The Giants and John Harbaugh made a significant addition to their front office Wednesday with the hiring of Dawn Aponte to the role of senior vice president of football operations and strategy, The Post confirmed.
Aponte becomes the highest-ranking female ever for the Giants on the football side of the franchise.
Aponte moves in as the Giants’ chief contract negotiator and salary cap strategist. Those roles for the past 27 years were filled by Kevin Abrams, who was let go shortly after Harbaugh was named the 21st head coach in Giants history.
A Staten Island native, Aponte has a long and varied resume in the NFL and is part of the Bill Parcells tree. She got her start in the league as an accounting intern with the Jets when Parcells was the general manager.
Aponte has also worked for the Browns and Dolphins. Her time in Miami coincided with Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen’s tenure with the Dolphins. Since 2017, Aponte worked for the NFL as the chief administrator of football operations.
Aponte has never previously worked with Harbaugh. She graduated from Delaware with a degree in accounting, received her M.B.A at Wagner College and her law degree from New York Law School.
In 2024, she interviewed for the Chargers’ general manager position and in 2025 she interviewed for the Jets’ GM job.