Venues Today Women of Influence: Class of 2013 panel was moderated by Venues Today Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Linda Deckard and included winners Maureen Ginty with SMG, Adina Erwin with the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and Kim Stone with The Heat Group.
Kim Stone said she’s still a bit embarrassed about her first reaction to the offer to run the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
“The first words out of my mouth were ‘you know I’m a woman right?’” recalled Stone, who now serves as the executive VP and general manager for The Heat Group and the home arena for the back-to-back champion Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association.
Kim recalled feeling nervous and embarrassed during that meeting, but "thankfully, my boss looked at me and replied ‘Yes, and I believe you can do this job,” she said. Her boss was Eric Woolworth, president of Business Operations, and Kim said "he surprised me because I realized what a champion he had been for me.”
Stone was one of four professional women speaking on the Venues Today Women of Influence: Class of 2013 panel, moderated by Venues Today Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Linda Deckard, during the Sport, Entertainment and Venues Tomorrow conference in Columbia, S.C., Nov. 20-22.
“There are more opportunities now for younger generations because sports and entertainment has grown into a multibillion dollar business and you need the most competent, educated people available. Those qualities are now far more important than (gender)," Stone told the 300 industry professionals, academics and students in attendance.
In its sixth year, SEVT is co-organized by the University of South Carolina’s College of Sport and Entertainment Management, along with Venues Today and, for the first time in 2013, partnered with the International Association of Venue Managers Region 5.
The Women of Influence panel is in its fifth year and has become an inspiring forum for female students and young professionals to connect with leading industry icons and share career and family advice.
“You have to be very respectful of the nature of the industry — it’s a large and interconnected industry and you have to be mindful of that,” explained 2013 winner Adina Erwin, GM of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. “Your professional legacy and demeanor are part of your brand and you have to be really protective of that and willing to do whatever it takes.”
Much of the conversation centered around the importance of having a mentor. 2013 Winner Maureen Ginty with SMG noted that it’s often the mentor who selects the individual they plan to guide (and not the other way around), while Stone noted that as a person progresses in their career, the huge network they build around themselves eventually takes on a mentor-type role.
“You will find mentors and they will change. It is a very interconnected industry and its good to try and keep in touch with everyone because as you evolve in your career, you'll have different needs,” Stone said.
Of course, management positions also mean making hard choices. Erwin said her biggest challenge has been letting employees go, either through layoffs or performance-based termination.
“You have to not just think about the people you’re letting go, but also the culture of the organization and how your decision will have a ripple effect,” she said. “You have to think about how you’re going to nurture the people that are still there and how you’re going to assure them that everything will be OK and that your organization will continue to be able to move forward.”
Sometimes that requires “compartmentalizing your decision-making,” Erwin said, adding “there’s the personal piece and then there’s the business side. When you have to make a decision the two can’t mix. That may sound harsh, but you have to remember why you are with the organization in the first place.”
One trait that all three winners shared was ambition and the desire to push themselves and climb the corporate ladder.
Is there still a glass ceiling in sports? Stone said she doesn’t believe there is — “individuals with the proper skill sets” will always be in demand, while Ginty said it’s more talent-based than ever, noting “it’s all about how you perform. I wouldn’t let (being a woman) deter me and I wouldn’t let it define me.” Erwin said there are more women now trying to get into the industry than ever, leading to “strength in numbers.”
“There are unique challenges that women will face, but we have to acknowledge those challenges and put them aside,” Erwin said. When professional women spend too much time worrying about sexism, they become “a self-imposed distraction and obstacle. I would say the same thing about race. Everything has a place, but that needs to be put aside.”
Interviewed for this article: Kim Stone, (786) 777-1000; Adina Erwin, (404) 881-2116; Maureen Ginty, (610) 729-7900