Event Recap: Brian Friedman ('95)

On Friday, September 27th, the Sports Business Society was pleased to present its first in-person speaker of the year, Brian Friedman (’95). A graduate from CALS, Friedman is currently in his fourth year as the Chief Financial Officer for the New York Jets.

On his current role...

Friedman kicked off the discussion describing what responsibilities came with his position, and what tasks he was expected to complete on a daily basis. In his role, he told listeners, he oversees everything financial within the Jets organization, requiring him to know “a little about a lot.” He put his own twist on a popular phrase, describing that his job requires him to be "the jack of all trades, master of all trades." Learning about all fields is an essential aspect of his job, equipping him with the knowlege challenge experts and monitor investments put forth by the team in all areas. For that reason, there is no standard day for him--but he was not one to complain. "The variety of tasks," he explained, "keeps things interesting."

On his uncommon transition...

Before joining the Jets, Friedman was the CFO of Blissworld, LLC, a spa and retail product company. When asked about his career path, he told the audience of what he called “the common transition from women’s skin care to football.” While he may have gotten laughs, he viewed the transition as logical. He never fully understood the skin care products he was selling, but his job wasn’t to convince women to buy the product--that’s not in the CFO’s job description. For the same reason, he later pointed out, Jets owner Woody Johnson didn’t care nor ask whether or not Friedman was an avid Jets fan, but instead if he could get the job done.

Friedman stressed that he values every step in his path toward being where he is today. When giving advice to the students later in the discussion, he explained that he felt “the days of taking one job and staying there for life are over.” He thinks that if an individual only works at one place for his/her entire life, that individual will not be able to see other ways of getting things done. The knowledge received in early jobs, he continued, is even more crucial than compensation. Learning curves should be steep, and if they begin to level off, he advises for an individual to do something about it to make it steep again. He doesn’t believe he would be where he is today without his earlier positions and the knowledge, skills, and abilities he attained through them.

On hosting Super Bowl XLVIII...

With the Super Bowl coming to New York, Friedman was asked numerous questions concerning his feelings and approach going into the mega-event. While excited, Friedman illustrated the extreme difficulty behind the preparation. He constantly has to go through every conceivable thing that can happen during the game, but as he told the crowd, you never really can go through every possible situation.

He was in New Orleans for last years Super Bowl, sitting in the same box as the event planners and big names responsible for the game that year. The lights went out during the 3rd quarter, postponing the game for 34 minutes, causing a frantic scene in the box he was sitting in, and perhaps making him second-guess the pleasantries behind hosting the Super Bowl.

In any case, he explained, he is happy to bring such an amazing event to New York--or, technically, New Jersey. "On Sundays, Metlife Stadium is already the fifth largest city in New Jersey," he said half-serious, we can only imagine what it will be like when that Sunday in February brings the largest annual sports event to the bright lights in the Meadowlands.

His advice to students...

When asked to give advice to students who may want to pursue the same career that Friedman did, he told the crowd to go out and learn. He pointed towards the learning curve alluded to earlier and told the room to understand a skill, and go for things--don’t stay on the sidelines. The best business advice that he claimed he’s ever gotten to this day is that it’s “better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission." Make mistakes, learn from them, and don’t stop learning. Friedman clearly remembers what it was like to be in the students’ shoes, and seemed passionate and sincere while sharing this advice.

As always, the Cornell Sports Business Society extends its thanks to alumni like Brian Friedman who take time to share their experiences with our members. The information and insight people like Friedman provide to our group is unique and indispensable, and we hope that this is the first of many great events with him.