We sit down with Kathryn Dobbs, Chief Marketing Officer of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Her journey wasn't typical, from finding her passion in the non-profit sector to heading up one of the most successful marketing teams within the hockey space.
A diehard Blue Jackets fan, a loving mother, and a marketing expert -- this one is a must-listen.
We sit down with Kathryn Dobbs, Chief Marketing Officer of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Her journey wasn't typical, from finding her passion in the non-profit sector to heading up one of the most successful marketing teams within the hockey space.
A diehard Blue Jackets fan, a loving mother, and a marketing expert -- this one is a must-listen.
Samir Prince: Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of Part of the Pros, a podcast series where we sit down with some of the most talented and successful execs in sports entertainment, learning about their journey so far, the part to success and hot industry topics as well. Today I'm set with Kathryn Dobbs, the Chief Marketing Officer of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kathryn, thank you for joining us. Oh, thanks for having me. Pleasure. Um, kicking off with a question I always like to start these conversations with, um, how did you first get into sports and kind of talk to us about your, your pathway into the industry.
Kathryn Dobbs: Well, I was not one of those people that thought someday I really wanted to work in sports.
So I can start there. Okay. Um, I kind of found my way to it and I'm very thankful every day. I, I have. But, um, you know, I went to college, took business, wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Took marketing and enjoyed that. Um, worked for an agricultural company doing marketing. Worked for a manufacturing company.
Was kind of finding my way and then, uh, someone actually came to me and said, have you ever thought of working for a nonprofit? And at that point I knew very little about that world or hadn't thought about it at all. But, um, they sent me the direction of the Y M C A. I'm from a town of 200 in Northern Ontario, Canada, so we didn't have a grocery store, nevermind A Y M C A, so I didn't know much about it besides the song, but, um, I went, I interviewed, fell in love.
With the mission of the why, um, and really the work. So my journey took me along a marketing path, but then eventually became Chief Development Officer and did fundraising and every day asked people for, for money to help children and families, and I absolutely loved that. Yeah. Um, so my, my journey with the Y though, um, started here in Ohio.
And it happened to be that I moved here the inaugural season of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and as a Canadian, um, a typical Canadian who loves our hockey. When I moved here and the team came, I thought, well, I'm gonna be a Blue Jackets fan. Yeah. So in 2000, I jumped on that bandwagon, loved everything about this market and what they were doing to, to bring the game to Columbus and grow the game.
And, and along that journey, I, I learned having worked in nonprofits, Following my favorite hockey team, that you could in fact marry those passions together. So when I learned that the blue jackets had a foundation, I thought, wow. I mean, that really for me was like, like the ultimate thing. Um, at the time I was not qualified in any way, shape, or form to ever do that job.
But my, my journey ended up taking me all around the US with the Y. And I followed the blue jackets wherever. I moved Virginia, New York, and actually found my way back to Ohio in 2014 to work for the Y M C A here. And when I came to town, they were calling for proposals for Allstar. Columbus was about to hold, uh, host Allstar.
They were looking for projects. And I thought, well, this is my moment. This is my moment to go in and, and marry my favorite passions. And so I was my first week on the job here and I called up the head of the foundation. I said, look, you don't know me, but you know, we really need to talk. And she said, okay, one.
I said, how about now? She's like, now I literally got up from my desk, the downtown y and I walked a couple blocks to the arena and I went in that day and I gave really what was like a 10 year dream for me. Yeah. Right. I'm like the, you know, the Y M C A, no one does youth development better. You need to grow hockey.
I can help you do it. Um, walked out the door of the arena that day and, and the gal that was with me, I looked at her and I said, I think I live my dream today. It just, it was, it was my moment. And although we didn't get the All-Star Project, we did start a program with the team called Skills and Drills to introduce kids to the game of hockey.
Um, that was April. In June we started another program for, uh, um, in childcare centers reading program called Time Out to Read. And so I was humming working with my favorite hockey team, you know, doing my favorite work and living the dream. Yes, living the dream. And then in July, um, the executive director of the Blue Jackets Foundation left and I got a call from the board chair and she said, I don't suppose that you would have an interest in having a conversation.
