle – the globe’s biggest sporting event that crowns an international champion of the world’s game every four years – Seattle’s successful bid was led by SEA 2026 and announced in June of last year. This local organizing committee is a multi-agency organization that represents years of hard work behind the scenes on behalf of several public and private entities that acted to ensure the Emerald City’s participation in this generational event. Co-Chaired by Knox and Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, the SEA 2026 Executive Committee guided the organization in executing its vision for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in Seattle, while also serving as ambassadors for the City of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
Alongside fellow SEA 2026 leaders Mendoza-Exstrom (Sounders FC COO) and David Young (Seattle Seahawks COO), Tomozawa recently took part in preparatory meetings at FIFA World Cup 2022™ in Qatar and he is no stranger to major international events. In 2016, he was selected by the LA 2024 / LA 2028 Exploratory Committee as Vice President & Executive Director of Partnerships and Board Relations, where he managed relationships with institutional partners and board members as the bid committee put forth its low-risk, high-tech and sustainable Olympic Games plan. The work of Tomozawa and his colleagues came to fruition, as Los Angeles was ultimately selected to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics.
In addition to his work with Sounders FC and the Los Angeles’ Olympic bid, Tomozawa is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the National Hockey League and Welsh club Swansea City of the English Football League. Additionally, Tomozawa previously served as a partner and Global Head of Foreign Exchange Sales at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for 17 years, before transitioning into civic affairs for the state of Hawaii. In the latter role, Tomozawa served as Executive Director of Business Development & Advisor to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, in addition to working as Vice Chair & Commissioner of Charter Schools for the State of Hawaii Department of Education.
