Continuing the NFL's efforts to strengthen the pipeline of diverse candidates across all levels of the league, the NFL will host its Front Office & General Manager Accelerator Program from December 11-13 at the league meeting in Dallas.
The Green Bay Packers are excited to announce that Senior Personnel Executive Lee Gissendaner and Director of Pro Personnel Richmond Williams have been invited to participate in the Front Office & General Manager Accelerator.
This Accelerator is the fourth time the league has put on the event since it was launched in 2022 and follows the Coach Accelerator that was held May 2023 in Minneapolis.
In a refresh to the selection process, Clubs were asked to nominate individuals internal and external to their organizations, which were then vetted by an NFL selection committee.
42 highly qualified candidates of diverse backgrounds, across player personnel, football operations and assistant general manager disciplines were selected for the opportunity to build relationships with club owners and executives ahead of the hiring cycle.
In addition to networking, candidates will participate in a range of personal and professional development programming, including practice interviews led by former general managers and leadership sessions from outside experts. For the first time, personal development workshops have been included to focus on candidates overall wellness and mental preparedness when applying for roles.
Gissendaner is in his 23nd season overall with the Packers and his second in his current position. In 2022, he was selected to represent the team at the Stanford-NFL League of Leaders executive education program. Gissendaner previously worked as a player personnel executive for Green Bay from 2018-21. He spent three seasons as a national scout for the New York Jets (2015-17). Gissendaner originally joined Green Bay in 1998 as the team's representative in the National Scouting Service. In 2001, he was promoted to area scout, a position he worked in for the Packers for 14 years.
Williams is in his 16th season with the Packers and fifth as director of pro personnel after being elevated to his current position in June 2019. In May 2022, he represented the Packers at the NFL's inaugural Coach and Front Office Accelerator in Atlanta. Williams spent two seasons as a pro scout (2017-18) and five seasons as a college scout (2012-16) for the Packers. He also served as the team's National Football Scouting representative to the annual NFL Scouting Combine and authored evaluations of all prospective seniors in the Southwest region.
