Meet Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the newly appointed Vikings General Manager. A statement announcing his appointment said he will lead the team’s football operation after spending the past two seasons as the Vice President of Football Operations for the Cleveland Browns.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kwesi to the Minnesota Vikings. His unique background, variety of strong football experiences, vision for success and leadership presence immediately stood out to us,” said Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf. “Kwesi is naturally committed and driven to building the best teams through consensus building and the pursuit of information. We believe he will immediately make us better as a team and organization.”
“Kwesi has a clear philosophy on building a complementary football team,” said Vikings Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf. “His intelligence, progressive mindset and passion for the game, along with his ability to make thoughtful and intentional decisions, provide a tremendous foundation as he leads our football operations.”
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Profile of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Adofo-Mensah is a native of New Jersey but of Ghanaian heritage. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in finance and continued to Stanford to pursue a master’s degree in economics.
The 40-year-old worked as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and was Vice President/Executive Director at Credit Suisse as a commodities trader before working in the NFL in 2013 with San Francisco as a research and development specialist.
After seven seasons, he left the 49ers to work for Andrew Berry with the Browns. According to Vikings, Adofo-Mensah provided input for all roster and strategy decisions and assisted Berry and the football staff with overseeing and managing the day-to-day operations of the team.
Prior to being appointed Vikings General Manager, he had risen to become the vice president of football operations of the Browns. His latest appointment at Vikings makes him the 10th person in franchise history to hold a general manager title and/or carry out the duties of the team’s GM, according to ESPN.
“I am extremely thankful to the Wilf family and the Vikings organization for giving me the opportunity to lead our football operations and join this respected franchise,” Adofo-Mensah said. “There is so much to appreciate about this organization — an existing nucleus of talent on the roster, top-notch facilities, passionate fans and smart people throughout the building who are committed to winning. I look forward to partnering with our next head coach and our entire football operations staff to begin our work of bringing a Super Bowl to Vikings fans.”
Adofo-Mensah replaces Rick Spielman, who was fired at the conclusion of the 2021 season after a 16-year stint as the Vikings’ general manager that produced a 132-123-2 record, ESPN said.
