WNBA: Successor needs thick skin— Commissioner Engelbert

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said on Saturday her successor will need to have "very thick skin" to navigate the job as she prepares to retire at the end of the year.

Engelbert announced her retirement last month after seven years in the role during which she guided the league through a historic labor agreement and massive franchise expansion.

"It's like a multidimensional role. You have to have very thick skin," Engelbert told a press conference in San Francisco, ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream.

"You have to have confidence that we can continue this growth trajectory and confidence in building relationships with players and agents and the Board of Governors, the owners and the stakeholders."

Engelbert said the league has hired a search firm to find her replacement and there has been a lot of interest in the job.

She also offered advice to her successor about the next steps for the league.

"When I came in, the first question I had was ... what's our strategy?" she said. "We did a very simple three-tiered strategy, which was player first, stakeholder success and fan engagement, fan experience.

"I would say that strategy has worked. And now you do have to evaluate whether there's other aspects of that where we really need to broaden our platform.

"I would tell the next commissioner that we've got to continue that and get into a sustained growth period at the league office. Then the teams are still in hypergrowth, and support the teams in their growth objectives because teams have grown a lot."

(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)