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PHOTO: JIM CONNER
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PROFESSIONAL
What I Like …
■ An insight: Focus on the customer’s success, and everything else works out.
■ An influential person in my career: My father, who showed me there is no substitute for hard work and integrity.
■ An out-of-the-box idea: The NHL’s Winter Classic. It has created a fantastic new platform to attract fans to the game.
■ A timeless idea: Do the right thing.
DAVE BUTLER
CEO, Paciolan
■ Where I'm From: Born and raised in L.A., and for the past 26 years living in Laguna Beach, Calif.
■ Where I Went to School: University of California, Irvine, and California State University, Fullerton, with a B.A. in finance.
■ My First Job:
At 14, I stocked shelves after school in a small liquor store in Long Beach, Calif.
■ A pro league or team business initiative: The University of Texas has done an amazing job innovating in college athletics. They think strategically and execute extremely well as a team.
■ A business deal: The NFL signing a long-term contract with the players where both sides win.
■ A strategy: Focus on long-term success by building lifetime customer relationships.
■ A hire: Bringing back Steve Jobs changed Apple forever and made it the most valuable company in America.
■ A trend: Internet access on airplanes. What a great improvement in staying connected while traveling.
■ A brand: Apple, who really understands the customer and makes everything so intuitive and easy.
■ An innovation: Using social media to engage fans daily in communicating about their favorite team, and in the process allowing them to share their passion with their friends.
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■ A sports event: Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, where the Saints completed their amazing year by bringing the people of New Orleans a much-needed boost with a championship.
■ A story that bears watching: How the fan experience changes with mobile everywhere, including in the stadium or arena.
■ An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: The iPad. It’s just amazing in every way.
■ A fantasy job: Starting pitcher for my Los Angeles Dodgers.
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■ A sports facility: Cowboys Stadium is unmatched for experiencing a game, and the HD screen really is amazing.
What I Like About …
■ Sports: There is nothing like the excitement of being at the game.
■ Sports media: When you get a new insight into your favorite team or players that brings you closer to the game.
■ Sports technology: When it comes together to enhance the overall fan experience.
■ Competing: There is nothing like the excitement of doing your best and winning.
■ The future of sports business: Fans continue to want more access, more information and a more personal involvement, and that passion is a great sign for our industry.
■ Sports fans: How a shared passion can bring so many different people together for a common goal.
What I Would Like To …
■ Change: The negative tone that sometimes overwhelms public discussions on key issues.
■ Change in what I do: Spend more time with customers talking about what they want to accomplish.
■ See: The Winter Classic in Philadelphia.
■ See more of in sports: The sportsmanship from the Stanley Cup Final, where the teams shake hands on the ice after the battle is over.
■ See more of in sports business: Partnerships that enhance the fan experience.
■ See less of in sports: Trash talking.
■ See less of in sports business: Labor issues dominating sports story lines.
■ Eliminate: Phones and BlackBerrys used in meetings.
What I Don’t Like ...
■ Pet peeve: People coming late for meetings.
■ In sports: Rules that slow down the flow of the game.
■ In business: People who aren’t honest and straightforward.
PERSONAL
What I Like …
■ That would surprise those who know me: Off-roading in the High Sierras.
■ About myself: I always try to make things right.
■ Hero: Pat Tillman.
■ Players: Matt Kemp, Bobby Ryan.
■ Teams: Flyers, Dodgers, Ducks and Lakers.
■ Possession: My iPhone, because it is amazing how many things it does so easily.
■ Memento: Seatback from Dodger Stadium signed by World Series-winning team.
■ Book: “Mammoth: The Sierra Legend,” by Martin Forstenzer.
■ Authors: John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer.
■ Chores: Working on the house.
■ Hobbies: Surfing, snowboarding, golf and fishing.
■ Trip: Ireland with the family.
■ Vacation spots: Mammoth Lakes, Cabo and St. Barth’s.
■ IPad app: Star Walk: You point your iPad at the night sky, and it shows you all the constellations.
■ TV: “Monday Night Football.”
■ Concert: Jimmy Buffett, because it’s more of a party than a concert.
■ Artist: Monet. It just transports you to a different place and time.
■ Movies: “The Blues Brothers,” “Miracle on Ice.”
■ Food: My wife’s chicken marsala.
■ Dessert: Chocolate bread pudding.
■ Drink: Pahlmeyer’s Red Cabernet.
■ Scent: The smell of the ocean.
■ Car: My BMW convertible.
■ Singers: Zac Brown, Jackson Browne, Jennifer Nettles.
■ Quote: “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
