 Hi, everyone. So glad you could join us for another episode of Adweek's most powerful woman in sports. I'm Lisa Granitstein It's here where the world's greatest marketers media pros athletes and coaches share their remarkable career journeys and how they achieve peak performance Today, we'll be speaking with Shelley Kayat EVP chief commercial officer of the Cleveland Cavs in January Shelly made NBA history becoming the first black woman in the league to rise chief commercial officer Kayat joined the Cavs in 2012 and most recently served as SVP of global partnerships. We'll talk to Shelley about Life and work lessons learned on her path to success Be sure to and be sure to reach out with any questions. So now let's dive in Shelley welcome to the show Lisa thanks for having me today. Hey good to see you. Thanks for being here So Let's start from the beginning I want to know a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up? They're group in a very small town. It's called St. James Parish in Louisiana and About an hour west of New Orleans That was my hometown and then of course went to college in New Orleans at Tulane University But it all started in St. James Parish Well, I and I hope everyone's okay. We understand there's there was a tornado the other Last night, I think Checked on family and friends. Um, everyone's good. Thankfully, I mean Earlier actually when I looked I think there was only one unfortunate Fatality, but yeah, it was a very big one and I'm very unusual for for the south. Um, yeah, it can endure hurricanes They uh, they can endure tornadoes as well. So Right. Yeah So, well, I'm glad to hear everybody is okay um So who shaped you who who from family friends? Who inspired and shaped the person you are today? Well, we always say it takes a village, right? So a little bit of everybody but um, Look, I would attribute it back to my parents. My mom worked retail For 20 plus years and management and you know, she worked at a mall So that talk about long hours. And so I think I got my my preparedness for long hours in sports from her And my dad worked at a chemical plant. So very physical labor And again long hard work. So I think from both of them just very hard working But also had such a care and empathy for other people So I certainly admire them and think hopefully a lot of what they embody helped to shape who I have become over the years Okay, and how did sports Come into your life. What role did that play? Well, unlikely, you know, I say ironically because I was six one and eight great Lisa and Oh, Swarth is kind of projected on to me Very early, uh, of course, they're just real like you should you got to play you got to play or I hate, uh, mother be volleyball basketball, uh, but I remember, uh, starting in a U camp because, um, You know, my mom was like, look if you're gonna play you need to like learn the game, right? Because I was tall, but I didn't really know the game because that really right And in in junior high and so I went to this a U camp. Um Domino's basketball never forget because I think it definitely shaped my life I will use the word intense as the word That intensity that it brought for me. Um, I remember we were doing this layup drill very early and I was believe it or not Pretty timid and schmourn was shy side And he said do this layup drill and I remember I thought I was giving my all and running fast And I got back and he said If you took the ball and he said literally you don't run this next drill I'm gonna say 13th of you. You know what? And look, I think from that moment when you say how it shaped your life I think for me it always helped me to create that outlook that there's always opportunity to do something better Do something more look at things differently. Um, and not necessarily just be satisfied with what the way things are so so certainly Along with adversity Time management all the great things that sports um teaches right of course and teamwork and all all those great things How did um, how did you get from playing basketball to the cabs? What I mean? I bet it wasn't some straight path um Where where were the the turns and twists the twists and turns rather Yeah, you know ironically it took a really turn because when I was done playing I played in college I played a little bit overseas and I I thought I was going into like, okay. Let's try something different I moved into the casino industry Down at Harris in New Orleans, and I was doing advertising and marketing entry level there Um, and then they restructured from a corporate perspective The business and database marketing was actually moving to tunica, mississippi um, and nothing wrong with tunica mississippi for But I was from a small town and I wasn't prepared to to yet go back to a small town So soon after college So I um my boss said hey look the the the New Orleans Hornets, which now pelicans Um are moving back from oklahoma city. They relocated there after hurricane Katrina as you talk about natural disasters And so they were hiring a large portion of staff So I literally went to a career fair and I interviewed for a marketing role and a partnership role I started marketing first and did that for a year then moved into the corporate partnership role and um, You know worked ascent and community investment and then um back into sponsorship. So it's been a journey, but I'll start from a career fair Wow, and what was it like, uh joining and becoming part of part of the cat Part of the uh, sorry part of the hornet slash penguins pelicans. Sorry pelicans I'm from canada. I know whatever Pittsburgh penguins. Anyway, uh the pelicans What was that like joining and being part of that that team and and that environment? Yeah, look, it was great. I think as much as I was I felt like you know, I've been so too much in sports my entire life I missed that aspect of camaraderie and the team aspects. Um, I think at that point, you know Chris paul was just there after his his rookie year and And it was it was an entry into the nba and I think as an ecosystem the nba has a lot of similarities amongst all teams and It was a great opportunity when you think of innovation And just the way you look at the game. I never thought about the business side of sports um in the way that they died deep And so for me, it was just a start to a never-ending learning process of learning the business organization the league the ecosystem So it was just a great a great launching path for my primary And then you made your way to the calves Yes in 2012 so I um I recruited to come in 2012 And you know, that was you know, we looked back before, you know, even the brunt had come back to cleveland. So I think the organization Was you know, still still working on a lot of different areas of the business And how we approach fans and so forth and it was a great organization already. There was