Name: George Bruggenthies
Position: Road America President & GM
Where I’m from: Chicago
Where I call home: Plymouth, Wis.
Focusing on right now: We have our IndyCar race this week. There are always last-minute changes, so just trying to make decisions around the event and make sure we’re over-prepared. The other thing I’m working on is wrapping up the '18 public events schedule.
Best advice: Be over-prepared. Always have a backup plan B and C because things happen, and when things happen, don’t get frazzled, just find the solution.
Execs I admire: In our industry, ROGER PENSKE is a guy with true vision and is well respected. Also, kind of in the industry (former GM Vice Chair) BOB LUTZ, who I’ve had the opportunity to meet personally and spend some time with. Locally, it has to be HERB KOHLER.
Must have for a new hire: If you can identify a good work ethic from their history it certainly helps, and also if they have passion in something related to motorsports is helpful. When we’re in season we put in a lot of time, so unless you enjoy what you’re doing it can be pretty tough.
Book shelf: Recently I read “STARTING AT ZERO,” about the life of JIMI HENDRIX. It is almost an autobiography because it is taken from his notes, so it is very accurate. Additionally, one of my favorite authors is STIEG LARSSON. He did a variety of mystery thriller novels about this unusual woman and they’re kind of fun. One of them was “THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO,” which was really exciting.
Must-have music: I love to listen to Sirius 27, which plays classic rock. We recently went to a DIANA KRALL concert. We’re also going to see TOM PETTY for the third or fourth time at Summerfest. We love him.
First thing in the morning: I think about work immediately and the critical things that I have to do first. The difficult things I try to take care of first because then the rest of the day goes a lot easier.
Talking tech: You wouldn’t believe the business deals I have done over text. I use email, but it is becoming less effective because there are so many of them. I also use social media -- Facebook and a little bit of Instagram. Our facility is very tech-savvy. We put in a fiber optic system back in 2000 that supports all sorts of activities including nine big screen jumbotrons, our sound system, communication between corners, lighting and just all kinds of stuff. Now we’re getting an autonomous vehicle and understanding all of the tech that’s involved in that.
Food for thought: Mediterranean is really my favorite kind of food, but there are no Mediterranean restaurants around here so it’s really difficult. So, we support the great Wisconsin supper clubs and there’s a lot of them. They are social so they are a great time.
How I unwind: I do race cars, not often enough, but when you’re racing you can only think about racing and everything else kind of goes away. The same thing happens when I cut grass. I put my headphones on and I can’t hear my phone and I just enjoy the outdoors.
Day in the life: I get to the office and hit my desk and take care of the communications that came in during the evening or early morning. Then I might do something on the facility like check on the preparation. There’s always different eyes on things that can help the rest of the team. We have team meetings with either different departments or the entire staff. It’s such a diverse facility here where we do over 500 events a year. There are just 23 of us here that operate the facility year-round, so we need to support each other.