And I was literally speechless that day cuz I thought, wow, for 10 years I thought this would be the, the coolest job ever. And so really that was my intro. And to this day, I'm the only executive at the Blue Jackets that didn't come through sports. I think I. I was fortunate because I was uniquely qualified.
They needed someone to run a foundation, and not only did I have the background and skills, but I had the love and passion for the sport, but particularly the team. And so my, my journey was such that I, I mean, I came in loved, absolutely. Again, that was my dream job. Loved everything. But working for the foundation.
Did that for a few years and then the president came to me one day and said, you know, what do you think about becoming our next chief marketing officer? And I was like, what? I'm like, let me get this straight. You want me to be responsible for marketing a product we can't control? Cause I've done a lot of things right?
I've done all worked in all these industries, done all these things. And so that really took me into, you know, the business of sports on a whole new level. Um, yeah, I've been doing that for about four and a half years. Uh, so I talk to people a lot about, you know, a lot of people have a more traditional journey.
You know, they thought you wanted to be in sports. Um, you work your way up and through. I kind of came in a side door and I talk to people about that a lot because there is more than one way to skin a cat. Yeah. And sometimes there are unique skill sets or unique relationships you can build outside of the organization when you're trying to break through.
Um, so I feel very, very. Very fortunate. So I say I was a, a fan first. People ask me all the time, like, who's your team? I'm like, Nope, really? A one Blue Jackets fan. So I'm in it with the fan base every day. I feel it as much as they do.
Samir Prince: I bet you need to, you need to with the job that you have.
I think when you're younger, you, you know, a lot of athletes and, and people that, that participate in sports have this dream of, you know, playing for the team or the club that they supported as a kid. Right. And you don't really think about the kind of other angle of matching that personal interest and passion and, and what you did with the Y M C A, with the team that you, you, you know, supported and, and rooted for.
Um, to then almost kind of merge the two in into one. You know, it really is, it's very rare that you hear something like that actually happen. And, um, very interesting and quite unique. I guess just given your background and that transition, it's actually one of the things I was gonna ask around, um, you know, you haven't, to your point, you haven't had that traditional entry into sports where, you know, you come out of college, maybe you work collegiate side or uh, property side, and then you kind of work your way up and move around where, where needed.
It's obviously. Possible and, and you're kind of living proof of it to, to have a career in a completely different organization and then transition into sports. But at the same time, from everything that you're saying there, it sounded like it was, you know, a conscious thing. It was proactive thing that you kind of went out and done.
I speak to a lot of people that get those opportunities. A bit of luck, but you kind of create your own luck, right? Um, you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky. Um, but for anyone, uh, I guess that's out there who's, you know, not got the traditional sports background, but is interested and you know, is looking to kind of make that move, is there anything, any kind of advice that you'd give them as to what they should be doing or thinking about that may create some of those opportunities for them?
Kathryn Dobbs: Well, you know, one of the things I talk to folks a lot about is, um, you know, if you're a fan of the sport, you're probably going to the games and you're, you know, you're watching and you're seeing, and if, if you come to Nationwide Arena and you look around and you look at all of the partners, All of the branding throughout the arena and see all the different organizations that we're working with.
Right. So that's on the partnership side or, you know, I mean, the, the, the foundation, um, is giving out a million dollars a year, right. To support organizations and has partnerships and programs with all of them. We're in the schools, so when you look at all the different folks that we have relationships with and understand just how many people we're connecting with, While there is the traditional, hey, look at teamwork online or Yeah.
You know, work with a recruiter or fi find these opportunities. There is that piece. But there's the everyday building relationships. There is someone at that company whose, whose job and responsibility it is to work with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Yeah. Right. And each one of those companies and each one of those nonprofits, they all have, uh, someone, uh, you know, working that relationship and working that strategy.
And so, What are those opportunities and who, who do you know and what industry are you in? Um, because when you look around, you can see the full scope of, of the partnerships alone. So I think, you know, that's certainly a way I always try and encourage people, like, just, just take a step back. You might be surprised.
