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Julian often unwinds by watching sports with
her two teenage sons |
Name: Donna Julian
Position: Hornets Senior VP/Arena & Event Operations and Time Warner Cable Arena GM
Age: 52
Where I’m from: Detroit
Where I call home: Matthews, N.C.
Focusing on right now: Preparing for the '17 NBA All-Star Game and renovations including suites and restaurants.
Best advice: Fast decisions are not always good decisions. Sometimes you have to take a step back to make sure you’re making the right decision versus letting the excitement of something get the better of you and make bad decisions. Take a little time, think through some things and use the resources you have to make good decisions.
A must for a new hire: If you’re in this business, you have to love it because we work a lot of hours. You also have to be very organized and committed because there are so many moving pieces in an event. We may not have an event today, but we’re still planning for one two years from now. It’s a lot of multi-tasking. I always ask candidates about their organizational skill set. But I also always ask about how they unwind, because in this business you’ve got to have something where you can get away from it all in order to be successful.
Exec I most admire: Global Spectrum’s HANK ABATE. He was great to me -- I worked with him a little bit when I was with Center Management back in the day and then we were together at SMG for a period of time when he was my boss. He’s one of those people that I could call tomorrow and he would help me out with anything -- he’s been a wonderful influence on me and was a great boss and friend.
Best book I’ve read: “Daring Greatly,” by BRENE BROWN -- I had my team members read it, too. It’s about not being afraid to be in the fight. One of the quotes in the book is from TEDDY ROOSEVELT, about how there are people watching on the sidelines and people who want to be in the arena. If you're in the arena, at least you can say you tried or that you “dared greatly.”
First thing in the morning: I’ve got two kids, so my mornings are pretty crazy. I have one son who is going to be a senior and I have one who’s in ninth grade, so my mornings are helping them get ready, making breakfast, and taking them to school when I can. I catch up on news once I get into the office.
Talking tech: I’ve been using a Microsoft Surface lately. I’ve got an iPad and iPhone and I like those, but I really like the Surface because it’s so easy to carry around to meetings and at home. It’s been my new thing.
Must have music: We’ve got STEVIE WONDER coming to the arena in November, and I’m a big fan. But I'm all over the place, really. I was just listening to ADELE this morning. I'll throw in a little rap here and there, too, thanks to my two sons. I also love New Orleans music.
Food for thought: My husband is a wonderful cook, and I’m very grateful for that. I do a lot of putting it in the slow cooker so we’ll have something for the week to eat. He loves New Orleans, so we get a lot of great New Orleans cooking at home.
How I unwind: I've always been a sports fan, and being in a house with three boys, we spend a lot of time watching sports. This can be unwinding, unless your team is not doing well. We watch a lot of ESPN. I also like to do flywheel, which is like a cycling class. I like to do yoga as well, trying to find some time to just be isolated.
Day in the life: We did the DNC in 2012, which was a huge event. And now I'm spending a lot of time working with the city of Charlotte again, this time preparing for the All-Star Game. Pretty soon we'll start having visits from the NBA. We're getting on track with some projects in preparation for the All-Star Game, and timing them so we can do some things next summer to get ready. But it's hard to do projects with a building that's having events as well, so it's a juggling act right now.
