Several moves followed, including the hirings of Meka White Morris, EVP of revenue and chief business officer; Krista Whitaker, EVP of legal and business affairs and chief legal officer; and Tanya Dreesen, senior vice president of strategy and global affairs and chief of staff.

The Bears also announced the promotions of Liz Geist to EVP of people and culture and chief human resources officer; Corey Ruff to SVP of strategy and analytics and chief of staff; and Paul Neurauter to SVP of operations and sustainability.

The new hires have a range of backgrounds, with Morris coming from the Minnesota Twins, Whitaker from the Miami Heat and Dreesen from the Minnesota Vikings.

And with four women in EVP roles — including Morris, who was one of the highest-ranking Black female executives in Major League Baseball — the Bears have striking diversity on their executive staff along with Warren and Poles, the team’s first Black president and general manager.

Warren said the staff shows “that talent comes in different shapes and sizes.” He hopes it sends a message “that you can be a woman at the Chicago Bears and thrive and be put in key positions and do a wonderful job. You can be a person of color, male or female, and thrive at the Chicago Bears.”

But he wants the focus to be on the skills and knowledge his new hires and promotions bring — and how that can drive the Bears to their goals.

“I really try to focus on talent,” Warren said. “And it happened to be Meka Morris was the most talented person. She’s a Black woman. That’s wonderful. But she’s the most talented person. It happened to be Karen Murphy, at this point in time in our life cycle, she’s the most talented person for us to work together on this stadium and be our chief operating officer. Is it great she’s been here for 25 years and she’s a female? Yes, wonderful.

“Yes, we’re diverse, but the thing I want people to say is that they’re incredibly talented and exceptional and they’re leaders, hard workers and passionate. … And people will really be talking about it when we cut the ribbon on our stadium and when we win the first of many Super Bowl trophies. That’s when they’ll say you can win with a diverse environment.”

Warren hopes the restructuring will help create and sustain a culture of success as the Bears bring in new ideas and processes. As he implements such changes at Halas Hall, he’s conscious of pushing the right buttons within an organization that has long valued history and loyalty.

He believes it helps that he and McCaskey have many of the same values.

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