Turnkey Search Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast

Brad Griffith, Founder and CEO of Gametime, is here talking about the origins of Gametime and how his experience with early mobile apps for sport ticketing led him to create the application. In 2012, after nearly missing a San Francisco Giants game because he didn't have access to print his tickets, Brad reimagined a simpler process for buying tickets on the go. He set out make it easier for people to save time, live experiences, and make real world connections and in a mobile world. He says that the most rewarding experience has been focusing on the building, honing the details of the application, and optimizing the usage for his demographic. From a teamwork perspective, he is most excited about creating a talented fast moving team that is really excited about what they are building. He encourages people that are thinking about starting something to go for it but be forewarned that it's not easy and takes a lot of work! This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners o

Erin Schneiders, Vice President of Venues for the NBA, was fortunate to know at a young age that she wanted to be in sports, it just took her some time to figure out exactly where. Her conviction was put to the test when she took a design position at the Toyota Center, working in construction and design. As it turned out, that decision changed the course of her professional life. Taking a job that she didn't know existed and wasn't sure she was good at provided the starting point for her success and the reason she is where she is today. From there she jumped into numerous projects without hesitation. Erin believes that every person is a product of their upbringing and environment. As the youngest of four, she felt she had to work harder to keep up with the rest of her family. She always felt she had to be "more than" in order to find her voice.  This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of Sports Business Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to y

Bryce Blum, Founding Partner at ESG Law and Executive Vice President Esports for Catalyst Sports and Media, recognizes that there are a few people but for whom he would not be where he is today. Two of his colleagues from his early days at Foster Pepper Law, Steve Fisher and Matt Hooper, went to bat for him as a junior associate working with clients in what was then an industry that no one had ever heard of. They gave him a chance internally as an associate to grow in that role and the esports and gaming fields. In addition, Stephen Ellis, his first client in esports, and a former player spoke up for him,believed in him, and basically fast tracked his reputation in the industry. One thing Bryce would advise people looking to enter esports, particularly coming from a traditional sports background, is to really do your homework and not attempt to apply traditional sports and entertainment practices to this emerging gaming space. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with win

Court Jeske, CEO and minority owner at the Nashville Soccer Club, realizes that the most important career decision that he made was the move from League and Federation to Club. After many years in the sports industry, he knew instinctively that it was time for the next challenge. The opportunity to build a club from the ground up, in a sport that he loves, and in a place like Nashville, made for the perfect formula to make that switch. Court advises that the most essential thing, particularly in management, is the ability to take the long view on things and step back to see the long-term chances for growth. He has learned that as you grow an organization, you make the decisions that you make in order to stay on course and ultimately lead your group to success. Court would encourage people to pursue what they really want to do, to cast a wide net, and realize that even and if it is not your dream job from the get-go, the long-term opportunity can be the payoff. His advice would be to take the steps you need to

Jordan Solomon, Executive Vice President at MSG Sports, when asked about the game-changing moment in his career trajectory would have to say it was selling Coca-Cola at Fenway Park. But his true career game changer came when he left his role as a McKinsey management consultant to join TMBO at the NBA. He had a desire to get in the mix within the sports world, and felt that through this consulting role he could enter into the arena and become part of something growing. TMBO was an in-house consulting panel for the NBA set up to help teams share business practices and improve relationships. This role was the springboard to the rest of his career. The number one lesson he has learned has been to treasure and nurture relationships. In a world where technology is more capable than it has ever been, sports is still very much a people business. We live in a time where you have to work to build and sustain those personal relationships. This is something Jordan learned early and it has stayed with him through every fa

Jake Reid, President of Sporting Kansas City, recognizes that the biggest opportunity in his early career was a move to Derby County, England, where he found himself in a sport he knew nothing about, in a new country, and about to build an entire ticketing department from scratch. It was a gamble that could have gone either way since he felt completely unprepared going in. Many successful professionals cite the village that it takes to build anything successful and Jake is a big believer in that theory. Without the many people that have had an impact on his career - both good and great - Jake would not be where he is now. He's learned along the way the importance of being confident yet humble in managing people and leading his team to success. As anyone who has received this honor would know, getting to this place is all about work ethic and the team you surround yourself with. This formula is now the everyday mantra that he teaches to his team and follows every day. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlig

