ESPN
Marie Margolius
Senior Manager, Office of the Executive Vice President, ESPN, Content
Age: 27
Born: Acton, Mass.
Education: Harvard University, B.A., history and science
About you
Could not go a day without: Spotify. I listen to music all the time, and podcasts keep me sane during my daily commute (shameless plug: the ESPN Daily podcast is my favorite way to start the day).
Most common misperception of your generation: That we don’t want to work hard.
Go-to person when you need help: Can I have two? My mom and stepdad. They are both incredibly resilient, and are really smart, critical thinkers who always strive to do the right thing.
In 10 years I hope to be … : In a job that challenges me, surrounded by people who make me better, and best friends with Lizzo.
Sports are chock-full of incredible, complex and compelling stories — complete with heroes, villains, utter joy and deep despair. The art of bringing those stories to life, combined with the business of sharing them with the world, is really exciting to me.
In the Industry
Biggest surprise at career’s start: I continue to be so pleasantly surprised by how willing people are to help me learn and grow in my career. I’ve been lucky to gain some really amazing mentors both within ESPN and externally. For such a competitive and fast-moving industry, it’s refreshing that people are willing to slow down and help others.
Questions for networking: I always like to learn about people’s thought processes around major professional decisions they’ve made. Would they make the same decision again? What would they do differently? Answers to these questions help me create a decision-making framework for the choices and challenges in my own career.
How should sports address social issues? Sports are an incredible force to unite people from all walks of life. In the places where sports and social issues intersect, I think it’s important we address those issues and use the unifying nature of sports to bring different voices into the conversation.
Sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Elevating and investing in women’s athletics.
