Moneyball at Booth: Sports, Analytics, and Business

Jeffrey Chao is a first year student at Chicago Booth. Prior to Booth, Jeffrey worked as a financial analyst on an energy trading floor and as a consultant focused on financial transformation and procurement analytics. Jeffrey has always had a passion for sports, and, once upon a time, he interned for Major League Baseball and the National Football League. At Booth, Jeffrey is a member of the Corporate Management & Strategy Group, Dean Student’s Admissions Committee, and Wine Club.

Jeffrey is also active in the Media, Entertainment, and Sports Group (MESG) and attended its annual conference. He recaps some of the highlights and talks about how some unique features of Chicago Booth academics and the alumni network are helping him position himself for his dream job at the nexus of business and sports.

--Matt Richman

For students like me interested in the business of sports, MESG’s 4^th Annual Sports Symposium felt like Christmas Day. The Symposium featured industry panelists discussing a range of topics, including front office management, sports analytics, digital marketing, and litigation in sports. Panel discussions gave attendees unique insight into the rigorous analytics and business methodologies now performed in many facets of sports business, as well as personal anecdotes about how to land that dream job in the industry. My experience at the conference showed me the breadth and strength of Booth’s varied alumni network, and how I might combine the analytical skills I’m developing in my Booth classes with my passion for sports.

Michael Girsch, a 2003 Booth alum and currently the assistant general manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, set the tone for the day by stating, “there is no equivalent in the corporate world to winning games.” That statement highlighted the motivation behind why people work in sports, and certainly got me pumped to hear more about how sports and business intersect. Throughout the day, many panelists offered sound words of advice to attendees looking to break into the industry. Enthusiasm, passion, and tenacity are key traits, while the ability to communicate and sell an idea is paramount.

Jon Hay and Michael Gries share their
experiences in sports business

I felt encouraged to learn that Booth provides ample opportunities and connections to break into sports business. Two recent Class of 2013 Booth graduates, Jon Hay and Michael Gries, gave back to current Booth students by participating in a panel discussion on the increasingly prominent role of analytics in sports. Gries, who works in baseball operations with the Baltimore Orioles, said his current position is “like a fantasy job.” Both Gries and Hay, a member of the Boston Red Sox’s baseball analytics staff, stuck around long after their panel finished in order to chat with Booth students and symposium attendees about their recruiting strategies and job experiences.

Second year Booth MBAs present
their research

During the lunch hour, second-year Booth MBA students Ryan Jones, Mauricio Zachrisson, and Matt Frankenfeld delivered academic presentations on various sports analytics topics. They developed their papers in a class called Sports Analytics, which I am personally excited to take. This class, taught by renowned professors (and fellow sports lovers) John Huizinga, Tobias Moskowitz, and Kevin Murphy, was one of the reasons that I was so excited about the academics at Booth when I was researching business schools. It turns out that business school professors tend to be sports fanatics as well.

Booth alum David Sally's keynote

It was also exciting to hear from a Booth alum who could soon be known as the “Michael Lewis of soccer/football.” A recipient of a PhD in economics from Chicago Booth, David Sally delivered the symposium’s keynote speech. He discussed findings from his new book, The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong, which has drawn comparisons to Lewis’ Moneyball. In one example, Sally described soccer as a “weakest link sport,” correlating the likelihood of wins to the quality of a team’s worst player rather than its best.

During breaks and at a reception following the Symposium, I had a chance to network and make personal connections with panelists such as John Ball, the founder of a sports consulting firm called Beyond Box Scores. In chatting with another panelist about his career trajectory, I discovered that not only did we have the Booth connection in common, but we went to the same high school.

While the sports business can be a difficult industry to break into, the combination of events like the MESG Symposium, Booth’s rigorous analytical curriculum, the connections with companies and sports organizations facilitated by Career Services, and the incredibly varied and supportive Booth alumni network give me the confidence to pursue my passion. I am personally excited to take all these tools and put them to good use as I pursue a summer internship.