actually a lot of similarities And we were just able to take that to the next level and so it's just been such a great journey with the people There's a great culture here with the calves People have been great. They really become like family. And so it's just been a great journey Since since joining here in 2012 And and you were recently not long ago promoted to chief commercial officer talk a little bit about the scope and scale of this new role What is it? What does it mean to be in that in that space? Yeah, um, so it is, you know, it's a probably Relatively new in sports in general. You think over the last five years in other industries, but really it's it's Leaving the core areas of revenue for the team, right and for sports typically that's sponsorship So our corporate team which has multiple properties. We have our ahl team. So The cleveland monsters we have the cleveland charge our g-league team We have haves legion our e-sports team. So all of those areas of the business corporate revenue That's associated with that growing our digital business and digital revenue In collaboration with our digital team. Um, and then now on the ticketing side Um, obviously, you know, we have our one and go united member our season platform membership platform We have our it's over premium All of our foundation members in all of that area of the business and youth sports Which is the future of our our business in general, right? Um, so those are kind of all the areas that it encompasses And so with that, um What have you observed so far this season in terms of fandom, you know and fan engagement Yeah, well, it certainly helps when we are playing the way that we are playing These are the team is doing great. Um, but the truth is regardless of what's going on on the court You know, we have great leaders behind those each of those areas of the business And we have a core focus on customer service. Um, so when you say fan engagement How we will connect with them again win our loss all year long not even just when the season's going on Um, so we've had a great relationship with that it starts from the top our chairman Van Gilbert if you think about you know rocket mortgage and just how they look at consumers and fans like That trickles down into our business. So there's a very concerted effort and the experience of our fans at all levels on in areas of the business So that's been a big focus of ours this year What about um We were talking just a bit before you mentioned that you're on the digital side as well Um, everyone's looking towards the metaverse and gaming And so what does it mean for the calves? Um, where are you seeing things headed on your end? Well, you know, it's funny because we'll talk about the metaverse like what if when it's like it's here, right? So the metaverse is here. Um, there's no escaping it and um, the interesting part is the metaverse and gaming have a very, um, connected consumer, right when you think about that audience So that's a great thing because we've already been in gaming and and kind of launched into that space And I think it creates opportunity Um for us. So I think about um, we have an amazing fan experience So you come into rocket mortgage field house and especially now. I mean, it feels like the energy of playoffs every day every night, right? But we can only fit a little bit over 19 000 people in this venue on a given night, right? And so When you think about widening that audience is something we've always wanted to do now We have the ability to do that and create recreate that experience in a digital platform, right in a digital world And so as a brand we want to be there And I would say it also offers the opportunity for retail. So recently, I don't know if you saw there was a A brand that actually sold. I think it was a $5,000 purse in the metaverse world And so Um, you know, everybody's thinking, okay, well, why it was we that's not our job to explain The behavior of people that purchase it, but they do and so we have retail We want more fans to get in in hands of of us selling items. We actually launched a nft program with the calves locker And so We have over 100,000 audience for that and so we provide items into that on our on a reoccurring basis And so you think about this metaverse that actually just is another platform for us to take that same audience That's in the blockchain space And now I'm selling it in a wider up to the wider audience. So it's just a lot of opportunity, I would say Um, and it's only going to get bigger. Yeah, are you building out a team to specifically work on web three? Or how how are you guys handling that space? Yeah, so right now, um our cto, uh, my conley Really is the brains behind this program for us. Um, and it will continue to grow I mean, I look at how our social and digital teams have grown over the last six years I think you're gonna if this gets bigger you're gonna can of course, we are willing to put investments behind it Um, right now he's uh, leading that spot So if anybody has not gone to go to my calves locker dot i o and get your calves locker Um, you can get in there and then see again just what the future is going to bring an exclusive opportunities from the nft platform Wow, that's very cool. So we're going to go from Digital to a whole other different direction and we're going to talk about uh, DEI and the culture of inclusion Uh, what you know, what is it? What's it been like at the calves? What kind of? Values are important for the for the team and you know, how are you trying to Create this culture of inclusion Well, you know for us, it's something that always has been a part of our DNA It's not like a start-stop, right? You know, we don't see something and react to what's going on in society Um, it's just it's always been a part of a part of who we are from a culture You walk around the walls in our offices and there's isms and values about culture Um, so but like I think in order to create a culture Especially as you mentioned of inclusion you need a few things And I would say that one everybody in the organization has to feel comfortable And be able to bring their authentic selves to the table Because you don't really you can't create that culture of any kind of culture or of inclusion if people can't be comfortable And they can't be them their authentic selves, right? So that's first Um, I think then you have to empower them um, so You know once again, they feel comfortable I think if you can empower them to use their voices for positive change and just to create the culture that they want to see I think that helps to lead down that path, right to an ultimate culture of inclusion and and you have to have representation because It's hard to create a culture of inclusion if your organization doesn't have full representation, right? It's only just one area our demographic or