Yeah. Um, and then, you know, that's when that, that's when things come up, right? Yeah. Someone from X Y. The organization is like, oh, you know what, this, this person might be. So I think that's the big one, is realizing just how many avenues there are to the relationships outside of what you typically think.
From a job search. Yeah. Uh, perspective. Yeah. Um, because the scope is really quite incredible when you look at, uh, the reach of a professional sports team.
Samir Prince: I think it's a long term game as well, isn't it? Um, you know, you can't just expect to have. Zero experience in sports and the next job that you get is just gonna be the perfect role for you with the right environment, the right team, with the right, um, organization.
Um, I think, you know, to your point, building those longer term relationships, staying in touch with those people, making them aware of the fact that, you know, you consider an option where you are. Um, So, yeah. Interesting. Good to know. Um, 2009 you joined the Bluejackets, so come onto 14 years, I guess now, or started work with them anyway.
Uh, actually 2015 I joined Thousand 15. Eight, eight years. Yeah. So I was with the, prior to that. Yeah. Eight years in. I guess we'll take into account the, from that 2009 period to now, what, what have been some of your biggest achievements over that timeframe?
Uh, well early on, I think, you know, the, the, the very rewarding side of working in philanthropy and community development is knowing, um, you know, I would tell people at that time, my job was to take the professional re or the resources of a professional sports team.
Yeah. Uh, those resources that are unique, right. And take them and do the very most good you can for a community while supporting the business model. Um, so, so that in itself for me to be able to grow, um, I started with a team of three, grew the department to eight. I think I brought relevancy to community development as a strategy.
You know, sometimes it can be viewed as the nice thing an organization or a sports team does. Um, but in fact it's a great business case and when you leverage the business case, well, everyone wins. So I think the growth for me and the time, and arguably probably why I sit in the seat that I do today. Is because of that, the opportunity to introduce, um, philanthropy to athletes.
So the, probably the, the most exciting project I worked on with the foundation was working with our captain at the time, Nick Fello and his wife Janelle. They wanted to do something and in fact, when they started, they, they. Really didn't want it to be public. Right. They were doing it for the right reasons and yeah.
Um, I spent some time actually convincing them why sharing it publicly was just as important as the gift itself and leveraging it. So we actually, um, worked together. We set up, uh, dinners with doctors, learned about research. They had a specific interest. Given a health condition that their daughter had.
And, um, at the end of that journey, uh, I, I felt like they got the appropriate experience that you should, if you're going to invest. Ultimately, it was a gift of a million dollars, a half million dollars to Nationwide Children's Hospital here in Columbus, and then half a million dollars, uh, to the Children's hospital in Boston where she'd been treated and what I wanted so much.
Was that, uh, our captain who would lead in the locker room would be able to also lead in this area of giving back and, and understanding, you know, what you should get back as a donor in that level. And, you know, um, that's, that's a huge commitment and a partnership that you make when you make that investment.
And so that was a very, very exciting, very rewarding project. Um, when I moved into the role of C M O I, I said, I'm a day one Blue Jackets fan. And so, you know, for me, uh, growing up in my journey, Rick Nash playing here in Columbus. I have a team Canada, jersey, there's one signature on it, and it is Rick Nash from a fan fest that I went to and stood in line in the early years.
And so, you know, here I am now having the pleasure of working in the office with, with Rick. But even greater than that was, um, having the opportunity to plan, uh, retiring his number. Wow. So, uh, as a, as a fan of the sport and, you know, to be part of that, and it was, you know, something that my brother and I did together to this day, it's something that bonds my brother and I together.
And then to, to find yourself in that place one day where it's like, wow. I mean, it's humbling, humbling, big time. Um, but then also I think it makes, makes you good at your job. Because you feel the importance Yeah. Of what he's meant. His journey's meant his contribution to the sport and certainly the Columbus blue jacket.
So I would say there's probably nothing that's been more rewarding than being able to plan that ceremony. Nice.
