Franchise players: NBA execs Steve Mills and Terdema Ussery score as two of the industry's hottest front-office players. Will one gain the ultimate prize of NBA commissioner? - B.E. Corporate Executives Of The Year - Biography

Black Enterprise, Sept, 2003 by Alan Hughes

Mills, just like any other corporate executive, has to contend with the current business climate and devise a strategy for getting through the hard times. Therefore, he focuses on quality of product and top-notch customer relations. "In New York, there's the economy, [and] there's the competition. There are so many different choices for people to make, so it makes us work harder--it makes us focus on what's important to our customers in addition to providing a team that's competitive on the court or ice," he says.

As the NBA and NHL seasons wrap up and players head for the golf courses, Mills and Ussery remain focused on their goals: fielding competitive teams while watching the bottom line, With the Spurs eliminating the Mavericks from the playoffs in six games, the Knicks finishing with a record of 37-45, and the Rangers failing to break even at 32-36, both execs and their respective staffs have their work cut out for them. But these execs will make sure they have the right people in the right places to get the job done--profitably.

Terdema USSERY

Dallas MAVERICKS

HDNet

Age: 44

Title: CEO, Dallas Mavericks, HDNet

Years in Position: 7

Education: Princeton University (bachelor's), Harvard University (master's), University of California at Berkeley (law degree).

Career Highlight: As commissioner, he turned around the Continental Basketball Association. Also led a successful campaign that resulted in funding for American Airlines Center.

Steve Mills

New York KNICKS LIBERTY RANGERS

Age: 43

Title: President, sports team operations, Madison Square Garden

Years in Position: 2

College: Princeton University, sociology major

Career Highlight: Creating a flexible model by which each of Madison Square Garden's sports teams would become integrated to do business efficiently while maintaining their individual identities.

--Additional reporting by Marcia A. Wade