Women Worth Watching 2015
Patricia Betron
ESPN’s Savvy SVP Connects Audiences and Advertisers in a Multimedia World
By focusing on advertising effectiveness and delivering quality audience and potential customers for ESPN’s clients, Patricia Betron has reshaped the way businesses thinks about ESPN. Its fans are not just sports fans, but also consumers, and this savvy senior vice president of multimedia sales has lead efforts to understanding the often under-appreciated buying power of its traditional audience, and developing insights into a growing bicultural Hispanic audience, as well as a growing female sports fan base.
She has also pushed the company to understand media consumption behaviors in a multiscreen environment. Over the past two years, Tricia has led innovative deals that incorporate the multiscreen nature of video, developing industry-leading concepts that are not only revenue generators, but major breakthroughs in scale, scope, and concept.
“…I never thought of myself as a sales person…”
Tricia has been a leader in focusing on serving both ESPN’s viewing customers and its advertising clients—engaging customers to best achieve results in marketing to them. She has blazed a trail among women in ESPN’s sales organization, runs a vast multimedia team that spans the country, and handles some of the biggest accounts with whom ESPN does business—all while raising two children.
“My first sales position was a real leap for me. I never thought of myself as a sales person,” said Tricia, “and realized I really enjoyed it. I knew this was what I wanted to do when my first client told me I helped grow his business.”
Tricia is a well-regarded member of ESPN’s executive team—respected by her peers, her superiors, and her staff. She’s an active member of the Executive Women Forum at ESPN and a mentor to many women across the company.
Education: BS, Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Public Communications
First Job: Research Analyst at NBC
What I’m Reading: “Every Town Is a Sports Town: Business Leadership at ESPN, from the Mailroom to the Boardroom” by George Bodenheimer
The most important quality a woman leader should have is…
…curiosity.
The career advice I’d give my former self:
Don’t take things personally
Words I live by:
In the short-term, you regret what you do; in the long-term, you regret what you didn’t do.
The one thing I’d do differently in my career, knowing what I know now, is…
…taken on an international assignment.
When I really need to focus on a project, I…
…have to get away from my desk — move to a quiet place with a blank notepad and write down my thoughts.
My biggest career leap (and what I learned from it) was…
…my first sales position. I never thought of myself as a sales person, and realized I really enjoyed it.
Being a woman in my profession has been…
…an advantage because I bring a different perspective.
I’ve learned that failure is…
…hard, but the most impactful way to learn.
I maintain a healthy personal life by…
…trying to limit email on the weekends and during vacation as much as possible. It’s not always realistic, but my family notices.
I knew my present career was what I wanted to do when…
…my first client told me I helped grow his business.