our ethnicity or background And so I think those things are very important to create that culture And then like I think most importantly you have to just have engagement with them and listen Because if that doesn't happen, um, you're not really going to get you know to the culture of inclusion that that the team members want more than anything And you and I talked a little bit about drawing in more women into basketball Why don't you share a little bit about what the cabs are up to? Well, that's a laundry list excited about Look, I think we in the NBA think that women or the ecosystem Are a strong part of the ecosystem, right a critical part And it's just so great that you know, we're recognizing that now We're seeing the contributions of so many women across so many areas, especially even here with the calves But I look at it in different levels Different areas of our business. So I think about basketball operations We've got amazing women, you know, first of all, you know, our general manager at the time not president Kobe Altman was one of the first to hire a woman assistant coach with Lindsay Godley And so she was a phenomenal add to the team Um, I would say we have women like Lauren Marveny Leuron Fanon who's the general manager of our g-league team. We just hired on Michelle rock In our development team on basketball operations. There's just so many women that are there behind the scenes And that's just basketball operations. I think then moving to the business We have one of the highest female full-time staffs Across the league and our executive team exists of five women And that is you cannot go across the board of all teams in any industry, right our league And you see that many women in an executive role really able to create an influence change in policy So we're really excited about that We have such a young core too that we're excited about and and they just rock. We have an empower group I'm literally empower with pun which is our women's team rg Resource group and there's a leadership team there that does a phenomenal job to help Not only support women that are already on our team, but also help to develop women There's a great mentorship program and so much more just to make sure we're cultivating the talent We already have here in house, which we have a true And so look at I think about the future when I mentioned the world we're youth basketball um Which melanie sizer and in her group leads that area it's focused Uh, they have a real core focus on women in youth sports. Um, so just Jessica davis is the big part of that And I say that because you can't wait and just expect to to develop women You know when when they're already in their careers, you have to start young You just talked about what sports meant for me when I was in junior high So we want to really touch women Very early in the process and that's a big part for us To do that. So, um, just again making it a big but also recognizing the amazing talent that we have And any thoughts on uh women in sports, whether it's the w nba or women's soccer What what are you seeing as are we at a tipping point? Are you feeling encouraged by what you're seeing these days? I mean, it's not perfect, but Not you're not perfect, but we've got to take stepping stones. Yeah, right Um, no, like I think Kathy Engelberg as commissioner has done a phenomenal job The WNBA is is currently at the highest you think of viewership attendance Um, the audience engagement. It's at the highest it's ever been. Um, I don't know you've seen recently You know, they just launched the change maker platform with partners where they helped to go through that capital raise That really is going to now infuse financial resources into the platform of the WNBA and I think That was a phenomenal move that there's not only the players are going to see but the business side and community will see as well So I think that's a great And then look in june, it's the 50th anniversary of title nine And that's a lot of celebration around that and and how how much we've accomplished but how much still we have to go Um, you know title nine has helped create opportunity for so many women Not just to continue in sports, but also to continue in business and other in other areas, right? Um, And I just think you're going to see more of that commitment To women into women's sport that helps to really develop Develop it long term Yes, uh, we hope certainly hope so let's just celebrate uh in june with title nine's anniversary um, I want to Get your takeaways before Before uh, we have to end unfortunately. This has been fantastic. So let's uh, let's hear your words of wisdom and Then you can get back to your work Now this has been a great week so I really appreciate you Like I think the first one is really own your confidence and I say that as a lesson Learning lesson for myself even I think sometimes as women, you know, we let roadblocks imposter syndrome The fact that we don't see other people that look like us in certain areas deter us from taking that next step or moving forward and Um, are really having the confidence we need to move forward and so for me It's it's just letting women know to own your confidence and really your ability to perform Your ability to really do the task at hand Is so important. Um, I think second developing an authentic strong Internal relationships is so important. So, you know, when we say it's about having a voice It's not about having a loud voice, you know, a loud voice isn't going to get you It you know, people may hear you it doesn't mean they're going to actually listen though, right? It's about I think for me I've been I have had success because I've had real organic relationships with people that actually listen to some of the Things that are were concerns or challenges that I've had and helped to really work and collaborate as an ally with me And I think that if people really use that A relationship skillset to create those the strong internal relationship that it really will help propel them forward in their careers And then last but not least is it's a big sports Connection as well. It's just always be ready, right? Again, sometimes as women we tend to if someone wants us to do it I know it's happened to me early in my career say oh, you should be doing this and move into sales or do this And you're like, no, no, no, I you know, I don't think so. I'm not ready. I don't know like Stop having that doubt be ready. Trust yourself And take on the opportunity at hand So so true. I love that one Well, shelly, thank you so much for joining us today. This was terrific. I hope you'll join us again as we do more on sports and sports marketing So thank you. And now we'll be moving on to Wrapping up actually so thanks for joining us and we'll be back here on april 6 with ben dual ceo. Amy howe Thanks everyone for joining us today