■ Alex Baldwin: Finding balance.
■ Renee Baumgartner: Knowing that the competition is relentless so it is critical to create a culture of academic and athletic excellence.
■ Kim Bohuny: Time management.
■ Christine Brown: Staying relevant and current and original.
■ Mary Byrne: Staying ahead of the field.
■ Stephanie Cheng: Work-life balance.'
■ Sandy Cross: Evolving the face of golf so it’s more reflective of the face of society, and capitalizing on unique opportunities, such as golf’s return to the Olympic Games in 2016, to help fuel that evolution.
■ Stephanie Druley: Creating new ways to engage and keep viewers.
■ Donna Fiedorowicz: Keeping sponsors focused on efficiently activating their properties to ensure a strong ROI.
■ Kelly Flanagan: Really no different than any successful person in any industry: Trying to maximize the number of hours in a day and in a week.
■ Karen Forgus: Operating in the smallest MLB market.
■ Erleen Hatfield: Never enough time.
■ Sue Hunt: Having people not understand how different consumers digest content.
■ Gail Hunter: Staying relevant and proactive to our fans and business partners.
■ Beth Hutter: During the final round of a golf event, having several players all tied for the lead. While it’s exhilarating, it presents a challenge in trying to figure out the best way to broadcast it since, in golf, all those players could be hitting their shots simultaneously.
■ Julie Kikla: Hiring. Finding candidates with the right mix of digital-content skills, startup-level drive and wide variety of sports experience takes considerable time.
■ Heidi Massey-Bong: Proving its relevance and justifying the ROI.
■ Bernadette McGlade: Needing more time.
■ Michelle McKenna-Doyle: Breaking into the “inner circle.” Sports is filled with many people who have been in this industry their whole careers, and it can be challenging for outsiders coming in.
■ Kimberly Meesters: Balancing my duties as a mom with the nontraditional work hours of the sports industry.
■ Marla Newman: Not having the longevity in the industry that so many do, although I think it’s also an advantage.
■ Anne Occi: Managing the logistics of our postseason.
■ Jay Parry: Delineating to the people I hear from daily who are interested in working in the industry that it isn’t just about a passion for sports; possessing and demonstrating business skills is paramount.
■ Kristen Rose: Similar to in other industries: continuing to reinvent, evolve and achieve new goals.
■ Jennifer Sabatelle: Balancing work and life.
■ Heidi Sandreuter: There are many opportunities, but one of them is striking the right balance of activation and asset investment.
■ Meredith Starkey: Competitive pressure and spending in the wireless category, which means we have to be smart and effective with our approach.
■ Maribeth Towers: Balancing all the priorities. We have so much we want to accomplish.
■ Ali Towle: It never slows down.
■ Ronnie Tucker: Staying on top of all the change and innovation across the digital landscape, understanding what solutions are relevant for our business and how to best apply them. Thankful for my digital and social team.
■ Alyson Walker: Technological transformation.
■ Alison Weber: Staying on top of the changes, trends and influences across our broad scope.
■ Pamela Wheeler: Getting people to convert their love of women’s sports to actually supporting them financially.
■ Andrea Williams: Understanding public perception of college athletics. Having been a former student athlete, it served as one of my greatest gifts in life: personal growth, education, worldly exposure/experience, healthy lifestyle, friendships, preparation for the workplace, and leaving school debt-free.
