Catching Up With D’Backs Exec VP & COO Tom Garfinkel
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| D'Backs Exec VP & COO Tom Garfinkel |
You can’t blame TOM GARFINKEL for hesitating a moment when
asked "what's the last movie you've seen;" after all, he’s
been busy. The D'Backs Exec VP & COO has logged hundreds of frequent flyer
miles between following the team’s improbable run to the NLCS and getting
up to speed with his recently-purchased Hall of Fame Racing NASCAR team.
Garfinkel, who spent five years working for Chip Ganassi Racing, was recruited
to the D'Backs by General Partner & CEO Jeff
Moorad last year, and in September, he teamed with
Moorad to acquire controlling interest in the racing team from TROY AIKMAN and
ROGER STAUBACH. While the D’Backs' season is over,
Garfinkel will continue his hectic schedule, traveling to the last three
races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Garfinkel last week took a few minutes
to chat with Staff Writer Jim Bentubo before Game Four of the NLCS in Denver.
What’s on your iPod: Anthony
Hamilton and some TV shows from the History Channel.
Last movie you saw: “Curious George” with my son.
Golf handicap: 25.
Best sporting event you witnessed in person: Colorado-Nebraska
football in Boulder.
Last concert you attended: Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
Favorite Web site: DBacks.com.
Q: Why did you decide to join
a baseball team after working in NASCAR for so many years?
Garfinkel: The opportunity to be part
of a great team of people.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge
you face in your job with the D’Backs?
Garfinkel: The team has gone through
a tremendous amount of change in the last year and being a part of navigating
through that change.
Q: How well has the re-branding
of the team’s uniforms and ballpark been received by fans?
Garfinkel: It’s been very well-received
by fans. We’re trying to look at the brand as a whole, not just specifically
the logos or the colors, but also how we look at the fan experience at every
touch point and pay a lot of the attention to detail.
Q: How do you plan on leveraging
this year’s playoff run for next season?
Garfinkel: Before we even got into
the playoffs we had a plan in place to invest a lot into the business to try
to leverage and continue to grow the brand. We’re investing a lot in our
sales and service team to provide better service for our fans and more proactively
go out and sell tickets. But I think that combined with the success of the team
hopefully will maximize the opportunity.
Q: How are your challenges with
the D’Backs different or similar to the challenges you face as co-Owner
of Hall of Fame Racing?
Garfinkel: At the core the business
issues are similar from the standpoint that it starts and ends with good people
and people that work together and have the same value structure. We certainly
have that at the Diamondbacks. It’s just a great group of people that
I’m proud to be a part of. One of the reasons Hall of Fame Racing was
so attractive was because they had a foundation of that in place that we hope
to build upon.
Q: How different is it marketing
to baseball fans versus NASCAR fans?
Garfinkel: Primarily, it’s regional
versus national. From a sponsorship standpoint, baseball is much more consumer
marketing because you’re ultimately trying to sell the seats. Working
for a NASCAR team you’re really trying to exclusively work on building
up the sponsors more so then filling the stands, which is more the job of the
promoters.
Q: Will we see any cross promotion
between the D’Backs and Hall of Fame racing?
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Garfinkel Feels Ojeda Would Be
Team's Best NASCAR Driver |
Garfinkel: We’ll look for opportunities where they make
sense, but I don’t know that that was the genesis of it as much as just
Jeff (Moorad) saw an opportunity through Troy (Aikman) and got me involved
and it was just an opportunity that made sense. I think at the core of what we’re
doing at the Diamondbacks right now we have a great executive team led by Derrick
Hall and our baseball (operations) led by JOSH
BYRNES and we just have a great team of people and are excited with what’s
going on there.
Q: What D’Backs player would
be best behind the wheel of a Cup car?
Garfinkel: Augie
Ojeda.
Q: What sports business issues are
you watching closely right now?
Garfinkel: The use of technology and
providing more choice for fans. I think the consumer is in control today more
than ever across business and we’ve got an opportunity to try to create
more choice for our fans as we look at how they buy tickets, how they experience
the team, etc.
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