Catching Up With Wachovia Senior VP Dan Fleishman
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Wachovia’s Dan Fleishman
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Wachovia Senior VP and Dir of Sponsorships & Alliances DAN FLEISHMAN
is a busy man this week. Not only is he patrolling the grounds of Quail Hollow
Club to make sure everything on the corporate side of the Wachovia Championship
is running smoothly, he is also accommodating an unusual amount of interview
requests that have accompanied the tournament. That’s not so strange considering
the event his company has titled sponsored the past five years has grown to
one of the more popular events on the PGA Tour, attracting 27 of the top 30
golfers as well as the likes of MICHAEL JORDAN and PEYTON MANNING
for the annual pro-am tourney. In between an interview with USA Today and checking
up on one of the Wachovia hospitality tents, Fleishman took a moment to speak
with Staff Writer Brad Pinkerton.
Q: Are you a golfer and what’s your handicap?
Fleishman: I’m now a 12! If any of my buddies are reading this, they’re
going to say, “You lying son of a bitch!” In the last two months I’ve gone from
an 8 to a 12. But I’m very proud to say that I’m at a 12 and I feel very good
about it. I get out on weekends, but not during the week. Maybe an average of
once every other week.
Q: What’s the best part of your job?
Fleishman: Feeling fortunate to work in an industry that’s all about
people’s passions. I’ll never take that for granted, because that’s what we’re
really trying to do, is tap into those affinities that people have. That’s why
my responsibilities transcend the sports industry. It’s about more than just
sports. In fact, we’re going to be making some announcements shortly about some
exciting new things that we’re doing. ... Sports will be a piece of it, that’s
what I can tell you. We’re trying to understand what consumers really love to
do and clearly sports is a huge piece of it.
Q: What’s the most challenging part about staging an event like this?
Fleishman: Exceeding the expectations based on the bar that we’ve set.
We recognize that we have set the bar very, very high and that we can never
rest on our laurels. And we’re really proud of what we’re doing this year. We
recognize that many of our competitors are seeking to identify innovative ways
of creating world class experiences, so we have got to be ahead of the pack.
[With the Live@ 17 online stream and interactive online game] we’re trying to
create these experiences well outside of Charlotte.
Q: What has been and what will be the key to success for the Wachovia Championship?
Fleishman: No. 1, we absolutely believe the player perspective — the
time of year, the facilities, the amenities for the players and the purse -– is
about keeping this thing a world class experience. For the patrons, we will never
allow there to be any obstruction of sightlines for the benefit of generating
incremental revenue for secondary sponsors. Also, the day after every tournament
we conduct surveys about what can we do better. We ask our clients directly, our
relationship managers, our employees, etc. Frankly, I’ll be able to say what we’ll
be doing differently next year after we get that feedback. I think technology
will continue to play a really important role in everything we do. And I think
the Tour gets it.
Q: Why is this property so attractive to Wachovia?
Fleishman: It’s attractive because, simply put, we have tremendous influence
over the branded experience. It is the least commercially cluttered event, we
believe, of its kind.
Q: Can this event survive and be as successful at another course in Charlotte?
Fleishman: Our tournament is through 2010, and this golf course plays an
integral role in our success, so it’s not something we’ve ever even thought about.
I would make that very clear: never, ever thought about this taking place anywhere
else. ... We would not be where we are today without Quail Hollow.
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