From serving as the first President of the WNBA to heading up the Big East Conference, Val Ackerman has made her mark on the sports industry. On this episode, Val talks about the importance of women in leadership and why you shouldn’t be afraid to reinvent your career.
Follow Val: Website
Show Notes
- How she approached coming aboard the Big East (2:01)
- How she’s leading through the changing landscape of college sports (4:22)
- The way she creates structure to help move things forward amid such a fast-paced business (7:00)
- The hardest part of her job (9:25)
- What some of the proudest moments and toughest challenges in her career have been (11:20)
- Her crusade to better women’s leadership in sports, especially internationally (14:27)
- The biggest gaps that need to be closed for women’s sports to be where she wants them to be (15:03)
- How to close the revenue gap between men’s and women’s professional sport (16:24)
- Things she learned from David Stern (17:53)
- Her words to describe David Stern as a leader (20:05)
- Advice for people who are afraid to make a change (21:38)
- What it was like leaving her position as president of the WNBA (25:17)
- How she juggled work and family (26:54)
- Life isn’t always a straight line…don’t be afraid to zig and zag (28:04)
- Biggest fear (30:12)
- Her life motto (30:55)
Resources / People Mentioned
- WNBA
- David Stern
- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
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- Laura Gentile on Building a Winning Brand at ESPN
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- Steve Koonin on Creating an Innovative Culture
And read:
- My Letter to Every Girl Who Plays Sports – And Her Parents
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- 6 Tips for Couples Who Travel for Work
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