Chicago Women in Business: 2013 Conference Recap

Booth’s Chicago Women in Business (CWiB) recently held its Fall 2013 conference. CWiB is one of the largest and most active student groups on campus, and provides great programming for Booth’s women to network with one another and alumni in a variety of fields, and participate in educational programming such as golf and self-defense lessons, wine tastings with Booth faculty, and investing strategies.

To get a sense of what the conference was like, check out The Booth Experience’s interview and video with conference organizers Gigi Wong and Aditi Mehta (Class of 2014). In this edition of The Booth Experience blog, second-year students Michelle Breunig and Elizabeth Kim also offer their perspectives on what the conference meant to them.

--Matt

  

Michelle Breunig

One of the best things about being at Booth is having the chance to hear and learn from top business leaders. There are so many different opportunities –the Corporate Speaker Series, the Alumni Breakfast Series, conferences organized by the various student organizations, and more. As a first year student last year, CWiB’s annual fall conference was one of my favorite activities and was a great start to the year and the recruiting season. I was excited to attend the event again this year – and it was another great conference! The CWiB co-chairs and volunteers did an excellent job.

The theme of this year’s conference was Success Redefined – Defining Success in a Personal Way. This theme was reflected in the keynote addresses and throughout the different panels. Panel topics included the art of negotiation, networking, leadership stories, and managing career changes. Two Booth alumnae gave the keynote speeches. Paula Fasseas, ’96, Founder and Chair of PAWS Chicago, talked about starting her career in banking and bringing her business training and knowledge to PAWS in Chicago to help spread the No Kill model to shelters across the country. Valerie VanMeter (’04), Senior VP and CFO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, took her own spin on Sheryl Sandberg’s popular “Lean In” message to women. Her message was incredibly powerful and very personal!

I enjoyed learning about the different paths to success everyone has had – and the constant message of pursuing your passion. I also appreciated the candid advice – including the recommendation to take full advantage of all of the opportunities here at Booth. Definitely a great reminder to carry through my second year!

Elizabeth Kim

CWiB is a terrific resource for Booth women. Apart from the practical programming the group hosts to prepare women at Booth for internships and full-time jobs, women can also leverage CWiB to build meaningful friendships and professional networks. 

When Gigi Wong, one of the two Co-Chairs in charge of organizing the CWiB Conference, asked me to facilitate two of the panels, I was grateful for the opportunity as a second year to give back to Booth and to get more involved with the CWiB conference attendees and panelists. The panels I facilitated were called “Leadership Stories: Definition of Success” and “Moving Up and Managing Career Changes.” As I listened to the stories of the panelists, I recognized themes of flexibility, leveraging relationships, and being tenacious. Something that I learned from the panelists and observed first-hand last year was to be attentive and cordial to others. This will build goodwill with others and yourself, which will also pay dividends while at school and beyond.

About the authors:

Michelle Breunig is originally from the Milwaukee, WI area and went to the University of Wisconsin – Madison for an undergraduate degree in Accounting. She then worked for a big 4 public accounting firm. At Booth she is pursuing Concentrations in Finance, Economics, and Entrepreneurship. This past summer Michelle interned at Goldman Sachs in Private Wealth Management in the firm’s Chicago office, and will be returning full time after graduation. At Booth, she is an active member of Chicago Women in Business (CWiB), the Investment Management Group (IMG), and the Dean’s Student Admissions Committee (DSAC). In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and their dog, traveling (currently planning a 2 week trip to Italy post-graduation), and enjoying Chicago’s fabulous restaurant scene.

Elizabeth Kim is a second year at Booth and is a Co-Chair of the Management Consulting Group and the Latter-Day Saints Students Association (LDSSA) in addition to being an Admissions Fellow. She is currently pursuing concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Operations Management. This past summer, Elizabeth spent her summer at McKinsey & Company in Chicago where she will be returning full-time. Elizabeth grew up in California and attended UCLA, graduating cum laude with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Accounting. She joined Deloitte & Touche LLP upon graduation and was an Enterprise Risk Services Manager in the accounting consultations group in the D.C. area prior to coming to Booth. Elizabeth enjoys cooking for her friends and family and exploring the city of Chicago.

