Today we’re sitting down with Jim Van Stone, who is President and Chief Commercial Officer at Monument Sports – Jim oversees the Washington Wizards, Capitals, WNBA Majestic, several venues and e-sports properties.
There's a lot of lessons on leadership and tenacity from sports, which is why I love talking with and interviewing sports execs. Out of all of them, Jim Van Stone might have the most diverse experience – he’s worked at five teams in four leagues over his 30-year career.
You’ll hear Jim’s thoughts about why connecting with such a wide range of people across his career has informed his own management style, how he enters new markets / businesses, negotiates large deals and makes him a better leader. His boss is Monumental Sports founder Ted Leonsis (co-founder of AOL) and we hit on some of the great things he’s learned from Ted and his son, Zach, too.
We also cover Esports – Monumental is placing some strategic bets on Esports and it has me super excited to dive deeper into the space. Keep an eye out for a future podcast on the topic.