Turnkey Search Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast

Nina King, Deputy Director of Athletics for Administration/Legal Affairs and Chief of Staff for Duke, singles out her mom as the most inspirational presence in her life. As a single mother who emigrated from Palestine at the age of 22, she taught Nina everything about being a strong, independent woman. Nina also credits Kevin and Jane White, both professionally and personally, for her growth and success. The opportunity to learn the business from Kevin White has been an exceptional opportunity. Nina's foremost advice to anyone pursuing a career in sports is to be authentic and operate within your own skin. Interaction within this business is primarily fueled by good relations between teams, coaches, players, and staff. Finally, Nina cites the four characteristics of leadership that she strives to display on a daily basis: to be passionate, empathetic, flexible, and task-oriented. She strives to remain open to learning constantly and is keenly aware that keeping her eyes open in the world of college athletics

Matt Hill chats about his journey to becoming Senior Vice President of Global Sports and Entertainment Consulting at GMR Marketing. Stopping to think about the one career decision that changed everything for him brought Matt to the realization that his entire career has really been a series of decisions. To start, coming from college looking to be a journalist, Matt started to get into editing when he realized that the industry was not really for him. He moved into public relations at the NFL and was on the PR path from there. After five years in PR, decided to go back to business school and focus more on the business side of the industry. Matt had an opportunity go to work for the MLS in a sales role which was something he had never done in the past. He spent three years learning from some great leaders at the MLS and honing his skills on the sales side. He eventually went back to the NFL to continue in sponsorship sales for three years. The opportunity to then move over to GMR allowed him apply all that he

Josh Veilluex, Vice President of Global Partnerships for AEG Global Partnerships, talks to us about the impact of making a professional change early in his career. When he had an opportunity to take a step back from business and take some professional sports development programs, he was awarded the opportunity to make the transition to LA and join AEG. Coming into a career in sports at the age of 27 and bringing sales experience with him gave him an edge over some of the younger candidates just out of school. From there he took advantage of the growth within AEG which led him his current role. The pivoting moment for him came when he was able to switch from ticket sales over to sponsorship. From his success in that role, he gained the confidence and support of his leaders and the opportunity to eventually move into taking over the department. 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

Kary Brock talks about her role as Vice President of Endeavor. The move she made to IMG college and the marketing team she worked with there was pivotal to her success. Having had the chance to be part of bringing a new offering into the sports marketing landscape led to her playing an active role in marketing for IMG. Throughout her time there her team was constantly evolving, changing, growing, and offering challenges that pushed her thinking and helped her growth. The eventual merger brought even more tools to her disposal and expanded her creativity within the marketing platform. She was given the freedom and agility to perform and excel in a role that she is passionate about. The biggest lesson she has learned is that truly nothing stays the same. If you don't learn to evolve you can miss out on the most incredible opportunities. Kary learned that with her experience she was able to take advantage of that evolution and become a much stronger leader at Endeavor. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotligh

Tory Dandy, Agent with CAA sports, traces his success back to when he was interning and met Eugene Parker who became a partner, mentor, and friend for many years. When CAA reached out, Tory knew that he had a chance to take advantage of an amazing opportunity. It has now been almost two years and he recognizes the good fortune that has led him to this day. The biggest lesson he has learned has been the importance of building relationships. From all facets of the work, nurturing and valuing relationships is the key in being successful. Doing things with character, morals, and integrity is the best way that Tory knows to honor the late Mr. Parker. Tory also recognizes the love and support provided from his mom for getting him to this level in his career. 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.

Angela Ruggiero, Olympic Gold Medalist and CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab, talks to us about how she approaches her business career as she did her sports career. She mentions how setting goals, learning from mistakes, determination, and surpassing roadblocks that she applied to her sports career and that she now also applies to business. She successfully takes the mindset of an athlete and approaches everything else with that same mindset. Although someone coming from an athletic career might not always have the skill set or experience they need, what they do have is a whole set of intangibles that can help them on their path to success. In business she emphasizes the need to intrinsically understand the business problem that you are trying to solve. Being cognizant of where you are working, who you are working for, and what you are trying to solve is the key to how you spend your day and how you better serve your clients. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews

