Event Recap: Bo Moon '99

On April 14, 2014, Bo Moon ’99 addressed the ILR Sports Business Society on the future of sports. A graduate of the College of Engineering, Moon currently leads sports and gaming initiatives at Samsung. He also co-founded Bloomberg Sports, several years after joining Bloomberg as a product manager. Before his tenure at Bloomberg, Moon had stints at PricewaterhouseCoopers, iCollection and Prudential.

During his discussion with the Society, Moon shared advice for students interested in entering the field of sports. Most salient was a point to show people in the field what you have done so far and what you can do in the future, as demonstrating value is absolutely essential to establishing oneself in this competitive industry. As an “intrapreneur” building up Samsung Sports and Gaming, Moon very clearly showcased how getting results matters, especially early on when establishing a venture like Samsung S&G or BSports.

Moon took time to listen to each club member’s future plans in the sport industry, providing insights into specific ways to start a career. He also emphasized that there were many ways to enter the sports world outside the traditional internships and jobs with teams, leagues, agencies, and networks. Increasingly, companies in every industry are attempting to carve out a spot in the sports landscape. In his role at Samsung, Moon hopes to take the company’s sports footprint far beyond being a jersey sponsor. He highlighted Samsung, and some competitors, as being non-traditional sports companies with significant and growing presences in the industry.

Moon also touched on how the industry was preparing for the possible legalization of sports gambling in the United States. The American sports betting market would be extremely lucrative, and many companies have begun maneuvering to take advantage of a change in policy. Moon stressed that leagues could miss out on large revenue streams if they do not embrace the gambling market, and mentioned the NBA as a league that has already begun to sell their in-game statistics to sports books.

Given his responsibilities growing both companies, Moon’s insights into the recent focus on sports data touched on topics ranging from predictive analytics and fantasy sports enhancement to broadcast packages and evaluation tools for teams. He also commented on a number of best practices pertaining to content and data, highlighting the advantages to properties emphasizing new media and strong technology. His main points focused on engaging the end user, something he made clear was a priority at Samsung. Moon predicted all user interface would become more targeted an personalized in the future, which has value to both companies and individuals.

As always, ILRSBS thanks alumni like Bo Moon who take time to speak to our members. The knowledge and experience they share are invaluable to students aspiring to work in the sports industry.  We greatly appreciated hosting Bo and we look forward to staying connected in the future!

Adam Kirsch contributed to this post.