Partnership Perspectives - Jeff Porter
By Curtis Walker, Vice President at TurnkeyZRG
In this month’s feature, I sat down with Jeff Porter who just transitioned over to the Kansas City Current as their new Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. He’s highly skilled with a tremendous growth trajectory ahead of him. Hope you enjoy!
For those who don’t know, who is Dr. Jeff Porter?
For those that don’t know, I am a New Jersey native. I competed in football and track & field during my high school years and was fortunate enough to earn a scholarship to attend the University of Michigan. Much of my outlook on the world has been shaped by my coaches (especially my high school coaches). They taught me to be relentless in the pursuit of my goals and that difficult times will come. The measure of any that has been successful is measured by how they react to those challenging moments.
Jeff Porter, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships at KC Current
Some may not know that I earned a spot on both the 2012 & 2016 Olympic Team in the men’s 110M hurdles. I was third in both of those U.S. Olympic Trials and in dramatic fashion. Although a crowning achievement in my athletic career, this provided me with a great deal of perspective because I began to reflect on that journey. The fundamental approach that I take to life and business is simply: grinding. I was an underdog and I just keep working at my craft to get 1% better every day. During the time I was preparing for the Team USA Olympic Trials, I was also preparing to defend my dissertation and earn my Ph.D. I try to surround myself with people that have different perspectives but will grind and are relentless about doing so. My personal belief is that there is nothing we cannot accomplish if we get 1% better each day.
Congratulations on your recent transition as VP of Corporate Partnerships with the KC Current. What contributed to your decision to join this organization at this moment in time? How has your transition been?
Thank you for the congratulations. There were key reasons why I decided to join the Kansas City Current. The first is that the ownership and leadership of the team have clear vision and are able to articulate what that is. We want to be the best women’s soccer club in the world. Period. I have found that many organizations cannot answer the simple question of: what is your vision? For me, I needed to understand and believe in their mission. The second key factor that is tied to vision is: why? I wanted to understand why striving to be the best soccer club in the world was their vision. Simply stated, the ownership believes that what we do at the Kansas City Current can be a blueprint for others to highlight that with real investment, women’s sports can grow and thrive.
You’ve had a relatively non-traditional route to where you are now, with stops in student-athlete alumni relations and intercollegiate athletic development. What would you say are valuable lessons you’ve learned from those experiences, that have contributed to your success and upward mobility?
What I have enjoyed most, which has also been a contributing factor to my success and mobility, is learning how to best serve the customer and client. Regardless of the different roles, understanding the needs of the clientele and providing great service has allowed me to grow in my career. Whether the client is an alum/donor of a university, a premium suite holder, and corporate partner, I have been able to build meaningful relationships across different sectors which has aided my growth tremendously.
What gets you most excited about the future of the sports & entertainment industry?
Every day I wake up and realize that I have the privilege to work in sports. The great thing about sports is that it is going to keep evolving. Twenty years ago, pickleball was not anywhere on the national radar. Now, you have to pay attention because it has grown so much. No one is ever an expert in the world of sports because of how fast everything changes, which keeps me excited about the possibilities that can provide more opportunities to people to participate. That is what gets me excited about this industry. The moment you’re an expert in linear tv, streaming services take off, and then social media. The question of ‘what’s next?’ drives my motivation every day.
What are you most proud of as you reflect on your career?
I am most proud of the teams and programs that I helped build. I’ve worked with great people and we have built programs for student-athletes, created lifelong friendships with co-workers, and created some amazing experiences for corporate partners. Most of which we created from the ground up and seeing the impact those programs and relationships still have is amazing.
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Founded in 1996, TurnkeyZRG is a highly specialized talent recruitment/executive search firm filling C-level, senior-level and mid-management level positions throughout sports, entertainment, music and media. Over the past 25 years, TurnkeyZRG has filled more than 1,400 positions throughout sports, entertainment and media. TurnkeyZRG helps teams, leagues, stadiums, arenas, theaters, college athletic departments, events, sponsors, agencies, media companies, private equity companies and other clients identify, recruit and hire the very best management talent. Turnkey now benefits from ZRG’s global footprint, full array of industry practice groups, data-driven, analytical search tools, and technology investment in changing the way executive search/talent recruiting is done. TurnkeyZRG becomes a tech-enabled disrupter of the prior executive search model.