Kerstin Lutz discusses diversity and her path in the sports industry

Summary of interview

Five short questions to get to know Kerstin better:

Favourite football club: FC Basel
Three words that best describe you: Reliable, passionate and athletic.
Something you do especially well: Play tennis
Trait you wished every leader had: To be themselves…authentic and not trying to be something they’re not.
If you could interview any personality, person from sports or from the sports business, who would it be?
Wladimir Klitschko. It would be interesting to hear what his career was like, how the difficult situation in Ukraine is affecting him, and what that means for his future.

Since you entered the sports industry in 2000, what would you say, has changed the most?

With my first internship and job, it was actually 1997. Back then, it was very much a man’s world and if that made you uncomfortable then you probably weren't in the right industry. But I think it has really changed a lot, especially in the last 5-7 years — in the way we collaborate and the way women are respected in the business.

At TEAM, we've always employed a large percentage of women and that's something that has been very important to us.

Working in sports implies lots of events and long days, which often led to a work hard, play hard stereotype. But I would say everything has really become much more professional across the industry.

Can you tell us a bit about your career path?

I studied sports marketing in the USA. At that time, no such degree existed in Europe. The closest was sports economics in Bayreuth, but otherwise it didn't exist at the universities here.

I wanted to do my last internship in Europe and that led me to General Motors Europe. At that time they had a lot of sports rights: football rights, tennis rights and they were a really active sponsor. It was exciting to join them shortly before the FIFA World Cup 1998 in France, where I was subsequently taken on by the agency.

That brought me to Frankfurt, where I continued to work very intensively on this account for another three years. This is a rather classic way to enter the industry, through contact points with agencies and brands.

Can you tell us a bit more about your current role at TEAM?

TEAM’s services are generally divided across Development, Sales and Delivery. Within my department sits the responsibility for implementation. Once contracts are secured with UEFA’s commercial partners (media, licensing and sponsor), they come to my team and we ensure the rights they acquired are being delivered and that everything runs smoothly.

You’ve been with TEAM 22 years. Were you ever interested in doing something new?

Yes, it’s something I’ve considered, but every time I've looked at opportunities, it's just never been better. My position at TEAM has really evolved every few years. I started as an account manager and then gradually moved up and ten years ago joined the management team. So my responsibilities have always expanded, the team has become bigger and we always have new tasks and challenges to solve. If you want to work in football, I don't think there are many better jobs. I’m able to work with so many different people and partners and that keeps things interesting.

At TEAM, we actually have a lot of colleagues who have been here for more than 20 years. It’s a good mix of new, younger people with fresh ideas and concepts, alongside those who have been here for a longer time and really understand how the business works. Working with UEFA is a special collaboration, and if you know a little bit about how things work, then that's also going to benefit the client. Having the right balance between new and experienced staff is key.

TEAM seems to have a lot of diversity, in terms of age and gender, but also nationalities. Was that intentional from the beginning?

TEAM has always been very international, but with strong Swiss roots. Today, 50% of the staff are still Swiss, but we have nearly 30 different nationalities making up the rest.

This is certainly something that’s important to us and everyone benefits from the diversity. That's another reason why I never had the feeling that I had to go somewhere else; it’s really impressive to see a constant flow of new ideas, new personalities and new nationalities.

And it’s true what studies say – diversity brings tremendous added value, ideas and experiences.

Are there any challenges that come with such an international team?

Working with colleagues from so many different nationalities will always require openness and understanding. There are different styles of working and what we’ve noticed is that there’s always a learning curve. We simply need to give people time to adapt and experience a full competition season.

But it's incredibly enriching to look at things from the other side, understand different perspectives and learn from each other. The nice thing here is that because we have lived this culture from the beginning, there is a lot of support for new joiners.

We have international partners and it's an added value when they can work with someone from their own country, who understands a little bit better the culture and customs, for example.

In addition to nationality, how do you handle age diversity?

We’re quite lucky to be working on an insanely great product, making us actually a sought-after employer. So we don't really have any problems attracting all ages. It’s important, too, to be conscious of bringing in younger people, partly because they are more versed in topics like Metaverse or NFTs, and we understand the value in staying current and innovative.

Are there generational differences, for example, on the demands placed on an employer?

Definitely, I would say. Work is looked at differently and people today are much more likely to question the status quo than in my generation. It’s certainly a good thing, and, topics like remote work is something that is asked about a lot now already in interviews. It’s positive though, because you have to move with the times.

Let’s look at gender diversity. Would you say it’s still challenging for women to get to leadership positions in the sports industry?

Yes, I think otherwise there would have been more. However, my team for example is very balanced. Also internally we have a lot of women at a “Head Of” level, but in the senior management team it's a bit thin. We admit that and we know that, but those changes don't happen overnight. You have to prepare for a long time. It often takes 2-5 years to get someone up to speed.

But, I really do have good colleagues and I never feel that I have to defend the women's perspective in any way. That said, if we already have 50% women across the organisation, that should be better represented in the management of the company.

It's really become an issue with a couple of our sponsor partners now. They notice when there are no female colleagues involved, especially when women are on their side.

What sort of support or networks did you have to help further your career?

I always had good internal support, for example my former boss. I mainly had men around me, but they really took it upon themselves to help, so I was very lucky. Outside of that, I worked with a coach, a woman, who helped me better understand working in the world of men, how to not take things so personally, and to approach things a bit differently. I was really lucky that from my first internship onwards I always had someone who saw potential and then pushed me further.

Are you actively connecting with other women who are in leadership positions, for example, or are you part of women's networks beyond TEAM?

Not beyond TEAM, but we have two corporate collaborations. One is with Women in Football, who have offered great workshops, trainings and mentorship options. Then we also work together with Leaders in Sport for their diversity trainings and conferences. We're trying to involve our young employees in particular, so that they gain confidence, are exposed to various opportunities, and see that there are already a lot of incredible women in the sports industry. I also try to listen to podcasts with inspiring women who have worked their way up in the sports business.

How else is TEAM tackling diversity issues?

We have a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programme dedicated to the topic. We recently completed a diversity survey across the company, with which we can compare results from last year’s to identify what has improved, what issues remain and where we need to focus. Is it, women in leadership? Or another topic? It helps us identify what is most relevant for us at TEAM at any given time. We generally do a lot in terms of training and development.

I believe that every woman can become incredibly successful in the sports business if she wants to and has some support.