The evolving role of CTO

5 Min. Read

In a piece in Sports Business Journal the week of June 23, TurnkeyZRG’s Chief Operating Officer, Diana Busino and ZRG Partner’s Managing Director, Andrew Dmytryk were referenced as it relates to how the function of technology leaders in sports has evolved over the last several years.

The technology being deployed at today’s multi-billion dollars facilities like SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and at entities like the NCAA demand a new type of technology leader. Today’s sports organizations lead with business-first thinkers who are also clearly well-versed in the latest technological innovations from fan engagement platforms to game-changing in-arena solutions to mixed-use facilities all seamlessly integrated to deliver a world class fan experience. 

Today’s CTO has evolved dramatically from the days of ensuring all the various data and computer systems ran efficiently to today’s more highly skilled CTOs who are increasingly having more of an impact of revenue generation and fan experience. 

For instance, TurnkeyZRG recently helped to place John Macrina with the NCAA as its CTO. The firm is filling the same position for the United Center and the 1901 Project, a $7 billion effort to produce a mixed-use district across 55 acres in Chicago. The NCAA needed someone to spearhead a large-scale data effort, both for fans and member institutions. Macrina was plucked from TelevisaUnivision after he oversaw the company’s enterprise tech from a global seat. The latter needs a person who can produce revenue and thrives in a procurement role.  Having worked closely with John at Univision, I was able to see first-hand how a centralized consumer (fan) database could yield greater incremental revenue opportunities by both delivering more relevant content to consumers but also by telling a vibrant story about our Univision consumer to advertisers and partners and thus deliver premium value.

As Diana says in the SBJ piece, sports teams no longer just play games — they have various dealings across a broad spectrum of interests (real estate, data management, frictionless tech to name a few) that need tech to thrive. Because of that, top tech roles have become a steadily recurring assignment for which Busino and company recruit.

“The reality is that this role has accelerated big time,” Busino said. “We do a number of technology searches a year, and along with that comes investment. It usually is at a much higher price tag than they would have historically paid for this person. So it is a very investment-oriented trigger when people go to market with these roles.”

Before getting to any of those specific roles though, says ZRG Partners managing director Andrew Dmytryk, is an understanding that the keyword of the search is business minded. Those people have either done similar heavy lifting in a leadership capacity or have helped in a process where they served as a crucial cog of success. “This day and age, it’s all-around transformation and people that have been there, done that and got the T-shirt,” Dmytryk said.

In addition, as more and more teams and leagues continue to explore various direct-to-consumer solutions for fans, understanding the various streaming solutions is vital as to determine whether to build, buy or lease.  Companies like ViewLift, Kiswe and Victory+ are all working with leagues and teams directly as the RSN model continues to be challenged.

Bottomline is that today’s sports CTO has evolved dramatically and, I believe, will continue to be a hybrid of someone who has a broad tech background but can also understand and add value to helping to drive real business results.