In building out NBC’s sports division, NBC Broadcast and Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus consistently has looked to executives outside of his group to fill leadership positions.
In 2011, Lazarus brought Jim Bell over from “The Today Show” to become executive producer of the Olympics and “give a new perspective than someone who’s just been producing sports.” In January 2016, Lazarus hired David Preschlack from ESPN to run NBC Sports’ regional sports networks, and in September 2015, he hired Jenny Storms from PepsiCo to run marketing for the sports division.
“What I’ve found in creating successful organizations is that sometimes bringing new and outside perspectives can enhance and propel an organization,” he said. “I want to bring in those outside perspectives. Read anything that you and your colleagues write. In today’s environment, it’s all about how old media is doing the same old thing all over again. I believe that bringing in outside and new thinking is good for any organization, no matter what it is.”
When Lazarus decided that he needed a No. 2 executive to run the sports business (NBCUniversal promoted him to chairman of NBC Broadcasting and Sports in September 2016), it came as little surprise that he would consider non-NBC executives.
It didn’t take long for Lazarus to focus on PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua. Last week, NBC announced that Bevacqua would be president of NBC Sports Group, reporting directly to Lazarus. Bevacqua will oversee programming, marketing, digital, the RSNs and all golf businesses for NBC Sports Group.
One area that Bevacqua will not oversee is the Olympics, which will remain under Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics and Business. Storms will continue to work directly with Lazarus and Zenkel on Olympic marketing; she will work with Bevacqua on other NBC Sports Group marketing.
Pete Bevacqua will leave the PGA of America to become president of NBC Sports Group.Getty Images
“As Steve [Burke, NBCU’s CEO] and I talked about the sports division, we agreed that if the right person with a differing perspective happens to be available, we should consider it,” Lazarus said. “Pete popped into my head at one point, and I just said, ‘Hmm. That’s an interesting one.’ I thought about myriads of other people. But I did a little research on Pete and really believed he would be a great addition to an already strong team.”
Bevacqua was in high demand. The PGA of America had extended his contract through 2024. And our Olympics reporter, Ben Fischer, told me that Bevacqua was offered, and turned down, the CEO job for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Fischer’s sources say that Bevacqua and Sarah Hirshland, chief commercial officer of the U.S. Golf Association, both impressed the USOC board during in-person interviews in June, but Bevacqua received the first offer in late June before the group turned to Hirshland, a scenario that drew a “no comment” from Bevacqua. USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky confirmed Bevacqua was a finalist, but wouldn’t say whether he was actually offered the position.
Bevacqua will start in September and will focus on growth opportunities, which include everything from gambling and esports to rights fee negotiations, which will become especially heated in the next few years. NBC already has said it is interested in bidding for rights to the PGA Championship, which are up next year. Lazarus said Bevacqua would stay out of those talks.
“He’s coming in to help me manage the expansion of our company and work directly with the programming, marketing, digital RSN and golf groups while getting involved in the new areas of esports and gambling,” Lazarus said. “He will work with me and the team on strategizing about the next series of rights deals that are all coming up over the next few years.”
I asked our golf reporter, John Lombardo, about his experience in covering Bevacqua, who has been with the PGA of America since 2012. Lombardo described Bevacqua as a strong consensus builder who relies on a more personal approach to get business done.
Bevacqua is described as a deft negotiator, somebody who handled several thorny issues for the PGA of America — from the PGA Championship’s move from August to May beginning next year to pushing golf to be more inclusive. Bevacqua is known to have a genuine, relatable style that effortlessly melds his Georgetown law degree and CEO background with his work as a caddie when he was a kid growing up in suburban New York.
Bevacqua described his management style with similar terms.
“I let people do their job,” he said. “I love to get people in a room and think out loud. You get better decisions when you go about them as a group than if you go about them alone. I am open and collaborative, which in today’s age can come across as clichés. But that’s how I conduct my professional life.”
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