Samir Prince: Well, kudo, you've obviously done, I mean, a tremendous job at just kind of merging the, that kind of passion and, and the interest that you've got in, in the club and the um, and obviously the, the philanthropy side of it as well is, is huge.
Um, And then to, to, you know, to my earlier point, making a a, a dream come true, I guess, you know, I think of myself and the kind of idols that I grew up. Um, you know, watching playing sports and to your point, signatures on, on jerseys and everything like that, you know, to be able to have that impact is something that, you know, most people will only have a dream of.
So, so fair play. And, and, you know, congratulations on, on the achievements there. Um, I guess there's, there's one, one topic that I wanted to talk about today, Kathryn. Uh, Um, you know, it's, it's becoming I guess, more of a, an important factor when taken into account for, for a lot of people that are considering making a move.
And, um, you know, that's work-life balance. Um, we all know just how hectic the, the schedule can be when you're in sports. Uh, if you property side, um, you've got the fixtures during the respective seasons agency side. I mean, the people that I know in agency side, I don't think they ever really seem to have much sleep, let alone rest.
Um, regardless of the time of year as well. Um, but I think in today's world it's, it's super important to try to, you know, have a conscious effort of maintaining a healthy worklife balance. Um, and only personally, I know that, you know, this is something that you've kind of had to take into account in your personal life.
Um, just talk to us about, you know, I guess that topic, I guess in your opinion and, and what you do to really ensure a healthy, um, balance, uh, across those two areas.
Yeah. I think, you know, to answer that question, I have to start with the fact that I am a single mom. And so when I joined the Blue Jackets, um, you know, my daughter was six, seven at the seven.
And, you know, at that point, um, in order to take on this role and, and it, and. Be present at home games. Um, I had before Care Aftercare and three babysitters the first two seasons at all times. I was just, where, where's my child? Where is she supposed to be? Who's supposed to pick her up? Um, and so that was my experience the first couple seasons.
But this was obviously important to me, right? I was trying. Trying to figure this all out. And, um, we started this conversation, uh, when I, when I started with the jackets and we have it still today, I would say to my daughter, like, Hey, if you ever feel like I'm not present, If you're like, mom, like I know you're busy, but like, Hey, it's time.
We need time. You know, I want you to put up your hand. I want you to say something to me and I'll tell you every season, inevitably a couple times she'll be like, Hey mom, you think maybe you should miss a game tonight? Or, you know, we should take some time. And so I think, you know, one piece is just trying to go in and figure out how do you Right, be the parent, be in this case.
A single parent do it. Um, I think you have to love what you do. I would not do this. I would not do this if I didn't love not only the sport, but the Columbus Blue Jackets. I mean, clearly my, my passion for the team is much more personal than just the sport itself. Um, so going into season three and four, I actually, uh, got no pair.
Um, and that really was sort of life changing for me to be able to manage, manage the schedule. Um, also a great experience for my daughter to, to have, um, you know, people caring for her from all around the world. But I. So I think there's that piece itself in just functioning, nevermind balance. Cuz that's not even balance, right?
That's just how do you do it and how do you find your way. Um, and I was a couple years in actually when the president came to me and had a conversation. He said, I know, I know you're balancing all this. And uh, he said, I just want you to know if you ever feel like you can't do it, talk to me. Yeah. Um, and that's a conversation I'll never forget.
Right, because there's a lot of organizations, and I've certainly worked for a lot of, um, companies where you wanna say the right thing and do the right thing to care about family and all that, but at the end of the day, job's gotta get done. Um, and nobody's ever perfect at that. And you can, you can certainly accept that, but I know I work for an organization that is trying and that's, that's pretty incredible.
So that's helped frame for me. Yeah, I think, um, while I try to manage that said, there is no balance so, You know, you take time when you can take time. Um, I go away every year for American Thanksgiving, you know, when I started, people are like, well, it's in the middle of season. I'm like, I know, but the season got started.
We dropped the puck, you know, we're going, yeah, daughter's got, you know, a few extra days off school and you know, this is when we're gonna go and we're gonna do this. Um, I try to do that over the holidays and so, you know, at some point it just becomes this intentional piece. And then, you know when there's time you have to take it.
