Event Recap: Ari Roitman '98 [Video]

The Cornell ILR Sports Business Society was fortunate enough to Skype with Ari Roitman on September 4th. Roitman is a ’98 Cornell graduate and currently serves as the Philadelphia Eagles’ Senior Vice President of Business.

Please read after the jump to hear about Roitman’s unique career path in sports, his role in the business behind the Eagles, initiatives they’ve have taken under his leadership, his career path, and much more!

On his role as SVP, Business:

“I essentially oversee a number of the revenue streams - I oversee all corporate partnership business, as well as our premium business which consists of suites, club seats, other premium products we sell, and then all of our media assets that can be monetized. That all falls under my jurisdiction. 

On a day-to-day basis, my old job (as VP of Corporate Sales & Marketing at the MLB) was much more grassroots – I was doing deals; I was at the forefront of negotiating partnerships. While I’m still doing that, my role is now that of a manager. I run a team with folks that are primarily responsible for doing those things, and my job is to make sure everything is running smoothly – that all of our partners are happy, that all of our commitments are being managed well. And also to keep in mind that we have a certain way we run our business, and making sure that we stay true to that."

On his years at Cornell:

Compared to others in the industry, Roitman’s educational background is unique. After finishing all of his prerequisites as a pre-med student, Roitman was on track to graduate as a pre-med student.

He recalls the particularly rigorous summer between his sophomore and junior.

“I took a full year of organic chemistry in 8 weeks, which I don’t recommend ever doing for anyone…ever again. It was Hell – 8 am to 11 pm every day, and not a single weekend night was spent out. It taught me something about myself.”

However, that summer allowed him to reflect on his life path.

“I just didn’t think I had another six to ten years left in me before I could become a full fledged member of the working force as a doctor."

Roitman transferred majors, and eventually graduated with a degree in Psychology.

Though Roitman had minimal business background, see how his Psych major helped him learn the most essential skill in sports business:

On his career path:

With no business background, but a deep passion for sports, Roitman’s first position after graduating was an unpaid internship at a Manhattan sports marketing firm that he got with the help of a Cornell professor.

The firm represented various sports broadcasters, and Roitman talked about the "less-than-fulfilling" work.

“I spent my first three months editing tapes of broadcasting talent like Chris Berman and Jack Edwards…my job was to edit their highlight reel tapes and making sure our VCR’s at the agency were recording broadcasts over night…not exactly what I went to Cornell for.” 

“The bottom line is that sports, like entertainment - and I don’t think this is a good thing, but it’s the way it is – it is very much a ‘pay-your-dues’ industry. If you have the attitude that you will do well with whatever ‘garbage work’ is thrown your way, then you will have the opportunity to do better work.”

And things did get better for Roitman. After eight months of the aforementioned “garbage work,” Roitman was then given the opportunity to work with the US Women’s National Soccer Team (who had just won the World Cup on American soil), where he was involved with management of their sponsors.

After two years with the women’s team, Ari had earned a position with MLB, where he would eventually go on to serve as the league’s VP of Corporate Sales & Marketing.

Roitman recalls his thought process behind a monumental decision in his career - when he decided to leave the MLB and join the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. See what he valued, and heavily considered before making such a crucial move:

On the difference between working in partnerships in baseball and football:

Roitman was asked how his approach to business and partnerships changed as he went from the MLB to the NFL. However, he said the most substantial difference isn't working in a different sport. Rather, working on the league-side of the MLB (or any league for that matter) is considerably different than the team-side business.

What are some of the major differences between working on the business of league-side management and team-side partnerships?  See Roitman's explanation:

On how Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick’s controversial history has not affected Eagles’ corporate partnerships:

“Something like that comes up, it’s never completely gone. The organization took a big gamble a couple years ago when we signed him. Whether or not you think it paid off in a football sense is irrelevant to me; obviously the more we win, the better off the business is going to be – there is a direct correlation there. But the bottom line is, people ask, and business partners ask. However, it was never and will never be a deterrent or get to the point where it prevents us from consummating a partnership or where it prevents us from selling a suite.”

“As an individual, if you believe in second chances, if you believe that people learn from their mistakes, and you want to judge them on how they live their lives after the fact…in my opinion he’s done a pretty good job, about as good of a job as you possibly can…I can’t say that it has affected the business, but it is very real, and we do get the question.”

On the Eagles' latest partnership, Angry Birds: 

Roitman was recently in the news discussing the recent partnership between the Angry Birds brand and the Philadelphia Eagles. In the press release, Roitman stated,

“This is a test of the waters type of partnership, and one that the Eagles desperately wanted to do first.”

