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SUSAN O’MALLEY
PRESIDENT, WASHINGTON SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
In 1988, when Abe Pollin asked then Director of Advertising, Susan O’Malley, to take over the business side of his NBA franchise on a temporary basis, O’Malley remembers being stunned.
“I was shell-shocked,” recalls O’Malley. “When Mr. Pollin called me into his office, I thought my time had come. I thought I was being fired.” To her surprise, O’Malley was about to embark on an opportunity of a lifetime. “I recalled saying, ‘Sure, I’ll take it,’ and when I left the office I yelled, “And I’m not giving this job up.”
Ten years later, Susan O’Malley is still in charge, and through her business savvy has become one of the most successful and powerful woman in professional sports. As President of Washington Sports and Entertainment, O’Malley oversees business operations for the Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. She’s also responsible for MCI Center operations, entertainment and new business development, finance, human resources/payroll services, marketing, team operations and TicketMaster.
As a credit to her marketing genius, Advertising Age named O’Malley on its “Top Marketing 100” list and she was selected by Sports Business Journal as the #2 female in sports.
Her trademark of “putting the customer first” has resurrected an organization that ranked last among its peers in nearly every category when O’Malley stepped into the job. She took over the organization at a time when the relationship between the front office staff and season ticket holders was combative and strained. By listening to ticket holders concerns, O’Malley initiated a communications plan and responded to their voices.
During her first season managing off-court activities, the team experienced the largest ticket revenue year in the history of the franchise. That same year, the club achieved the highest renewal rate of season tickets ever by the franchise, including the year following the 1977-78 Championship season, and the club sold out a franchise record 30 home games during the 1994-95 campaign.
In addition to her effective marketing and promotion strategies, O’Malley has pursued media relationships to raise the visibility of the Wizards. She works closely with the communications staff to ensure that the Wizards’ image is constantly and positively portrayed.
A master motivator by nature, O’Malley creates competitive yet fun contests to stimulate her staff and keep the work environment entertaining. Outside the office, O’Malley is highly sought after as a motivational speaker. She is a board member of several charitable organizations and foundations and is a strong advocate of community service.
From a very young age, O’Malley knew her path in life. In grade school, she wrote a paper declaring that her goal was to run a sports franchise. Although her teacher at the time deemed the goal as “unrealistic,” O’Malley never veered from her path. She interned with the Bullets and the Capitals in the early 1980s while she was still attending college. Upon graduating in 1983 with a B.S. degree in business and finance, O’Malley worked for the Earle Palmer Brown advertising firm for three years. She then joined the Bullets in 1986 as the Director of Advertising.
Successful in her rookie season, O’Malley accepted the position of Director of Marketing the following season. In 1988, O’Malley was named Executive Vice President and given overall responsibility for marketing, sponsorship, ticket sales, advertising, accounting and public and community relations for the organization. She assumed her current position in the spring of 1991.
