The Sports Info Business

Name:                              Buffy Filippell
Title:                                President
Current Organization:      TeamWork Consulting
Years with Organization:  Over 20 years

1. Describe your position and current responsibilities.
I’m an executive search consultant to the sports and live event industry. I’m hired by sports and live event organizations when they need to find someone to fill a senior level job. I help craft a job description representative of the actual goals and challenges of the job; contact candidates and sources that might fit that description and interview those that are interested; present the best fitting candidates to my client; arrange the candidates for face-to-face interviews with my clients and help my clients and final candidates negotiate the compensation. About 8 -9 years ago, I founded an online recruiting solution business for sports organizations and called that “TeamWork Online”. It mirrored many of my same executive search procedures but using online technologies.

2. Tell us about your first job in sports.
I worked for Wilson Sporting Goods in their tennis promotions department and was responsible for managing the junior development program for Wilson’s tennis division. The program provided Wilson merchandise to the top American junior tennis players such as Andrea Jaeger, Tracy Austin and John McEnroe.

3. What was best advice ever received?
My father, “Get on with it.”

4. What sports memory are you most fond of telling to others?
I “qualified” for the Women’s National Collegiate Tennis Championship in 1974 because the USTA allowed any 2 players from every women’s collegiate team to play. No one on my team at Indiana University wanted to play because it was scheduled well after school was out for the summer, so I “volunteered.” I drew the #13 seed, Candy Reynolds. We walked on the court at 12 noon and walked off the court at 12:15pm. That included 5 minutes of warm-up. She aced me 19 times!

5. Describe the area(s) of opportunity for growth in your business.
We were early in the sports industry to create an executive search specialty. We were early in the sports industry to promote online recruiting solutions, and we’ll keep inventing new approaches to put the best candidates and hiring managers together.

6. What are the biggest challenges that face your business today?
I think the same challenges that everyone faces-tightening of credit trickles down to all areas of the economy.

7. What is the best way to get a full time job in your sports?
The best way to get a job in sports is most likely through sales or some unique skill in graphic design, communications, etc. Sales is the easiest because everyone needs someone to generate revenue. Building and continuing to build your skills in revenue generation through college and through one’s career I see would always be helpful.

8. How has this business changed in the last five years?
From 2009 to 2004? 9/11 changed the world quite a bit. But there have been significant periods of growth, and now there is a lot of slowing down. Too many retailers might also
translate into too many arenas. With credit tighter, we might see less entrepreneurism, and that’s what is so great about sports. And how will the internet affect all of this? I wish I had a crystal ball.

9. What are the kinds of things do you look for in an employee?
I like people to be enthusiastic about themselves and have a positive outlook on life. I also like a good amount of empathy and sense of humor. During times like these, both
are important.

10. Finish this thought. If I had to do it all over again, I would start by…..
holding onto our investment in Blue Ribbon Sports (Nike). I think my dad sold
that off too quickly.