See the business behind this deal - how it developed, the plans the Eagles have to integrate the Angry Birds brand, and the value in it for both partners - as well as a funny story Ari shares about Eagles' coach Andy Reid:

On initiatives the Eagles brand has taken to benefit the community and environment:

Though the overall goal for Roitman and the Eagles is to drive revenue, he also noted how much the organization values its positive impact the community.

Roitman discussed a partnership between the Eagles and NRG, which is a Princeton-based Fortune 250 Company. As a result of this partnership, there have been 11,000 solar panels and 14 wind turbines installed at the Lincoln Financial Field. That is enough to generate about one third of the power needed to run the stadium on an annual basis. The Eagles also have a “Go Green” platform that is a league-leading recycling program.

“Sustainability is a vital issue with our ownership, and it is very much in our DNA.”

Roitman also detailed the team’s community outreach. This past year, Beyond Sport recognized the Eagles for having the largest community impact from a sports team in the world. There was a conference in Cape Town, South Africa where the Eagles were awarded for their efforts in the community.

Some of these efforts include the Eagles' Bookmobile, which travels around the Philadelphia area every day to schools, shelters, libraries, recreation centers, and summer camps to read and give free books to children. This initiative is specifically geared to help alleviate the illiteracy epidemic in the area, and has had a significant impact.

“A couple of things are really important to the Philadelphia Eagles – outside of my core responsibilities and revenue generation and the football side of the house, sustainability and community outreach are two pillars that this organization can stand up and feel very good about.”

On whether the economy or improved home-viewing experience has affected luxury sales and premium seating:

According to Roitman, this is a real problem for other teams in the NFL, as well as other leagues. However, the Eagles have yet to face serious repercussions as a result of the recession.

“We are very fortunate to have a passionate fan base here, as well as a very forward-thinking ownership group, a very forward-thinking President, and it leads to very mature, sound business.”

To avoid having to sell these tickets each year, the Eagles look to lock up long-term deals with these consumers.

"We do all club seat tickets on five, seven, or nine year terms, instead of trying to resell every year. We’ve got a 40,000 person waiting list for season tickets, and so we’ve also got to get our premium buyers locked in. Long term, suites are either seven or ten year terms, but that is specific to our market.”

Though it may seem discouraging for potential buyers to lock themselves into a long-term deal like that, Roitman mentioned how valuable such an asset can be to a business.

“A premium purchase is often a business purchase – the organizations that are buying are doing it right, they doing things like looking at an ROI analysis before moving forward. So, if they’re investing $14,000 per year in premium tickets, what type of business did they wind up securing from the entertainment? Oftentimes, we call it a success story – if a deal closes, and one small reason for that is because you took a potential client to your suite for the Eagles/Giants Sunday Night Football game where Brian Dawkins’ number is retired, oftentimes the tickets pay for themselves and then some.”

On the NFL's decision to switch from Reebok to Nike as their official outfitter, and some obstacles the Eagles faced as a result:

This offseason, Nike succeeded Reebok as the NFL's official uniform outfitter. Club member Channing McNeal '15, an ILR student, asked how this new apparel partnership has affected the Eagles from a marketing and sponsorship standpoint.

See how the Reebok logo posed problems for the Eagles as they marketed LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick, and DeSean Jackson for this upcoming NFL season:

On his career advice for students in the room:

Rotiman was asked:

a) What is the best career advice you received along your journey?
b) What advice do you have for the students in room right now?

Roitman discussed how important it is to maintain healthy relationships along your career path. Though things may not consummate as planned, he stressed the importance of not burning any bridges with others.

"The blanket term I use is that 'it's a long life,' When you're young, and you're in business, and something doesn't go your way, it's very easy to get upset and fly off the handle....The bottom line is to always keep in mind that those things, in the grand scheme of things, are very, very small. You never want to do anything to burn bridges, and you never want to do anything that can damage relationships in the long term...Just because something doesn't hit when you want it to hit, doesn't mean that in a year, two years, even three years from now it won't happen."

Roitman told students that even though they might be "paying their dues" early in their careers, by no means is it a reason to get discouraged, but rather an opportunity to prove your worth.

We are thankful that Ari was able to take the time out of his schedule and join us for this Skype chat. Like our other events, this was a tremendous learning opportunity for our members, and we greatly appreciate the insight he provided us with.  We hope to remain closely connected with Ari moving forward.

Thank you to all who attended. We hope to see you for our next event later this month!