PROFESSIONAL
What I Like …
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Photo: IMAGINE PHOTOGRAPHY
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■ An insight: Teamwork. Hire athletes because you have to work together to achieve a common goal: Win!
■ An influential person in my career: My dad, because he instilled in me the value of hard work/“put in your time.”
■ An out-of-the-box idea: Athletes of the Universe competition, where athletes would have to compete in all mainstream sports. LeBron would have to throw a
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Nationals Park
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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football, John Wall would have to hit a baseball …
■ A timeless idea: Newsprint over pixels.
■ A business deal: Expansion of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation from the entertainment industry to sports management.
■ A sports facility: Nats Park.
■ A strategy: Communication is the key to success.
GREG O’DELL
President and CEO
Events DC
■ What I do: Events DC owns and operates the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the historic Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the surrounding Festival Grounds, and the non-military functions of the DC Armory. The organization also built and serves as landlord for Nationals Park.
■ Where I'm from: Hometown: Stone Mountain, Ga. Residence: Washington.
■ Where I Went to School: Wofford College, B.S. in finance and government.
■ My First Job: Prudential Real Estate Investment Group.
■ A hire: Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Washington Nationals.
■ A brand: Nike.
■ A sports event: March Madness.
■ A trend: Greater usage of analytics in sports.
■ An innovation: Using online catering from seats/enhancing the fan experience.
■ A story that bears watching: Kobe’s rehab.
■ An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Waze, social media GPS.
■ A fantasy job: Pro golfer.
What I Like about …
■ My job: Working with the best team in the world.
■ Sports media: It’s 24/7. You can never shut it off.
■ Sports technology: Accessibility — multiple platforms to watch sports.
■ Sports fans: Unbridled passion and emotion.
What I Would Like To …
■ Change: Free agency.
■ See: Olympics or World Cup in Washington, D.C.
■ See more of in sports: Athletes serving as role models.
■ See more of in sports business: Athletes being more financially responsible.
■ See less of in sports: Touchdown celebration dances. Act like you’ve been there.
■ See less of in sports business: Athletes going broke!
■ See different: Less partisan politics.
■ Eliminate: Terrorism.
What I Don’t Like …
■ In general: Traffic.
■ About sports fans: Violence — when fans go too far.
PERSONAL
What I Like …
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■ Above all else: Loyalty.
■ About myself: Don’t sweat the small stuff.
■ Heroes: JFK and Muhammad Ali.
■ Players: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tiger Woods and our local studs: Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.
■ Teams: Washington Nationals, D.C. United, Wizards, Washington Kastles, and Capitals —
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Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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go, D.C.!
■ City: Barcelona.
■ Possession: Signed flag by Tiger Woods when he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
■ Memento: RFK Stadium seat.
■ Time of year: Spring — March Madness and Masters.
■ Music: Jay-Z, Jill Scott, Sting, Michael Franks.
■ Books: “The Social Animal,” “Delivering Happiness.”
■ Magazines: Fast Company, ESPN, Men’s Health, Golf Mag, GQ.
■ Gadget: Nike+ FuelBand.
■ iPad app: SoundHound.
■ Chores: Outsource all chores!
■ Hobbies: Golf, basketball, reading.
■ Movies: “The Usual Suspects,” “Seven,” “The Matrix.”
■ TV: ESPN’s “30 for 30.”
■ Dessert: Anything chocolate.
■ Drink: Crown Royal and Ginger Ale.
■ Car: Aston Martin.
■ Aftershave: Cologne by Tom Ford.
■ Quote: “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.” Colin Powell.
