From the Front Lines of International Sports

María José Rodríguez is the Founder of Concordia Sport Advisory and former International Content & Strategy Manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With nearly a decade of experience driving international growth initiatives across global markets in sports. As the Steelers' International Content & Strategy Manager, María worked at the intersection of international strategy, content, partnerships, events, and agency collaboration — helping support the club's expansion efforts in emerging markets while navigating the realities of global fan growth, commercialization, and cross-cultural engagement.

Through firsthand experience, María José identified a challenge many organizations continue to face: international growth often underperforms not because of lack of ambition, but because of misaligned structures, unclear ownership, ineffective partner integration, and cultural disconnects across markets. Having worked closely across both internal stakeholders and external agencies, she developed a unique ability to bridge the operational and strategic gaps that often slow international success.

That experience inspired the creation of Concordia Sport Advisory — a bilingual (English/Spanish) boutique advisory firm designed to help teams, leagues, athletes, and agencies build stronger international foundations through smarter structure, strategic alignment, and culturally connected partnerships.

Known for her thoughtful, relationship-centered approach, María José believes international expansion should be collaborative, culturally informed, efficient, and genuinely rewarding for the organizations and people involved.

Her work and leadership have been recognized across the sports and business industries. María was honored by the Pittsburgh Business Times' 30 Under 30 in 2024 and featured by the NFL's Next Woman Up series, highlighting women shaping the future of professional football.

María José was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Communication from Texas Christian University and a Master of Science in Operational Excellence from Saint Vincent College. In 2025, she completed the Global Sports Management Certificate program at New York University and is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified. This combination of her international upbringing, strategic communication expertise, operational excellence training, global sports business education, and professional experience—paired with a genuine passion for leadership and relationship-building—shapes her approach to helping organizations create more aligned, efficient, and sustainable international operations.