​Nadia RawlinsonCredit: Chan C. SmithNadia Rawlinson’s journey to co-owning the Chicago Sky has been anything but a straight path to the basket.While the Chicagoland native tells PEOPLE her decision to take the job in 2023 as operating chairman and co-owner of the WNBA franchise was a homecoming of sorts, it was also a landing spot the Silicon Valley veteran never saw coming.“I made the transition to sports coming from a human capital background, I think that was a hard left turn that no one predicted,” the 47-year-old WNBA executive says, laughing. “I was in the C-suites of tech companies running HR and then I go into sports?”Rawlinson has been named one of PEOPLE’s “Ones to Watch in Women’s Sports” in 2026, and it’s her outside-the-box approach to the workplace that has earned her recognition in recent years.Nadia RawlinsonCredit: Chan C. SmithAt first glance, Rawlinson’s surprising move to the WNBA from Silicon Valley might not appear linear. But after working in top-level positions like Chief People Officer for Slack and Chief Human Resources Officer for Live Nation Entertainment, Rawlinson says moving back to the Midwest and taking the job with the Sky was a career move that ultimately made sense.“Sports is fundamentally a human business, and I am a business executive that came from … building cultures, being a keeper of cultures, and really understanding: How do you get the most out of people towards a specific goal?” the Lake Forest, Ill., native points out.Nadia RawlinsonCredit: Chan C. SmithOver the last four seasons with the Sky, Rawlinson tells PEOPLE she’s grown “an even deeper love” and “commitment” for the game of basketball — a sport that dominated the environment around her while growing up in the 1990s Michael Jordan-era in Chicago, which she recalls as “an otherworldly time.”An otherwise studious high schooler, Rawlinson laughs that she once even ditched class to attend the Bulls’ 1997 NBA Championship parade, and even had her Sweet 16 birthday party at the United Center. So while working in basketball might not have been one of Rawlinson’s initial objectives, it’s been present in her life from a young age — something she took as a sign to join the Sky in 2023.“That’s also the universe talking to you, right? There are certain things you can think about that are like, oh, it’s all in the head, but part of it is heart, part of it is faith, and the universe coming together to you know make your aspirations and hopes come true,” Rawlinson tells PEOPLE. “And to be able to be a part of the team that’s in my hometown? I mean, I couldn’t have wished for anything better.”Nadia RawlinsonCredit: Chan C. SmithOn the court, Rawlinson is hoping to help the Sky get back to championship form after winning its first and only WNBA title in 2021. And beyond it, the Sky executive has worked to make the WNBA a safer space for its players, launching a first-of-its-kind partnership wit