Cornell alumni discuss the business of the NBA
By Caroline Shin
When "Linsanity" struck last February, the National Basketball Association (NBA) raced to get No. 17 jerseys on the shelves and feed the sudden demand immediately.
That was the job of one Cornell alumna and NBA executive.
And when Dwyane Wade shot hoops for charity, or when Blake Griffin flew over a Kia in a dunk contest, these were all business initiatives funneled through the NBA's management team, some of whom have steered their independent career paths from Cornell to ultimately land "where amazing happens."
To share their experiences and behind-the-scenes work, a mini league of six Cornellian NBA executives led a sold-out panel discussion organized by the Cornell Entrepreneur Network in partnership with Cornell Mosaic Nov. 28 at the Cornell Club in New York City. Between them, the panelists had nearly 75 years at the NBA.
"It's a simple business, right? We sell tickets; we sell suites; and we sell sponsorships. That's how our teams make money," said 14-year NBA veteran Christopher Granger '93, executive vice president of team marketing and business. "But simple isn't easy," especially at a time "when 'luxury' is a bad word for corporations," he said.
Still, the NBA managed to sell more than $1 billion in tickets this year, he said, and that includes 2 million tickets sold for $10.
When Linda Choong '90, senior vice president of global retail operations and Knicks season tickets holder since the mid-'90s, attends games, she scans the stadiums for jerseys, hats, hoodies -- any NBA merchandise.
"It means the registers are ringing," she said.
Choong helped launch the NBA store on Fifth Avenue in 1998, the first retail venture for a North American sports league. Earlier this year, she led merchandising around Jeremy Lin in what she calls "an unprecedented basketball phenomenon."
"How do you maximize on something that seemingly came out of nowhere?" she found herself asking. She finalized the graphics on the merchandise, worked out logistics with manufacturing partners to maintain inventory -- with a planned five-to-seven day product turnover -- and switched placement of merchandise at the store and on the website.
"And between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we broke a lot of sales records this year," Choong said.
Executive Vice President Mark Tatum '91, Senior Vice President Rachel Jacobson '96 and Vice President Susan Schroeder '86 of the global marketing partnerships division are charged with leveraging the NBA's assets -- 16 offices from New York to Moscow -- and building campaigns with companies from Adidas to Sanofi Aventis.
After only four months at the NBA, Schroeder has bragging rights to a "Saturday Night Live" spoof of a Delta-Madison Square Garden marketing campaign she had managed, and she has more of that marketing magic up her sleeves: "It's too soon for me to say, but you'll see in the All-Stars."
Where the NBA's star power can be leveraged for social good worldwide, Todd Jacobson '97, senior vice president of community relations, steps to the plate. "Here are kids without water who knew Michael Jordan, Marcus Camby," he said. "What a difference we can make if we could harness this passion."
A former overseas soccer professional and an Ivy League champion at Cornell, Todd Jacobson helped develop the program NBA Cares and also directs the league's government affairs.
During a Q&A audience members asked about Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver succeeding David Stern as commissioner in 2014. "Adam has been at David's side for 20 years," assured Tatum. "We're in really good hands." And about the age cap for NBA players at the Olympics: "There was never any proposal for that," said Tatum. "There was a lot of discussion this summer, but there's nothing on the table."
Caroline Shin is a freelance writer in New York City.
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