Brandon Gayle, Director of North America Sports Partnerships at Facebook, talks to us about the invaluable asset of having that personal board of advisors to lean on when making career transitions. He realized through consulting with them just how much digital and social is an emerging area within sports. Coming out of consulting, he is now learning that garnering all the data and presenting it in a pretty precise package is great, but it is much more about how you then use that data to drive influence and communicate effectively. Through this role, he is using what he is gleaning from every new nuance in the merging worlds of sports and social platforms to add a whole new dimension to his career. Brandon now realizes that the data is vital but building relationships and pulling people in is what ultimately drives people and organizations forward. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of Sports Business Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to

Brent Rossi, EVP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Pegula Sports & Entertainment, explains that the one thing that he thinks about every day is that wherever his path leads, it is essential to be confident, to be positive, and at the end of the day, to lead. He advises those thinking about a career in this or any type of marketing to be completely at ease in what they are doing, and when the timing is right, to not hesitate to take charge. Know that when you are leading it's not about having the right answer all the time it's about creating an environment where people thrive. You don't need to be the smartest person in the room but leading and directing those people's voices in a way that leads to success is the best way to grow a company. At the end of the day you can be more self-assured if you have given back tenfold to the people that have helped you along the way. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of Sports Business Journal's prestigious Forty

Dan Shevchik, Partner and Senior Vice President at Sports Media Advisors, talks about his pivotal career decision to join the SMA firm after attending Stanford Business School. Doug Perlman, a former contact from Business School, and partner at SMA, took a chance on him and a leap of faith with a few clients and a whole lot of potential. He credits much of his success to the support network, both personally and professionally, that he has had the fortune to be surrounded by. Additionally, Dan advises that most risks have at least two sides to them: there can be a risk of failure on certain paths that one can take, but there can often be a bigger risk in not following those paths at all.  This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of Sports Business Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to you by Turnkey Search.

Nzinga Shaw, recognizes the people that take time out of their busy careers to mentor and strengthen the potential of others. She was fortunate to have this guidance in Neil Glat, president of the NY Jets, who she worked with for several years at the NFL. Neil spent a lot of time advising her in her role in talent acquisition and was also fundamental in teaching her to navigate the tricky waters of the NFL. His valued input allowed her to grow into the seasoned professional that she is today. Nzinga also credits Steve Koonin, CEO of the Atlanta Hawks, her current boss and reason that she is in her role today.  Steve and Nzinga worked together through his team crisis when she was with Edelman PR, where he put his full trust in her helping the Hawks come out as a renewed organization. From there Steve took a chance with his professional reputation by creating the CDIO diversity role, the first role of its kind in the NBA, and placing his full confidence in Nzinga. Finally, Nzinga touches on the best professiona

Todd Fleming, Vice President and GM of Legends Global Sales, speaks about the fortune he's had in being surrounded by talented individuals throughout his career. His current role allows him to continue to be affiliated with those types of people. He cites the leadership of Chad Estis, whose capable and personable nature have been a catalyst for his successes. Also, Mike Ondrejko, Legend's President of Global sales and Todd's current boss, has been a constant influence along his professional path. Having two of the best coaches one could have to start his career has allowed him to realize the importance of having those types of people as mentors, colleagues, bosses, and friends. Todd's success can also be credited to Legends, a company that has garnered an admirable reputation in less than a decade. The organization possesses creativity and focus in garnering results for clients while always insuring that the client comes first. Todd believes that the diversity of the projects he's worked on, both challenging

Ben Milsom, Chief Ticketing Officer at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers describes how his early role as VP of ticket sales for the Sacramento Kings took him out of his professional comfort zone and taught him to make the best of a challenge while pushing him to the next level of his career. Ben cites patience as a critical skill that he finds himself working on constantly in both his business and personal lives. Having patience when selling and patience when managing are keys to his and his organization's success. His business is all about building relationships and working on reputation rather than always allowing for the now in the today's climate of instant gratification. Ben also recognizes the need to be savvy and know where the world is headed in order to gain that professional edge in his field. He emphasizes using social feeds to enhance the stadium experience and keep up with the social and digital interaction today's audience craves. Adapting with the changing world and understanding how the client wants to

