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People and Pop Culture

Minding My Business With NHL Exec VP And Exec Producer Steve Mayer

Name: Steve Mayer

Position: NHL Exec VP/Creative Development & Programming and Exec Producer

Where I’m from: Union, New Jersey

Where I call home: West Caldwell, New Jersey

Focusing on right now: We announced plans for the upcoming NHL Centennial, which will begin on Jan. 1 of next year and runs through Dec. 31 of next year, and that’s a huge focus for me and my team. Overall, I’m focused on growing the NHL’s popularity by giving our fans memorable events and experiences.

Best advice: Dare to think big. Find the solution and not the problem. In capital letters, PICK UP THE PHONE, or go see someone. If I see a thread that goes longer than 10 emails, it's like, "Can someone please pick up the phone or go see somebody?" You can come up with a solution a lot faster. Relationships are everything. No matter what you do in your business career, so much is built on relationships and I pride myself on my relationships.

A must for a new hire
: Anybody that we will hire at the NHL needs to have a passion for the game and for the league. They have to be willing to put in that extra amount of work to turn things from good to great. We are always looking for someone with that fire in their eyes.

Exec I admire most: The person who hired me at IMG, where I worked before I came to the NHL, was someone I admired. That was MARK MCCORMACK. But there are many executives that I’ve worked with over the years that I’ve been impressed with and I admire greatly. At IMG, I worked with BARRY FRANK and BOB KING. Those two are some of the greatest. Now having the pleasure to work with GARY BETTMAN.

Best book I’ve read this year: Can we change that to the best book I’m reading? WAYNE GRETZKY has a new book, and I’m really loving it. It’s called "99: STORIES OF THE GAME. I’ve got a pre-copy; I don’t even think it’s available yet. It’s super interesting. It actually really applies to what we’re about to do with our centennial. It tells a lot of fascinating stories, some of the greatest moments, memories in NHL history.

First thing in the morning: I answer the 7,000 emails that were sent overnight. I am one of the few left in this world that actually reads a newspaper every morning. I read the Newark Star-Ledger every single morning. I read all the entertainment trades. I read SportsBusiness Journal. So I absolutely catch up to the world that I live in on a daily basis.

Talking tech: In the world of sports, we have to keep up with the changing technology. We’re currently in the middle of the World Cup of Hockey, and I think you can see what we as a league are doing with signage boards, puck tracking, player tracking. The advancements in technology, we get a glimpse into those every day, and the fact that we’re implementing many into our games and our TV coverage is really exciting for me.

Must have music: I’m obsessed with BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, and so that’s obviously a must have. Anybody who knows me also is surprised by my taste in music and that I’m very knowledgeable in all genres, and I listen to all genres. It’s part of my job. I have to do that, but I also love to do that.

Food for thought: I judge an Italian restaurant by their Veal Parmesan. I love a good lobster. A steak with bourbon and I’m happy as anybody could be. I can also tell you there are more foods I just disdain. I cannot eat cilantro, chickpeas or lima beans. People constantly laugh at me about it.

How I unwind: I work when I unwind. I’m odd. I love to work. But I’m a huge sports fan. I like all sports, including hockey. I usually can’t get enough of sports. Whether I’m attending a sporting event, actually playing sports -- I’m a basketball player -- or watching on TV, I’m around it all the time.

A day in the life: I do a lot of traveling, so obviously that’s become a big part of my life. I’m someone who likes to meet with people rather than do things via email. So I try to schedule back-to-back-to-back meetings, and in my job at the NHL, I’m also doing a variety of different things. That’s why I love it so much. Whether it’s dealing with events or programming or looking at big projects that we’re doing, there’s always something going on.

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