"Growing up, sports played a significant role in Williamson’s childhood, as she still remembers some of the most memorable and impactful moments that led to her choosing a career in sports rather than the careers she originally wanted as a kid." - Photo via @rowansportscam on Instagram.
On Monday, March 24, Pizza with the Pros welcomed Susan Williamson, the Philadelphia 76ers’ senior vice president of marketing and business operations.
Growing up, sports played a significant role in Williamson’s childhood, as she still remembers some of the most memorable and impactful moments that led to her choosing a career in sports rather than the careers she originally wanted as a kid.
“Sports were very important to me as a child. It was just a way to connect with my family, with friends, so it played a crucial role and taught me a lot of skills such as leadership and teamwork. So I’d say it drove the continuous theme whether it was my personal life or school, giving me a way to connect and give me purpose to get involved in ways, during high school especially,” said Williamson.
Williamson graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and biology. Over that summer, she got the opportunity to work an internship with Madison Square Garden as a ticket sales representative, involved with both the New York Knicks and Rangers.
Three months later, Williamson received the opportunity to work with the Knicks as the assistant of ticket sales and events. Already having ties with the team, there wasn’t any doubt that she was the perfect fit for the position.
“I had done an internship for community relations with the Knicks. I knew I wanted to come back, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like because usually they don’t create positions for you, you have to be at the right place at the right time. I ended up doing ticket sales and just stayed in touch with the leads within the department. The marketing job opened up and they approached me for it, which never happens,” Williamson said.
Williamson would spend the next nine years working various positions with the Knicks, including a year and a half with her original position, over two years as the coordinator of marketing, over two years as the manager of marketing, and a year and a half as the director of marketing programs and brands.
Over the summer of 2012, Williamson parted ways with the Knicks, in which she decided to go back to school to pursue a master’s degree in marketing and general management at the University of Michigan. During this period, she spent a few months working for both Intel Corporation as a student consultant and Kimberly-Clark as a brand management intern.
After finally finishing school, Williamson was presented with an opportunity to work for the Philadelphia 76ers as the vice president of marketing. Spending almost six years with the Knicks in marketing alone along with her education, the 76ers believed she had both the experience and skill set, which made her the perfect candidate for the position.
“I loved working at MSG. I had the chance to get my MBA and decided that was the next best step for me. I ended up at Michigan and enjoyed a lot of football, basketball, and other sports there. Then, I was approached about the opportunity to come to the 76ers and work as VP of marketing. To me, I knew I wanted to end up in sports, so it seemed like an incredible opportunity to come and lead a department,” said Williamson.
After spending around a year and a half as the vice president of marketing, Williamson moved to the vice president of business operations, a role which she commanded for over three years. At the end of the 2019 season, she faced the hardest decision of her career, where she chose to leave the 76ers organization to upgrade to the senior vice president of business operations for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, a position she still currently holds.
Pizza with the Pros will continue next week, with SportsRadio 94WIP talk show host Hunter Brody making an appearance at Rowan University.
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