Networking stressed at Gabelli students’ NFL visit
Undergraduate | Nov 12, 2014 | Gabelli School of Business
A group of Gabelli School of Business students visited the headquarters of the National Football League recently.
By Constantine Z. Demopoulos (GSB ’15)
The National Football League’s work doesn’t end with the Super Bowl.
Despite the fact that the schedule of games only lasts six months, there is no off-season at the league office, Leo Kane, senior vice president of consumer products, told a group of 10 Fordham University students recently.
“Everything that we do starts with the fan. It has to start with the fan. If we don’t remember it’s about the fan, we won’t grow our business,” Kane told the Business of Sports Society students during a Nov. 5 visit to the NFL League Office in New York City.
The visit featured career advice, insight on working for America’s most popular sport and, of course, football talk. But the business advice was front-and-center during the event.
The trip was organized with the help of Catherine Danielowich, a Gabelli School of Business alumna and manager of consumer products with the NFL.
Renie Anderson, senior vice president of sponsorship and partner management, told the students that when starting out, they needed to “fake it until you make it.” Some tasks may seem insurmountable, Anderson said, but new employees should push forward to make managers believe they are capable of completing anything with hard work and dedication.
Bobby Gallo, vice president of club business development, stressed networking, a Gabelli School of Business pillar, as a must for aspiring business leaders.
“It is the relationships that you create with people that will help and benefit you,” Gallo said.
Gallo also reminded students to be “selectively open-minded” and try new things at the beginnings of their careers but continue to hone specific skills.
The visit was an “extraordinary experience,” said junior Michael Trotta Jr., who aspires to work for the NFL.
“With there being so many different jobs, I know there will be a niche that I can excel at there,” Trotta said. “Without a doubt, this trip solidified my interest in pursuing a career at the National Football League. I now have an inside look and a foot in the door at the greatest sports league in America.”