Megha Parekh, Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talks about how some of the perhaps unconventional decisions she's made have led to the success she's found in her career. In moving from New York City to Jacksonville when most people would normally be looking to do the opposite, she was pleasantly surprised by how much the change worked in her favor. She also touches on an earlier moment in her career when leaving Harvard law with her pick of firm options, she chose a firm that had a sports practice in a calculated gamble that clearly paid off.  She shares that the biggest personal lesson she's learned in her busy profession is that most people can be better at their jobs if you are not focusing on work all the time. Finally, Megha divulges some of the best advice that she has received along the way that led her to be recognized as one of the best in her field. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of SportsBusiness Jo

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment President and CEO Matthew Caldwell, takes a moment to reflect on those big career decisions and how they've affected him in each phase of his professional life. His decision to join the US Army at a very young age and enroll in West Point Academy fundamentally changed his entire life. What he learned from his military training and deployments are that the team always come first. Putting people in front of himself as a life practice has led him to success in his roles - whether in the military, in finance, and now in sports at Sunrise. Matt points out that even if you have the best degrees and experiences, unless you invest in people and form relationships you cannot truly be successful. He credits Panther owner Vinnie Viola, who took a risk on him and gave him a chance with his franchise, with allowing him to take on an intense challenge in a whole new enterprise. Vinnie's patience and teaching have been instrumental in getting him to where he is today with the organization.

Dave Pietrycha, CFO of the NBC Sports Group, talks about giving up a stable career opportunity, taking risks, and how his path bounced from aerospace to media. He landed at the Top of the Rock in a trajectory with NBC media that has taken him from retail, to network stations, to his current role in the sports group. David stresses that acting on the feeling that a role or industry are not the right fit can be the biggest career game changer. Though it took him time to find his bearings in a new field and a new city, David credits the risk he took, coupled with a lot strategy and hard work, for the successes he has had at NBC. Working the last few years with Mark Lazarus, another Forty Under 40 alumni, has been instrumental to getting him through his first role in sports. Mark was a patient mentor to him as he got up to speed and learned to take his role in finance out of the box, now doing much more than just finance in sports media. He has expanded into research, sourcing, and development which allows him to

In their full length podcast interviews, many members of the SportsBusiness Journal Class of 2017 spoke in detail about leadership, and the lessons they've learned throughout their careers that drive their leadership styles. Here's a collection of insights on those topics from the following Forty Under 40 honorees, brought to you by Turnkey Search:  Dan Parise Jeremy Walls Rocky Harris Kate Johnson Olek Loewenstein Justin Toman Brandon Schneider Sakiya Daniel Brandon Lloyd Nick Kelly

Jeremy talks about commuting from Phoenix to New York City for three (!) years to work for the NBA's TMBO group, and the importance of getting out of your comfort zone to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. He also shares:  How he's made a career of following great leaders, not chasing titles The importance of creating a true results-based culture with heart Being great both at work and at home This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of SportsBusiness Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to you by Turnkey Search. #####

Listen as Tim, a former middle school math teacher and MIT graduate, breaks down how a blind email to Larry Lucchino jump-started his sports business career. Now the Executive VP and CFO of the Boston Red Sox, Tim talks about how he's grown as a leader as his career has evolved. He also shares:  How he works through professional mistakes Moving from micro-management to delegation His most cherished professional accomplishments This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of SportsBusiness Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to you by Turnkey Search. #####

Mike shares the process of building long-term relationships with RedBird's equity partners, and, specifically, what it's been like to work with the NFL to grow On Location Experiences over time. He also shares:  How his family works together to balance work demands and life at home The importance of surrounding yourself with good people His philosophy that, at some point, everyone has to make a big bet on him/herself This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of SportsBusiness Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to you by Turnkey Search. #####

Chip talks about the recent renovations to Daytona International Speedway, and how that plays in to motorsports – and NASCAR's – renewed focus on the fan experience. He also shares:  How he got in to motorsports, and his journey from the midway to the top seat at DIS The tight-knit nature of the motorsports community The responsibility of representing motorsports' various brands This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of SportsBusiness Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to you by Turnkey Search. #####