PETER MURRAY has spent almost his entire career within the sports business industry, having held positions with leading companies like the NFL, WME and Under Armour. His latest role as CEO of the Professional Fighters League has him running a business in one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The PFL boasts 72 fighters across six different weight classes, who then compete in a unique format that consists of a regular season, playoffs and a championship. Murray recently took some time out his schedule to walk THE DAILY through what a typical day in the office looks like for him.
5:00-5:30am: I check what's going on in the world through all my news feeds from business, to sports, to around the world nationally, and then in our community here in New York City. I typically try to consume that half hour with what's going on, as well as check emails or any texts from late at night.
5:30-6:00am: Most days I work out either with a run on the East River or I go to the gym. That's a good hour. It really gets you to stay fit and keeps you focused.
7:00am: I check the schedule for the day to make sure I know what's ahead of me and send out some emails to various teammates. I have a tendency to eat a light breakfast, coffee and fruit.
8:00am: I always huddle up with my assistant ARIEL and make sure we're aligned on the schedule and move some things around as we typically do.
Murray spends a good chunk of his day engaging with current investors and bringing new ones into the foldPFL
9:00am-7:00pm: I travel a third of my time, depending upon what time of year it is, but a typical day is 9:00 to 7:00 in the office with the team. I would break down my day in three parts:
- Number one is I'm the CEO for a high growth venture. I spend my time building and running the company. I spend about 25% of my time on athlete recruiting and product innovation. Outside of that, it's working with the team and supporting them on event planning. There are also investor meetings. A good chunk of my time on a daily and weekly basis is allocated for engaging with current investors and always bringing new investors into the fold.
- Bucket number two is long term strategy and planning. That's both with an internal team and big-time strategic advisors, co-founders and board members. We're thinking through how we're going to realize our vision of truly re-imagining and growing the sport of MMA. We want to ensure we're in a position to advance the upcoming season with 12- to 18-month planning cycles. Then longer term, we need to ensure that we're in a position to deliver in our plan to our owners and investors.
- The third bucket is making sure my team and our employees are getting what they need to be successful and we're aligned on priorities. At any company, no matter the size, you're constantly evaluating how you spend your time. Are we focused on the right priorities? I drink a lot of coffee while spending individual time with team members. We really have a company here that is all about interdependency. It's all about collaboration and creativity. We're all entrepreneurs at heart. That one-on-one in-person interaction is critically important.
8:00-9:00pm: I will have dinner with my wife, NADINE. She is a senior member of a startup in the FinTech space. So, we've got a lot of similar stories.
9:00-12:00am: After dinner, I love to watch sports. Sports are always on, obviously the fights around the globe. But we'll take in a movie here and there. I'm a big fan of Netflix. I love documentaries. If I weren't doing what I was doing, I would be a documentary film maker. Maybe at some point that's the next play. Late night, I'm always engaged on emails with the teams to ensure that we're ready for the next day. I enjoy it. I don't look it at as something negative. We live in a world where we are always connected, but when you're passionate about what you do, it's not work. This is my hobby and this is my career.
12:00am: When I am home in the city, I like to get to bed by midnight and wake up fresh and carry on.
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