Bodenheimer details ESPN’s rise

ESPN President George Bodenheimer speaks as a part of Fuqua’s Distinguished Speaker Series March 5. In his speech, Bodenheimer described his rise from a mailroom clerk to the sports network’s top post.
ESPN President George Bodenheimer speaks as a part of Fuqua’s Distinguished Speaker Series March 5. In his speech, Bodenheimer described his rise from a mailroom clerk to the sports network’s top post.

The Fuqua School of Business hosted George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN, Inc. and ABC’s sports division as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series in Geneen Auditorium March 5.

Named the most powerful person in sports by The Sporting News in 2003, Bodenheimer discussed his climb from a mailroom clerk in 1981 to being named ESPN’s president in 1998 and also President of ABC Sports in 2003.

Bodenheimer graduated from Denison University in 1980 and joined the mailroom at ESPN shortly thereafter.

“I wrote a letter to every major league baseball office, and got back 20 we-don’t-think-so’s,” Bodenheimer said in his speech, laughing.

Bodenheimer picked a time to visit when sports was on most Dukies’ minds—the eve of last weekend’s basketball game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kevin White, vice president and director of athletics, is a friend of Bodenheimer’s and he assisted Fuqua in bringing him to campus.

“George Bodenheimer is an incredibly consequential human being who, I think it is fair to say, has redefined all of our lives in some significant way and he has an amazing story,” said Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard in introducing Bodenheimer.

During Bodenheimer’s time at ESPN, the company has grown globally. It now operates in more than 150 countries around the world. Its newest venture has been in the United Kingdom, investing more than $400 million dollars in European football rights. ESPN owns 30 percent of broadcasting rights in Canada, which included coverage of the recent Winter Olympics, Bodenheimer said.

Bodenheimer encouraged the audience to consider business ventures outside the United States, suggesting that Fuqua’s curriculum and expansion with schools in India and China has endowed students with the skill set to compete in a global economy.

“Graduating from Duke University, you will all have options,” Bodenheimer said. “But make sure you have a passion for what you choose, because money might be nice, the office might be nice and the cars might be nice, but if you are not passionate at what you do, you won’t be happy for very long.”

Bodenheimer attributed the success of ESPN to the culture it maintains within its work environment. He characterized the company as one where people work hard but where it is OK to make an honest mistake.

“Honestly, we’ll lose a contract or get a contract, we’ll be in a sport or out of a sport, we’ll be up or down, and the global economy will always oscillate. We can’t control those things, but we can control our culture,” Bodenheimer said.

Fuqua has sponsored the Distinguished Speaker Series that brought Bodenheimer to campus since 1984, attracting high-profile business leaders to share their experiences and insights on business issues while strengthening the school’s relationship with major corporations.

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