Uh, and, and you can't feel bad about that. We are 24 7, right? Yeah. We're lucky you can go weeks without really a day off when you're talking about weekend games and other things. So I don't think there is such thing as the balance as much as, you know, communicating up. Right. Yeah. From a management perspective and communicating down.
Yeah. Because we know the turnover. Um, you know, I'm fortunate now to work with some amazing women, and the number of women I'm working with is growing every day. But I'll tell you, there's not a lot of, uh, working moms. Yeah. You know, there's, it's a small group now, that small group that I work with, you know, we try to get together sometimes and have that conversation and, and support each other and, and I think that's the piece, right?
It doesn't happen by accident. You don't manage through, and you have to be real about it. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so, but, but certainly for me, you know, to be able to look at people and say, if you wanna do this, and it's interesting right? Cuz I came to work for the Blue Jackets, right? I came to work for the Blue Jackets, but I work with a lot of young people.
They wanna work in sports. They're on that journey and finding their way and maybe they have a passion for a different sport. Yeah. And maybe, I mean, God bless people that work in baseball. You are my hero. Gotta know how you do that. And then it's weather dependent, breed handle that, right? Yeah. Um, so there's all those, I think, think those pieces are important, but I think you do have to, um, it, it has to be something that is deliberate, intentional.
Talked about, supported, uh, reinforced in culture of an organization. Yeah. Because there's no question. The demand is incredible. But the return, we get to be part of something, which is why anyone wants to be a part of sports and be the fan, but we get to be in it. You know, that's, that's the return, and so long as that's worth it, you figure it out.
Yeah.
Samir Prince: I think the, the kind of clear thing that really stood out to me and all of that Kathryn, was, was communication. I think, you know, to your point, communicating upwards internally at work, communicating downwards to your team, but also, you know, communicating externally, communicating to family, communicating to loved ones, ensuring that.
There is an open line of communication and people have the ability to be able to approach if they do feel as though maybe, you know, Hey mom, you're, you're spending a bit too much time at work lately. Can we go and do this? Right? Having that ability or having that knowledge, I should say, uh, in your daughter to be able to approach you with that, I think is one thing.
Um, but without that communication piece, I think it makes it all very difficult to be able to maintain, especially, you know, when we talk about, uh, what during the seasons, uh, taking place and the hectic schedules that come with it. You know, super, super important. Um, are there any, uh, effective strategies or, or techniques that, um, you know, you take personally when it comes to, you know, managing time, trying to reduce stress, you know, in the pursuit of trying to maintain a healthy work life balance?
Any, anything that's, you know, maybe just worked really well for you that others may be able to benefit from?
Kathryn Dobbs: Well, I, I'll tell you, if my daughter was here right now, she would tell you the number one thing I always preach is sleep. Right? Okay. I, I believe in sleep. I believe the importance of sleep, uh, prioritizing that.
Uh, so, and that's just not always a reality. I don't sleep well after games, right? Mm-hmm. I come home and I really, I'm trying to bring myself down after a game and, um, so, so that's easier said than done. Um, more recently, and actually this season I've been. I've been trying to regularly book myself a massage.
Okay. And a facial alternate every couple weeks. Yeah. To have something on the calendar, but that's what I mean about being intentional. Yeah. To look at it and say, because you know, if if I don't get ahead and book, it's never gonna happen. Right? Yeah. It's life. We're all not looking for things to do. So, um, so for me it's, it's things like that.
And then I love to travel. That is, you know, I work hard so I can go and see the world. Yeah. Um, so, you know, I took my daughter to Italy in Greece last summer over spring break. We did the Canary Islands in Spain. Very nice. Um, that requires some planning too, but it also means that I've got something on the calendar to look forward to.
When I leave, I leave. You know, the blue jackets are gonna be fine. I'll see you in a week or two, they're gonna be great. Um, I know that. And so I think, again, for me, it, it is those pieces of, of, um, deliberate, intentional steps. But I have to make sure I do it cuz if I don't have the next vacation plan, I'm going fishing the end of July in Canada.
