Senior Vice President, Team Business Development
Paula Hanson was named Senior Vice President, WNBA Team Business Development, in 2003, and acts as a consultant to WNBA teams on all areas of their business operations.

Prior to her current position in Marketing & Team Business Operations, Hanson served as the WNBA's Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the league’s day-to-day business operations.

A 33-year veteran of professional basketball, Hanson joined the NBA in 1985 as Vice President of Team Services. In 1996 she was promoted to Senior Vice President, Team Operations, where she was responsible for directing the marketing, sales and community relations strategies of the NBA and WNBA teams. Under Hanson's direction, Team Operations established a number of public service initiatives, including the TeamUp Program to encourage youth volunteerism.

At the 1984 All-Star Game in Denver, Hanson assisted with the first NBA All-Star Weekend, where both the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest and Schick Legends Classic were established as part of the first All-Star Saturday. She was instrumental in the planning and execution of the All-Star Weekend, the NBA Mid-Year Marketing Meetings and the annual league meetings, as well as other team-related NBA events and programs.

Before joining the NBA, Hanson was an executive for the Denver Nuggets for 11 seasons. Her first position in 1974 was as the Promotions Director while the Nuggets were still members of the American Basketball Association (ABA). She was promoted to Vice President and Assistant General Manager for Business Operations, a position that she held from 1979-85. During Denver’s inaugural NBA season in 1976-77, Hanson led a season-ticket campaign that resulted in 12,000 season-ticket sales, which helped the Nuggets lead the league in attendance that season.

Hanson has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado. She lives in Denver.