Name: Nicole Kankam
Position: USTA Managing Dir of Marketing
Where I’m from: Akron, Ohio
Where I call home: New Rochelle, N.Y.
Focusing on right now: We just came off a hugely successful event at the South Street Seaport, which was a kickoff event where we brought the “U.S. Open Experience” to Manhattan. It was a great way to generate buzz and excitement in the lead-up to the tournament. Now that the U.S. Open is going on, we’re still focused on continuing to build on that buzz and momentum to drive ticket sales and engage fans throughout the two-week tournament.
Best advice: My grandfather used to always say, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” When you keep working hard to create opportunities for yourself, then those opportunities will continue to present themselves to you.
Must have for a new hire: Having someone who has passion, enthusiasm and real excitement with anything that they do and bring that to the workplace I think is really critical to the team.
Execs I admire: KATRINA ADAMS has been a great President here at the USTA, as well as STACEY ALLASTER. I think both are really excellent leaders, particularly for women in sports. I also previously have worked with MICHELLE WILSON, who used be the USTA CMO and is now at the WWE, and she’s been a great mentor for me as well as being a pioneer as a female in the sports and entertainment industry.
Book shelf: It’s so hard to sit down and read because I’m always so busy, but one of the books I have read recently is LOIS FRANKEL's “NICE GIRLS DON’T GET THE CORNER OFFICE.” It was a book that was suggested at the USTA Book Club that we have here, and it really has provided excellent advice for myself as well as my colleagues.
Talking tech: Like everyone else, I can’t live without my phone and use it often to tap into social media. For the USTA and the U.S. Open, we’re definitely expanding our footprint on social media, particularly with Snapchat. We’ve actually got a new Snapchat lens that debuted this week, so if you log into the app fans can find a tennis lens to show the promotion of the U.S. Open.
Must-have music: I love old school hip-hop, and songs from the 80’s and 90’s are my favorites. But I’m actually really loving the new JAY-Z album “4:44” he just dropped.
Food for thought: New Rochelle is home to many different Italian restaurants, which works out well for me because that’s my go-to food.
First thing in the morning: I love to run and have ran a couple of marathons in the past, so running around my neighborhood gives me energy in the morning and a sense of calm before starting the day.
How I unwind: I have a four-year-old son who is great at keeping me grounded when I get stressed out at work. Coming home and just playing with him and seeing his smile really helps me to relax at the end of a tough day.
Day in the life: There really isn’t a typical day; every day always brings something interesting and exciting. You never really know what to expect, but I think that’s what makes working for such an amazing event like the U.S. Open worthwhile. We have over 700,000 people coming over the course of the two weeks, and every day will be unique. This will be my 11th U.S. Open, so I can say each tournament brings a new set of challenges and experiences that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