Inside Look Into the Fast-Paced World of Rock Star Entrepreneurs

There have been so many conferences taking place these past few weeks! This week we'll learn about Seedcon, an annual conference co-sponsored by the Polsky Center and the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group. Vanessa Xu, a first-year student and enthusiastic DSAC blogger, gives us her unique perspective as a volunteer for the event.

-Dana
***

I was very drawn to Booth because of its rich environment of intellectual curiosity where amazing ideas are born and everyone comes from diverse backgrounds and is willing to share and learn from one another. When ideas and passions collide, as they often do here, fantastic things happen. Once such occasion where this happens is SeedCon, an annual entrepreneurship and venture capital conference hosted by Booth’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group (EVC) on November 16th at Gleacher and November 17th at Venue SIX10. As a member of EVC, I volunteered for this 2 day conference. Part of my job over these two days was working at the registration desk and being assigned to Sam Yagan, a key speaker, as his handler to make sure he is where he needs to be at all times. Don’t know Sam Yagan? Have you heard of eDonkey, SparkNotes or OkCupid? He’s the guy who co-founded all of these start-ups!

SeedCon really allowed me to be near the energy of entrepreneurs in the vibrant Chicago start-up scene. Arguably the most fun part of the conference was the Fast Pitch competition on opening night, during which 6 finalist teams competed for a chance to win $100,000+ in awards and consulting hours in front of a panel of 8 distinguished judges for 4 minutes of pitch and 6 minutes of intense Q&A. Two of the teams were composed of Booth students; a team of first-years actually took 3rd place for their idea of bringing a new infrared technology to market. The other teams were equally impressive in their start-up ambitions; two particularly memorable ones include a team from IE Business School in Madrid pitching their idea on “Bet Me,” a low-cost online gambling site, and a team of two ex-beauty and makeup consultants pitching their idea on “Stylisted,” a service that matched freelance beauty professionals with professional women. The winner of the competition was Intelligent Loop, a B2B service that employed real-time scanning technology to help companies track industrial assets. I had a feeling this was the winner as soon as the judge commented during Q&A that this kind of technology can really help governments keep track of crumbling infrastructure like railways and highways.

On Day 2 of the conference, my day started early at 7:30AM to help set up and grab breakfast with the other volunteers. We were all excited to hear keynote speaker Mark Suster, a partner at GRP Partners, who was present at SeedCon for the first time after many years of wooing from the EVC group. He delivered a powerful presentation, preferring to use highly visual slides to punctuate his points on what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur – the highs are higher and the lows are lower than any other career. You can read his blog post describing his experiences at SeedCon.

There was plenty of time for networking, where I found people were eager to meet others in search of partners, funders, or just for pure socializing. I met many start-up founders and a ton of students who were excited about entrepreneurship and venture capital. One of the best things I got out of the conference was also learning more about my fellow classmates and their aspirations. A friend shared an insight that resonated with me again and again as I listened to Sam Yagan, Bryce Johnson (the founder of Braintree), and Matt Matros (the founder of Protein Bar) speak about their entrepreneurial journeys: to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to have a certain kind of grit that allows you to not give a hoot about what anyone else thinks. Sam Yagan spoke unapologetically about his how his team came up with the idea of building OkCupid: they were trying to find internet industries where it is possible to leverage “cheaper, easier and more fun,” and after ruling out pornography and gambling, they decided on a dating website. True story.

About your blogger: I grew up in NYC with a background in finance and accounting. I always knew an MBA was in my destiny, and the question of “where?” was easily solved when I attended Booth Live; I was blown away by the faculty, the beauty of the Harper Center, and the caliber of the student body. Now that I’ve been a full-fledged Boothie for the past 2.5 months, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life (only a slight exaggeration) and so very glad I made the decision to come to Booth. The two years will go by faster than I can say “recruiting overload” so I’m trying hard to hold onto my seat as I take in each and every second of this journey.

