Name: Glenn Wong
Position: Arizona State Dir of Sports Law & Business Program
Where I’m from: Lexington, Mass.
Where I call home: I divide my time between Massachusetts and Arizona.
Focusing on right now: ASU business right now. We’re working on a couple of new initiatives for our program.
Best advice: Find a career or a job that you really enjoy, and my saying is, “you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” That’s spoken from experience. That's how I feel about the work that I’ve had the good fortune to do my entire career.
Exec I admire: I know so many people in the industry. I don’t want to pick a couple of people and leave others out. There’s a lot of people I admire. There’s a lot of challenging jobs out there so you’ve really got to be a good executive to be successful, and I’ve found different kinds of people, different kinds of approaches be successful. The danger of naming one or two is that you say, “that’s what you need to be successful,” but I’ve found there are a lot of ways to be successful.
A must for a new hire: I want someone who knows what they’re getting into and has thought it through. Usually what that means is having a bit of experience and can really show that they enjoy doing it. Part of that is to match up with me.
Book shelf: I’m a fan of NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, and next week I’m on vacation so I’m looking forward to reading his new book “ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY.” Occasionally, I like to move off some of my sports work. So that’s next on my read list.
Must-have music: The '60s and '70s was really when my music interests formed and my music interest stopped at that time. I would say that 90% of my favorite artists are from that time. I'm very happy with SiriusXM having THE BEATLES channel.
First thing in the morning: I read everything I can regarding legal business and career developments in the sports industry. I used to do it by newspaper, but with the internet, I can do it much more efficiently and save a few trees, but it keeps me on top of things and prepares me for the day.
Food for thought: I like all kinds of foods. I like trying different places and going to different restaurants. I’ve found GUY FIERI to be very good with his recommendations. So when I travel I’ll keep a list of the restaurants he’s recommended.
Talking tech: Wearable technology is interesting. From professional athlete use, I’m interested to see what impact it has on what decisions are made by athletes and by teams. I’m also interested in the outcomes regarding who owns the data from the wearables and whether it can be used in contract negotiations.
How I unwind: My family is spread out all over the country. My wife is primarily in Massachusetts. One son is in Oklahoma City, and the other son is in Florida. So we plan our summers around when they’re going to be available. When we’re together, one of the primary things we like to do is spend time as a family, go to some different restaurants. We’ll also go to the beach or play golf.
Day in the life: I try to prioritize my most important work first and then work from there. I’ve found that the things that need my attention is stuff that requires research and creative work. Those are the things I try to schedule early in the day. Then I follow it up with phone calls and meetings. Those will be sprinkled throughout the day.