It's one of my favorite things. And by the way, no cell service there. None.
A blessing in disguise. Yeah. Oh, clean air. Yeah. Right. I mean, in today's world. So yeah, for me it's, it's, it's those pieces, I think. And so if I look at my, my phone and see my calendar for the weekend, I'm like, oh, I've got a massage.
I'm sorry. Hey, that was really smart.
Samir Prince: Yeah. But it's intentional, isn't it? You know, like you say, it's, it's something that you have to be proactive in doing. It's not just gonna happen naturally as much as I, you know, have faith in all of the amazing executives and the people that I know in the industry.
It's, it's a rarity these days that someone will come to you and say, you hear it sometimes, but it's a rarity that someone will come to you and say, Hey, look, you've been working way too hard lately. Go and have some time off. Um, but when it does happen, it's, it is kind of nice to hear, but you kind of need, it's almost a bit of a reality check as well that you do need to maintain that because, you know, you want to avoid burnout in this industry.
That's something that everyone wants to avoid, and the only way that you're gonna avoid that is by being intentional and by being proactive in, in how you go about doing that.
Kathryn Dobbs: Yeah. And I think as leaders too, you know, I would just say I think that's one of the most important roles that we play. Yeah. Um, you know, number one, I'm showing my executive team so.
Yep, I'm headed out. And guess what? You should too. And, and it'll be fine. But not only that, um, one of the things I found more recently in talking about this subject in particular is I want you to socialize to the group that you're taking time off. Yes. It helps for planning. You're gonna be outta the office or unavailable or what have you, and people tend to think that, you know, but I'm reachable.
Okay. Well, that, that should only be if necessary. I. And so just having a culture where it's a good thing, it's a good thing when we tell staff, actually, I'm taking a couple days off, or I'm, I'm going on vacation. And in today's world, I don't think that's normal. It's almost like, well, I'm gonna be on vacation.
Yeah. Right. Um, instead of, you know, I am and, and when are you going? And so I think, you know, as leaders, it is, is a critical piece for, for nurturing and developing our teams. To have the right culture because we know turnover and we know what turn turnover costs us. And, and again, so if we're not, if we're not taking those steps to try to address this particular topic.
I think we do a disservice, but you know, we get more out of ourselves and our employees. I love coming back to vacation. As a matter of fact, the executives are like, oh man, she's back. She's had a week. Yeah. Shut a to think and clear her mind. Right? The next thing you know, my whiteboard's home, you know, you can sort of laugh about it. So it, it's a good thing. Um, personally and professionally.
Samir Prince: think you made a really good point earlier as well, that's just kind of worth, worth noting for anyone, anyone listening is. I don't think it is possible to achieve a perfect work-life balance. I think it's more about finding a. Sustainable harmony, let's call it.
Um, you know, something where you're happy with, with, with, with life. You're happy with your personal situation, you're happy with work, you appreciate that. Sometimes it's gonna be more heavily weighted towards the work side than it is the family side. But you also understand that, you know, to your point, it's something that you care about, something that you love, something that you're passionate about.
So it is fulfilling some sort of, you know, need and desire for you internally. It's just making sure that's all communicated. It's making sure that, um, you know, as a leader within a business, you are playing your part and ensuring that that's then driven across the wider business as well, um, to really ensure that everyone's, you know, singing off the same hym sheet and everyone is, uh, is working towards the same objectives as well.
Yeah, very important. Perfect. Um, well look, Kathryn been a pleasure having you on. Um, for anyone who's been listening and you know, I guess interested in Kathryn or the Blue jackets, please feel free to reach out. She's one of the friendliest people that I've come across in the industry and had the pleasure of knowing, so I'm sure she'd be always happy to have a conversation.
Um, if there are any opportunities that people are interested in, I'm sure um, Kathryn can, can help guard as well. So, um, yeah, really appreciate your time Kathryn. It's been a pleasure having you on and I'm looking forward to, to staying in touch. You bet. Thanks for the chat. Thanks guys. I'll see you next week for the next episode.