Football Business Discussion Expected to Send Third Annual MIT CFO Summit into Overtime; Panel of experts to show Sloan School event attendees why the National Football League is the Gold Standard for America's sporting enterprises

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Sport is a microcosm of life and a competitive arena that brings out one's personal best. Professional football is a microcosm of the business of sport and one of America's best examples of a collaborative enterprise organized and operated for profit and the creation of economic value.

That's the message that the sellout crowd of approximately 525 senior financial, business, and academic executives will likely hear on Friday, November 18 at the wrap-up session of third annual MIT Sloan School CFO Summit at the Newton Marriott Hotel. Titled The Business of Football, the panel discussion and ensuing question-and-answer period will give attendees an informative view of the financial and management practices that have led to a lengthy era of success and prosperity for NFL players and owners as well as for media organizations and allied business ventures.

Michael Holley, columnist, radio personality, and author of the New York Times best seller Patriot Reign, will be the panel moderator. The speakers are:

--National Football League senior vice president of finance Kim Williams, who prior to assuming her present position in 2003 spent 10 years at General Electric companies both in Europe and in the United States. Most recently she served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for NBC's West Coast entertainment operations.

--Harvard Business School professor Andy Wasynczuk, who served the New England Patriots and related entities for over 17 years; for most of that tenure he was the club's chief operating officer, and he played a key role in the Pats' rise to the pinnacle of the game.

--Patriots' chief administrative counsel Jack Mula, who has handled contract negotiations from both sides of the table; as an agent, he represented Doug Flutie and Fred Smerlas, among others, while as a member of management he structured deals for luminaries including Tom Brady and Richard Seymour.

--Investment banker and former Patriot wide receiver Randy Vataha, managing partner at Game Plan LLC and an authority in the valuation and marketing of sports franchises.

The panelists will touch on many topics including:

--Economics of professional football and the sport's evolution into an economic powerhouse

--Value creation at both the individual franchise level and on the national scale

--Problems, both real and potential, that keep football's owners and financial leaders awake at night

--Intricacies of the NFL's salary cap

--Impact of revenue sharing on how teams conduct business

--Collective bargaining and negotiations

--Managing relationships with states and municipalities; and

--A typical day in the life of an executive responsible for a football franchise's bottom line.

"We are all looking forward to The Business of Football, commented Summit Co-chairman Jack McCullough of Jefferson Wells International. "It promises to be just as lively as last year's final session on the economics of baseball. We had a packed room, there were dozens of superb follow-up questions, and no one wanted to leave.

"Our football panelists have had experience with every aspect of the game, so we expect a great deal of similar give-and-take. I expect that we'll all depart with a lot of insight into NFL operations, one of America's most successful business ventures."

Jeremy Seidman, Summit co-chair and investment executive at Lehman Brothers, added, "Last year it was baseball, and the Red Sox won the World Series. This year it's football, and we have the Super Bowl champion Patriots. Maybe we'll do basketball and hockey next and see if we can return the NBA championship and the Stanley Cup to Boston."

David G. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, will deliver the morning keynote address. Industrialist and philanthropist William I. Koch, founder of the Oxbow Group, winner of the 1992 America's Cup, and an MIT graduate, will address the luncheon gathering.

The day will include sessions on regulatory compliance and financial reporting; financial excellence in non-profit organizations; capital markets and liquidity; employee benefits; the CFO's role in sales and marketing; CFO/audit committee relationships post Sarbanes-Oxley; international financial operations; and a case study on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Companies and organizations whose executives will take part include Raytheon, Boston Scientific, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Kronos, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MCI, Novell, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Agenda and registration information may be found at: www.MITCFO.com.

About the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of Boston and Sloan School of Management

The Sloan Alumni Club of Boston conducts a calendar of events focused on Leadership and Executive Management Best Practices. The events promote the MIT philosophy of mens et manus -"mind and hands" - and involve internationally renowned thought-leaders and practitioners. The club's annual public symposia include the Women in Business and Technology Symposium; the CIO Symposium; and the CFO and CMO Summits. Visit http://www.mitsloanevents.com for more information.