Niki Budalic has been promoted to general manager of soccer operations at Orlando City SC, the club announced on Wednesday.
Budalic, 38, has been with the club since the beginning of 2016 as an assistant general manager, working with president and founder Phil Rawlins. The team had been without an acting general manager since December 2015, when Paul McDonough left the team by mutual agreement.
"I want to congratulate Niki on this well-deserved promotion," Rawlins said. "I've known Niki for many years, and I am confident in his work ethic, player scouting intelligence and negotiating experience, as he leads soccer operations during an important year for us in our new home stadium."
Orlando City is set to begin its third year of competition in Major League Soccer in 2017.
"I am thankful for this opportunity to work even closer with our technical teams on player development and general team management," Budalic said. "I've learned a lot from Phil this past year, and along with our coaches, I will continue working hard this offseason to prepare for a new campaign, a new stadium and a fresh start to 2017 for our three teams."
The Canadian-born Budalic played professional soccer in North America and Europe, including a stint with the Montreal Impact, and will take over the duties of the role effectively immediately.