The Power of Marketing at Chicago Booth

Anne Panek, a first-year student, recently attended the Marketing Group's annual conference. This week, as part of a guest blog feature for The Booth Experience, we hear more about the conference itself and other activities that the group organizes. Thank you to Swati Ayyar, a co-chair of the Marketing Group, for providing us with a photo of the event.
Dana

***

Prior to coming to Booth, I managed the marketing department for an insurance company that insured home equity portfolios. While working in that industry during the last few years proved to be a valuable experience in gaining a perspective on the recent economic changes, I'm looking to switch gears a bit and work for a CPG company. Getting an MBA from Booth was a logical step for this career move and will allow me to better pursue my interests. I was drawn to Booth not only because of the quality of the research by the marketing faculty and but also for the opportunity to take the experiential "hands-on" courses that are available in the discipline.

During Dean Kumar’s opening remarks at the seventh annual Marketing Group conference that I attended on October 24, he reiterated his enthusiasm for the current marketing curriculum and expressed confidence that it can be taken to an even higher level. He believes that the school's access to the Nielsen consumer database, in particular, enhances Booth's already unrivaled reputation for research and will continue to drive top faculty and student talent (three marketing faculty members have been recently hired). Yet, perhaps the comment most indicative of Dean Kumar's passion for making Booth a marketing powerhouse was his comparison of the program's current potential to the revolutionary changes that the university made to the field of finance decades earlier.

This conference is one of the largest annual events organized by the Marketing Group. Over 150 attendees were present, including first- and second- year students, faculty, and company representatives. Students had the chance to chat with company representatives during the dinner hour. As a first-year student still familiarizing myself with the recruiting process and scoping out internship possibilities, I found this to be a great opportunity to candidly chat with several employees of leading firms in brand management and other marketing services, such as Kraft, PepsiCo, and Wrigley. In fact, the conference itinerary was designed to accommodate both formal and casual networking opportunities, which provided us with the chance to speak with a wide range of attendees.

Two concurrent panel discussions were held afterwards: "Marketing in a Digital Age" and "Innovation in a Changing Landscape." I attended the former, which was moderated by Booth professor Jean-Pierre Dubé, and included company representatives from American Express, Digitas, Progressive, and Target. I found it interesting that many panelists discussed not only how to leverage customer data in a meaningful and pragmatic way, but also how it was important to respect customers' concerns about how their information was being used (even when it is publicly posted on social media sites!).

In addition to the conference, the Marketing Group offers a number of other events to assist students during the recruiting process (and beyond!): one-on-one résumé reviews, an interviewing workshop, company visits to campus, and marketing treks. It's important to take advantage of these opportunities; not only can they greatly enhance the chances of receiving an internship offer at a top firm, but also strengthen professional and interpersonal skills.

Overall, this event was a first quarter highlight for me, and a great opportunity to learn more about some of the most pressing issues in the field, as well as how the corporate and academic sides of marketing are reconciled.

Binder Full of Booth Women

The past few weeks at Booth have been filled with conferences, giving students the opportunity to learn about particular industries, broaden their professional networks, and hear the thoughts of successful alumni. The Chicago Women in Business (CWiB) Conference, which was held on October 19, is one such event. This week, we have an update from Erica Nollen, a member of CWiB who attended the event. Many thanks to Diane Nguyen for sharing her photos of the event with The Booth Experience!

-Dana

Hey Booth Nation! I’m Erica Nollen, a second year at Booth studying marketing and strategic management. After a few years of working in management consulting and marketing strategy, I’ve come back to my Midwestern roots for my MBA. In addition to its proximity to the best state in the union (Ohio–my Buckeye state pride runs deep), I chose to come to Booth for its diverse student body, hands-on learning opportunities and flexible curriculum and my experience thus far has exceeded my expectations.

