Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (born October 12, 1981) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the vice president of football operations for the Cleveland Browns from 2020 to 2021 and also served in various executive roles for the San Francisco 49ers from 2013 to 2019.
| Minnesota Vikings | |||
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| Position: | General manager | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Born: | October 12, 1981 Cherry Hill, New Jersey, U.S. | ||
| Career information | |||
| College: | Princeton | ||
| Career history | |||
| As an executive: | |||
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Early years
editA native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Adofo-Mensah attended and earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton University, where he would also walk-on to the basketball team.[1] He earned his master's degree in economics from Stanford University. Before entering the NFL, Adofo-Mensah had several ventures as a portfolio manager and commodities trader on Wall Street.[2]
Executive career
editSan Francisco 49ers
editIn 2013, Adofo-Mensah began his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, under general manager Trent Baalke, and head coach Jim Harbaugh following a chance meeting with the team’s executive vice president of football operations and NFL cap and contract manager Paraag Marathe. As manager of football research and development, Adofo-Mensah developed under Paraag, who is renowned for his cap management work in the NFL.[3]
In 2017, Adofo-Mensah was retained under new general manager John Lynch and was promoted to director of football research and development.
Cleveland Browns
editOn May 15, 2020, Adofo-Mensah was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their vice president of football operations under general manager Andrew Berry.[4][5]
Minnesota Vikings
editOn January 26, 2022, Adofo-Mensah was hired as the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ Ridenour, Marla (June 11, 2020). "Elevator encounter leads former Princeton basketball player, commodities trader to Browns' front office". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ Cronin, Courtney (January 18, 2022). "What to know about the two finalists for the Minnesota Vikings' general manager opening". ESPN. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ Harris, Drae (October 30, 2020). "Future NFL General Managers: Names to Watch, Dark Horses". The Draft Network. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ Trotter, Jake (May 15, 2020). "Browns hire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as vice president of football operations". ESPN. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ Gribble, Andrew (June 12, 2020). "New VP of Football Ops Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has seen 'what it takes to win,' ready to work collaboratively in Cleveland". Cleveland Browns. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ "Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Named New Vikings General Manager". Minnesota Vikings. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Shook, Nick (January 26, 2022). "Vikings finalize deal with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as new general manager". NFL.com. Retrieved January 26, 2022.