Chris Fix’s colleagues reacted with shock to the longtime ad executive’s surprising death on March 22 following a heart attack. After all, Fix was just 53 years old and was in great shape — working out almost every day. The idea that someone as young as Fix would pass away was hard for his friends to grasp.
But when his old CBS Sports colleagues talked about the man they called “Fixer” last week, they laughed much more than they cried, as they remembered an outsized personality who, as more than one person described, lit up every room he entered.
“He was a great spirit,” said Jo Ann Ross, president and chief advertising revenue officer for CBS. “He was always upbeat.”
Fix spent 27 years at CBS starting in 1988. CBS executives credited him with pushing the network to adopt a national ad sales strategy around online events including March Madness On Demand and Masters Live.
Chris Fix spent 27 years at CBS.courtesy of cbs sports
“‘Fixer’ was way out in front of this trend,” said Pluto TV Chief Revenue Officer Rich Calacci, who worked with Fix at CBS Interactive in the 1990s and 2000s.
While his friends touted his sales acumen during interviews last week, they were more interested in telling stories that showed his larger-than-life personality.
Alex Riethmiller, the NFL’s vice president of communications, worked with Fix for more than 12 years at SportsLine.com, which eventually became CBSSports.com. He recalled attending the Final Four in 2007 in Atlanta when he took part in one of Fix’s client outings.
“‘Fixer’ had rented a party bus — I’ll never forget it — the inside was lined with faux leopard skin,” Riethmiller said. “A bunch of us piled in to go to dinner, and then we spent the night riding around in it listening to cheesy music and maybe having an adult beverage or two. There was no doubt who was in charge — ‘Fixer’ was the captain and completely in his element.”
There must have been something about Fix and party buses because Calacci told a similar story. CBS scheduled a sales meeting in Austin, Texas, so Fix arranged for a bus to drive a half hour to The Salt Lick BBQ restaurant in Driftwood, Texas. The only problem, Calacci said, was that the bus didn’t have a radio.
“‘Fixer’ took the mike and sang Willie Nelson songs the entire way,” he said. “I’ve never laughed so hard. I had tears coming down my face.”
Friends were unanimous in recalling his ability to make people laugh.
“He made everyone feel like a million dollars,” said Kelli Raftery, CBS’s executive vice president of communications.
Ross agreed. She best remembers simple stories that Fix would tell about his home life. “He would describe the controlled chaos of raising three young sons,” she said. “The stories were so funny I would cry from laughing so hard.”
A couple of weeks ago, Calacci found himself in Fix’s hometown of Hermosa Beach, Calif., having missed a business meeting after myriad flight delays. Fix invited him to his house for dinner, and they hung out most of the night, telling stories and catching up.
Less than two weeks later, Calacci heard that Fix had died.
“I feel so lucky that I got to spend that time with him,” Calacci said. “Chris was the greatest guy, the greatest friend, the greatest colleague, the greatest teammate. Everything about him was exemplary.”
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