Pat LaCroix, Head of Global Media and Sponsorship for Bose, has a sincere appreciation for how important it is to represent a good brand in an exciting category. Pat stresses the importance of having key role models who have a common set of core values and pragmatic decision-making capacities. Some people that were fundamental in challenging him and pushing him towards success include: Mike Mangioni, who hired him at Bose, Nicola Emsley, head of Bose global marketing, and Bob Maresca, their recently retired CEO. On the personal side, Pat has learned invaluable lessons from his parents and recognizes that the support of his family has allowed him to get to where is today. He also cites a quote from past mentor John Moore who once said to him "when you are presenting a product just tell them what time it is, not how you built the watch." When you put ego away, are concise, and have an influential story to tell, you will see your opportunities accelerate. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, fea

Sean Eggert, Vice President and Head of Sports Marketing for Red Bull, credits pursuing a passion early in life as the reason for his success today. The values of pushing hard and teamwork have carried through from his college days to the present. Having finished college in just 3 ½ years, Sean parlayed hard work into a job working for the Detroit Pistons, where he learned the ropes from passionate leaders who set him up for what he is achieving today. The biggest lesson he's learned is to not to be afraid to ask the dumb question. Sometimes that can be perceived as active listening. Letting down your guard and asking the question that is on your mind can actually open up a lot of doors to success. 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.

Matt Grandis, EVP of Properties for CSM Properties, takes us on his career journey going all the way back to the moment when he was a camp counselor and one of the camper's dads talked to him about a career in sports. Through that relationship he was hired as an intern a PSP sports. He stuck it out and his perseverance paid off. The process that got him to his role next role then led to opportunities to continue to build the bricks in his career. The chance to then try something totally new and build an international soccer property from the ground up was a major decision that changed the course of his career. Finally, his current role at CSM and working with Harlan Stone has once again taken him out of his comfort zone and ultimately been his best decision yet. 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.

Nili Doft, Vice President of Digital Products and Analytics for the NHL, talks about the lessons she's picked up in her career. Her number one tip is never to shy away from opportunities. Her own career pivoted a few years back when she landed a new role in strategy and found herself facing a new and exciting challenge. Her advice to anyone looking to start a career in sports would be to cast a wide net and not to limit where they look to get a career off the ground. There are plenty of companies you might not think about that have sports opportunities. Many companies have departments and roles within them that work on relationships with sports organizations. Having a transferable skill set can help you make yourself more marketable when the right opportunity comes along. 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.

Ryan Spoon, senior VP of Social Content at ESPN, credits being around outstanding people in both his business and personal life as the catalyst for his success at ESPN. Most of that can success be credited to his days at Ebay where he and his colleagues experienced immense growth in the internet market at a crucial time for them and the world around them. He had the opportunity to have had so many teammates surrounding him while enjoying the freedom to explore risk and failure at a time when the business was very new. He's realized that timing for him has also been very lucky. Spoon's role now is less about timing and good fortune and more about the experience that has he garnered and is now leading within the context of his past experiences. He recognizes the value of getting to do what he does at an organization like ESPN and having access to the best of the best in all aspects of social content within the sports world. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners

Josh Whitman, Director of Athletics at the University of Illinois, can't emphasize strongly enough the importance of having a personal and professional network. He has had the fortune of having a great group surrounding him throughout his journey and it is what he credits most for his success. Coaches, mentors, teammates, and staff have all been fundamental in keeping him grounded and on his path. One of the best pieces of advice that he has picked up and followed along the way is be true to who you are. If you are genuine, sincere, and comfortable with who you are, you will make a great leader. Another important lesson for Josh has been to never hesitate to bet on himself and take himself out of his comfort zone. 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.

Miheer Walavalkar, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer of LiveLike, has had a career of twists and turns that have led him to running this exciting and innovative start-up. After studying engineering in India and the USA and working as a software engineer for a short period of time he unexpectedly - in the course of a weekend - switched gears to investment banking. He then went back to India, keen to jump into the entrepreneurial pool. What he mainly learned was that in previous roles the buck had never stopped with him, so learning to become a leader was a defining moment in his trajectory. He and his co-founder are pioneers in allowing a fan of Real Madrid or the NY Giants experience being in the stadium watching while sitting in their living room in India. Virtual reality provides the perfect medium for that to happen. They started taking the prototypes to broadcasters and saw instant traction. LiveLike now has $23m in funding and is working on spreading the experience to as many sports viewers as possib