One of my favorite parts of being at Booth is getting to hear stories and glean insights from today’s business and organizational leaders. From daily Lunch and Learns, the weekly Alumni Breakfast Series, annual conferences and more, we’re fortunate at Booth to have so many opportunities to pick the brains of brilliant business minds that visit campus. It really keeps the big picture of why we’re in business school in focus, which sometimes gets lost in the details of balancing a statement of cash flows or calculating a project’s weighted average cost of capital.

Conference Season commenced for many female Booth students on Friday, October 19 when the Chicago Women in Business (CWiB) Group hosted its annual conference at the storied University Club of Chicago. Most professionally-focused clubs host annual conferences which not only draw in impressive alumni and business leaders from across the world, but also provide some of the best meals of the year (it’s embarrassing to admit how much I eat cereal for dinner). The all-star team of CWiB co-chairs and volunteers did a tremendous job putting this conference together for the benefit of all attendees and participants.

The theme of the conference, “finding a personal path to success”, was woven throughout the afternoon’s sessions. Two seasoned Booth alumnae gave heartfelt key note speeches connecting their business school experiences to the challenges they have thus far conquered in their professional journeys. Audra Lalley, ’98, the VP of Barclay’s Wealth Management, inspired the audience to set ambitious goals and seek balance in life with her account of training for an Ironman while working through the aftermath of the financial crisis. Karen Greenbaum, ’02, Partner at Nick Pierce & Associates Inc., captivated conference attendees with her story of rising through the ranks of Mercer to COO and the key ingredients to her successes inside and outside the office. Panel breakouts covered topics including speed mentoring, managing career changes, entrepreneurship and negotiating. After the formal sessions, students mingled with one another and company representatives over drinks and finger foods at a networking reception.

As I walked back to my apartment after the close of the conference, I felt inspired to chase my professional dreams and excited to attend other conferences and events offered through Booth, the University of Chicago, and the greater Chicago community.

Discover Forté...In L.A!

Hello TBE Readers! We’re back with another post about the Forté Foundation, an organization that brings together women from top corporations and MBA programs to promote their advancement in the business world. We hope you enjoyed reading Vivienne’s TBE post last week about her experience at Forté Foundation Financial Services FAST Track. This week, first year student Katie Blodgett shares how she geared up for business school by attending the Forté MBA Women’s Conference last summer. Whether a recently admitted or current female MBA candidate, this year’s conference, aptly titled “Advantage Women: Use Your Strengths to Build an Exceptional Career,” is a great way to prepare for the upcoming year and expand your network. The conference will take place June 29 - 30, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

Check out Katie’s story below to hear firsthand about the conference experience and visit the 2012 Forté MBA Women’s Conference page for more details and information on how to register for the event.

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When admitted to an MBA program, a door is opened to innumerable opportunities – both for the two years of your MBA program and beyond. As a new admit last spring, I found this to be incredibly exciting, but I also found myself a little nervous about what the coming two years would entail and how to best use that time to build my career and grow as a person. When the invitation to attend the Forté Foundation MBA Women’s Conference hit my e-mail inbox and I perused the agenda for the weekend, I thought that it sounded like a great way to help acclimate myself to business school and allow myself to feel better prepared for what the next two years might hold. The event definitely lived up to my expectations and then some.

During the course of the Forté MBA Women’s Conference, I was exposed to so much helpful information about potential future career paths and ways to help prepare myself for internship interview season. I found a workshop session I attended on perfecting your elevator pitch to be extremely helpful and put my mind at ease a bit about the recruiting process. The panels of women leaders were inspiring and motivating, and I had the opportunity to meet wonderful women from MBA programs around the country, as well as from Chicago Booth.

Looking at the agenda for this year’s Forté MBA Women’s Conference, it once again looks filled with many helpful workshops and panels, and will surely be an opportunity for new MBA women to become better prepared to hit the ground running in August and September when orientation starts. If I can make it work with my internship schedule this summer, you may see me there!