Michael Melnitzky, Vice President of Allen and Company, pinpoints his decision to major in business in college as one of the key strategic play of his career. What seemed perhaps like an unconventional choice for the sports industry was actually his personal plan to build his skillset in order to bring more to the table when getting his start in sports. The approach paid off. Rather than going into traditional investment and business he chose to go the sports route and the opportunity with Allen & Co. presented itself nine years ago. Michael has learned that while networking and getting to know the more senior people in the room can be important, it's often better to network with your own peers. These are the people you want to get to know and develop your career with. You grow together in your roles and in thirty years will have aged through the business together. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of Sports Business Journal's prestigious Forty Under 4

Lindsay Amstutz, SVP and General Manager of Fox Sports West, Prime Ticket, and Fox Sports San Diego, joins us to talk about rising to the challenge and seizing opportunities. When Lindsay was offered chance to move farther up the ladder at Fox, she hesitated because the role was a geographical challenge. As any LA resident knows, commute is everything, but this was an opportunity she could not turn down. The passion that her job ignites in her has been the pay off and she has been able accomplish balance between family, career, and, yes, even the commute! 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.

Brendan Moynihan, Senior Vice President of Consulting and Sponsorship Activation for Lagardère Plus, credits his success to his family, especially his grandfather, who always said to him "Get those rebounds!" You are going to fail, you are going to miss, and it's about picking it back up and giving it another try that will ultimately lead to success. His grandfather also famously said "you show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser" meaning that while sportsmanship is important, winning is too. It is not about being a good sport, that is vital, but it is about striving to succeed. If you do fail or you lose you have to take that experience, try to understand where you went wrong, and then do better. 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.

Danny White, Vice President and Director of Athletics for the University of Central Florida, has leaned on the experience and guidance of his father his entire life. His dad, who worked in sports from the ground level up, highly stressed the I over E - the Intellect over Emotion. Danny has found that in directing athletic programs, if you can focus on productivity and positivity, you can accomplish so much more. Elimination of drama allows for decision-making on a much more effective level. He advises using the same approach that coaches use when working with the athletes, telling your team to not get too high on the highs nor two low on the lows. In a world where competition and emotions can run high, he tries to keep his staff on target and focused on staying even-keeled. When Danny was at Ole Miss, he rolled out a campaign to help Ole Miss become more competitive in the SEC - the campaign was a huge success. That experience taught Danny that a university athletics program's fan base, it's community base, a

Josh Pyatt, Partner and Agent WME Sports and Entertainment, was not enjoying his blossoming career in finance. He made the decision to leave that career to the surprise of many, but knew he wanted to be in the entertainment industry. From a novice start to becoming an agent for the likes of Michael Strahan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant, Josh strived to help these players transition from sport into something else. He and his team knew that these players were the best in their sport but that they also had a certain "it" factor. They set out to prove to themselves and to the rest of the world that there is a bigger world for these athletes beyond becoming a sportscaster. The most important lesson Josh has learned is that nothing is ever handed to you, that you have to get up every day and work for it. Being nice, working hard, being strategic, and being aggressive are all values he tries to work towards in every facet of his career. He advises that it is ok to work for a time without focusing necessarily on the

Deepen Parikh, a partner at Courtside Ventures, believes that sport touches numerous industries, geographies, and demographics - that sport is no longer fully focused on single sports organizations such as the NFL and that demographic. At Courtside, they see sports as a subset of media and media is something that everyone consumes every day, through sports, audio, fitness, or esports. His company wants to invest in brands that have a strong impact on the sports ecosystem. Whether it be the Drone Racing League where they are developing a sport from scratch; the Athletic, where subscription sports reporting is breaking away from the traditional mediums; or RebelMail, an interactive email platform which he sees as having a large play around the sports industry through the email medium. At Courtside, sports are viewed holistically, broader than just teams and leagues. They investigate how consumers are acting at any level of sports. Deepen's career advice would be not to focus on quick money but instead on three

Chris Marinak, Executive Vice President of Strategy Technology and Innovation at Major League Baseball shares some advice for athletes in this episode. Chris's number one piece of advice for anyone thinking about a career in professional sports is to build relationships and get connected within the industry as early as possible. His biggest attribute has been learning from industry leaders and being taught the ropes from their level. The best advice that he has received is "work hard and do your job well". Continuing to practice that mantra throughout his career has been what's led him to recognition, advancement, and the opportunity to take on the experiences and challenges which have led to his success at MLB. 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.